Universe of Pets Community

DEATH OF A PET

Not just property

Published: Thursday, May 24, 2007

A state Assembly bill released from committee Monday would — finally — treat the loss of a pet in certain civil suits as something more than the loss of personal property, like a car or refrigerator.Our Editorial Advisory Board on pet issues — Press dogs Sasha, Roxy and Elvis — give it paws up. We concur.The bill would give pet owners the right to sue for loss of companionship, veterinary bills, burial and other costs if a dog or cat becomes ill or dies from contaminated pet food. The bill would allow up to $15,000 for loss of companionship, to be determined by binding arbitration to avoid clogging the courts. The bill also allows suits to be brought against retailers if they do not respond to recalls and take contaminated food off their shelves.

Assemblyman Neil Cohen, D-Union, said he introduced the bill on the advice of his pet advisor, Ginger, following the national rash of pet deaths and sicknesses caused by adulterated pet food and the failure of some stores to remove recalled pet food promptly.

Fifty class-action lawsuits have been brought against Menu Foods Inc. since the first pet-food recall in March. An industrial chemical contaminant found in batches of wheat gluten imported from China is believed to be responsible for the sickened pets. Some veterinarians and the pet-food industry oppose Cohen’s bill, contending it will spur frivolous lawsuits and drive up the cost of pet food. Before passing the measure, lawmakers need to be certain that the standards for successful litigation are strict enough to discourage baseless lawsuits or a stampede of questionable claims. But the philosophical underpinnings of the bill — that the loss of a family pet represents something more than the loss of personal property — is sound.Currently, New Jersey law treats pets for the most part as personal property. In civil suits, owners can usually recoup only the cost of the pet. Tennessee is the only other state that provides for emotional distress in the loss of a pet, up to $5,000 — although Massachusetts is considering a proposal similar to New Jersey’s.One problem with this bill is that it deals only with contaminated pet food, a relatively rare occurrence. But Cohen says he’s working on a measure that would allow similar damages in lawsuits arising from certain other forms of pet injury or loss — such as a cat or dog that is mauled by another person’s pet. He is not looking to extend those kinds of damages to deaths arising from negligent veterinary care — a decision that may be wise, since raising the cost of veterinary care may do far more damage to far more animals than the occasional bad vet.

All in all, the bill appears — sorry, we can’t help ourselves — to be barking up the right tree. The law has lagged behind public sensitivities on the value of a pet, and it’s time for reasonable change.

Please tell us what you think??  We here at www.universeofpets.com are definately for themeasure.  Anything that helps to recoop what we lost from feeding our dogs and cats from the dog food recall list and the cat food recall list , is well . . . just desserts!

The pet food recall was just the beginning of the incredible amount of damages, both emotionally and monetarily, that both pet lovers and pet food manufacturers were about to experience.  Everyday we hear about what awful things the commercial pet food industry has been doing to pet food.  It is no wonder why how all of this pet food was contaminated because the pet food industry has not enforced any inspections from chinese officials.  A full and complete lisitng from both the FDA and AVMA are at www.universeofpets.com under FAQ’s. 

It was reported on Monday May 21, 2007 from the Tampa Bay Times how Debbie Cmar has spent $10,000 in trying to save her four cats from problems blamed on the tainted food.  Her cat food that she was using was one of the many foods listed on the cat food recall list . Debbie has even thought about taking out a second mortgage on her home to help pay for the rising credit cards bills from the vet.  Our question to you is - How much is too much?  Would you or have you spent more than you could possibly imagine to save your pet?  When is it ever too much for our beloved friends??

Even though the worst may be over for the big pet food companies, each individual owner is possibly left with 3 horrifying things.   A huge vet bill, the guilt of knowing that they were they ones who fed them the food, and of course . . . the loss of the pet!  The worst may be over, but it is definately NOT Gone!