Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Heavenly Creatures

Home
New Visions
Texas court rules owners can sue for sentimental value of dog mistakenly euthanized by shelter

Texas court rules owners can sue for sentimental value of dog mistakenly euthanized by shelter

Last updated on: November 15, 2011 at 1:36 pm by Joanne Brokaw

Texas court rules owners can sue for sentimental value of dog mistakenly euthanized by shelter 2011-11-15T13:36:31-05:00 Joanne Brokaw

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

So how much is that doggie in the window really worth? (This is Bailey; she's looking for a home.)

Watch “The People’s Court” long enough and you’ll hear Judge Milan say that in the eyes of the law, pets are property and owners are only entitled to the “market value” of their dogs, regardless of how they were injured or killed.

But a Texas court this week set a ground breaking precident when they ruled that a Ft. Worth family could recover the sentimental value of their dog, who was mistakenly euthanized at a local animal shelter.

According to the Star-Telegram, the Medlen family of Ft. Worth lost their dog two years ago when, spooked by a thunderstorm, the 8-year-old lab, Avery, escaped from the family’s yard and was picked up the animal control.

The Medlens went to retrieve the dog, didn’t have enough cash in hand, returned the next day ready to pay the fees, and were told that the dog couldn’t be released until a microchip was implanted in his ear. The vet was out of the shelter for a few days so the Medlens would have to wait.

On the day Avery was supposed to be available to go home, Jeremy Medlen went to get the dog, only to find that he’d been mistakenly euthanized.

This isn’t something that’s unique in this case; believe it or not, these kind of mistakes happen more often than you might think. When it does happen, the shelter often offers a new dog, the cost of the dog, or something else to replace the dog. Legally, the dog’s owner is entitled to recoup the market value of the dog but no more.

In this case, the shelter offered the Medlens another dog, cash, to pay Avery’s burial fees. But that wasn’t enough for the family, who sought to recover what they considered to be the sentimental value of the dog. The original lawsuit was dismissed, and the Medlens appealed.

After a year and a half, a panel of the 2nd Second Court of Appeals recently ruled that the Medlens could indeed recover the sentimental value of Avery.

“It is the first time in Texas history that an appeals court has allowed a dog owner to recover sentimental-value damages for the death of a dog,” said Randy Turner, the Fort Worth attorney who represents the Medlens, in the Star-Telegram article. He handled he case at no charge.

Fort Worth attorney Paul Boudloche, who represented the former shelter worker, said in the article, “This has a significant impact, economic impact, particularly for veterinarians who may end up having to practice defensive medicine, increasing the cost for everybody taking their pets to a vet … Kennel owners will have more exposure, even neighbors who take care of one of their neighbor’s pets while someone is on vacation.”

There isn’t any word on what the Medlens recovered in dollars for sentimental value for Avery; they haven’t yet gotten another dog. They do say that they feel compassion for and forgive the shelter worker who mistakenly euthanized their dog.

Anyone who has lost a dog knows that the fair market value of the animal – whether it’s a $100 adoption fee paid to a rescue group or $1000 paid to a breeder – is far less than what the dog means emotionally. I think it’s a good thing to allow people to recover more than the market value for their pets in situations like this. To have their family pet euthanized as a result of the shelter’s mistake is devastating.

But do we draw the line between outright negligence and accident when it comes to determining the judgment? Does it matter if your dog was mistakenly euthanized or ran in front of a car and was killed? Do you think it’s fair to allow pet owners to recover the sentimental value of their dogs? It’ll be interesting to see where this legal ruling leads.

Previous Post

November 14, 2011

PETA tackles Super Mario and his tanooki (raccoon dog) fur coat

Next Post

November 16, 2011 "Rise and Shine" with these happy shelter animals (video)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Animal behavior Animal health Animal history Animal rescue Animal research Animals and entertainment Animals and fashion Animals and food Animals and military Animals and science Animals and the law Animals in the news Be Nice Project Bears Bees Bible verses Birds Books cats Celebrities Christianity Circus Critters Dogs Elephants Farm animals Featured Shelter Pet Guest blogger Holidays Humor Interviews Movies Music National News Nature Ocean mammals Paganism Politics Quotes Reader photos Recalls Reviews Science Space Supernatural Technology Television Uncategorized Uncategorized video Wildlife Zoo

Select a Month November 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 November 2015 May 2015 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 May 2014 April 2014 January 2014 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 July 2011 June 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What city did the Good Samaritan's story happen on the road to?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jerusalem Jericho Nazareth Bethlehem