Pets are Family, Not Property: 157 of Gemma

Did you know that under the law pets are seen as replaceable property? That’s right, the law essentially treats losing a pet the same way as losing a table. In honor of Chloe the Mini Frenchie, Loni Edwards’ beloved dog who passed away due to medical error, PetInsider will be featuring a story every Wednesday about pets being family, not property. Please join us by reading the stories and signing the pledge we created with the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) to push for change. 

Mochi is my best friend. He is sweet, smart and funny. He loves food, but not all kinds–he is actually very picky! Mochi loves going to the park, but he prefers senior dogs (especially the ladies). He loves being the center of attention, but he can be shy with new people.

Mochi loves me. He really does. He follows me everywhere and worries about me if I am sad or hurt. He gets excited when he sees me, gives me lots of kisses, and when I wake up early to work, he walks with me and sleeps next to my desk instead of staying in bed. To me, that’s true love.

Mochi is part of my family, and I love him so much. For this reason, it always comes as a shock that Mochi is considered an object under the law. The disconnect between how I, and many people, feel about our pets and how the law treats pets could not be more different. How can someone that loves, cries, plays, eats, sleeps, and has a family that loves them be considered replaceable property?  Mochi is a lot of things, but replaceable is not one of them.

We are trying to raise awareness around these laws so people can see how out of touch they are with how we as a society view our pets. Please join the #petsarefamilynotproperty movement by signing and sharing the pledge below.

Please join us in pushing for much needed change by signing and sharing the pledge (https://aldf.org/animalsnotproperty). Follow along every Wednesday for a new story, and sign up for our newsletter to receive it in your inbox. If you would like to submit a story of your own, please email your words and photos to hi@petinsider.com. 

157 of Gemma

157 of gemma is a cartoon about living with a chubby and opinionated pug named Mochi. Mochi is a very happy and sweet pug that sees life in a particular way. In his world his happy life with his Mom (Mami) is truncated by the constant presence of his Dad. Also, he thinks he is human and he shouldn’t walk up the stairs, that is why moms are for. His life got complicated and overall much worse when his parents had the audacity to adopt two chihuahuas that Mochi refere to as the grosslets. Gemma Gené, the artist behind 157ofgemma, was born in Barcelona where she grew up drawing everything that went through her mind. Her life changed dramatically when she met Mochi. They inmediately fell in love with each other and did everything together. They moved to New York where she worked as an architect. She missed Mochi so much during her work hours that started drawing about him on her subway commutes. Thanks to social media the comics became her main job and basically she hangs out with Mochi all day, and Mochi loves that!