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.
Eight years ago, Eric went into a shelter in Tallahassee, Florida looking to adopt a cat. What did he come out with? A one-year-old, goofy, tiny-bit-too-skinny, pit-mix. Fast forward to today, and I have never been more grateful for Eric’s impulsiveness.
Since that fateful day, we have been lucky enough to be the parents to Chase, also known as @SometimesCarl. Over the years we have learned so much about him, and his personality only continues to delight and amaze us. Here is what we know Chase is:
- A 70-lb, velvety hippopotamus slash couch potato
- Possibly a distant relative to Eeyore
- A whipped cream, cheeto and oatmeal enthusiast
- Not the world’s biggest fan of tin foil, crinkling shopping bags, vacuum cleaners, or loud trucks
- A professional kisser (if you’ve never experienced a pitbull kissing booth, please add to your bucket list asap)
- Our best friend
- Completely oblivious to stranger-danger
- Always down for a car ride or a boat trip (likely so he can sport his very stylish doggy life jacket)
- A big foster brother and puppy-wrangler to 14 dogs and counting
- Unbelievably, incredibly patient (see: foster puppies!)
- The proud owner of a tongue that is decidedly too big for his mouth, and a noggin too heavy for his body
- Very, very grumpy during bathtime
- Very, very cuddly during bedtime (and virtually all other times)
- An incredible ambassador for the first best breed, rescue dogs, and the second best breed, pitbull-type dogs
- Above all, family.
For all of the things we know Chase is, there is one thing that we are absolutely certain he is not. Chase is not property.
Full stop. End of sentence. No room for interpretation. Chase is not and will NEVER be our property. How could he possibly be reduced to a mere belonging, when we know all of the incredible, charming and quirky things that he IS?
Yet sadly, in the eyes of the law, pets like Chase are treated as replaceable property. They in the same category as your new purse, or your coffee table, or your cell phone. This, of course, is incomprehensible to anyone with a pet — and especially to Loni Edwards, who lost her beloved dog Chloe due to a medical error at a veterinary hospital. Chloe’s worth was amounted to her ‘economic value’ to be replaced, which is such a wild disservice to her being a cherished member of Loni’s family.
In Chloe’s honor, and with the support of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, we are fighting to raise awareness of how much our pets mean to us. If you agree that pets are not property, please join us in signing the pledge today.
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.
Featured photo by Greg Murray
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