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If you’re an animal lover like me, I’m sure you view your pets the same way I do: as beloved, irreplaceable family members.
The holidays at our house wouldn’t be the same without Andie, Ellie and Charlie running around. Our animals bring us joy every day of the year and although losing a pet is one of the hardest things to go through in life, it’s especially difficult when your pet is taken away from you because of somebody else’s mistake. That’s exactly what happened to the Medlen family of Fort Worth when their cherished dog, Avery, was accidentally put on the euthanasia list at Fort Worth Animal Care and Control.
The horrible ordeal started after Avery ran away during a thunderstorm in June of 2009. The Medlens located their pet at a shelter the next day and decided to keep Avery in the facility for a couple days so a microchip could be installed in his ear. But instead, a terrible mistake by a shelter employee left Avery on the euthanasia list and the Medlens without their best friend.
So in order to prevent something like this from happening to another family, the Medlens decided to take their case to court and landed a groundbreaking court ruling in the process.
You see, judges in the past only allowed a plaintiff to collect a dog’s market value – until now.
According to a state appeals court in Fort Worth, a pet's value is greater than its price tag; it carries sentimental value as well.
"Dogs are unconditionally devoted to their owners. We interpret timeworn Supreme Court law ... to acknowledge that the special value of 'man's best friend' should be protected,” the court ruled in its 11-page opinion.
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 and some people worry that the ruling, unless appealed, will negatively affect veterinarians and kennels by opening the flood gates for pet owners to sue them for sentimental value rather than market value if something happens to their pet. But as an attorney and owner of three dogs, I see this as a huge victory for pet owners and animal lovers alike.
Unless an appeal is filed, the Medlens' case will continue toward trial where a jury will be able to decide for the first time in Texas the sentimental value of a pet.
