New Jersey crafts new legal status for pets

Trenton, N.J.-New Jersey veterinary leaders suggest a new classification for owner retort in malpractice and wrongful death claims could stymie the growing animal welfare movement pushing court systems and legislators to view pets as more than property.

Dr. Charlotte Lacroix

"Sentimental value," as defined by the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association (NJVMA), would maintain pets are property while recognizing the emotional attachment associated with the human-animal bond. If adopted into state law, the remedy would legitimize owner reparation exceeding an animal's fair market value, a traditional gauge for property loss that limits awards to roughly $20 for common companion animals.

It's the NJVMA's shot at stifling attempts to bend current law to classifying pets as family members, Executive Director Rick Alampi says. Although state lawmakers recently ousted an animal cruelty bill sanctioning loss of companionship and emotional distress as triggers for legal retort, the measure threatens to return. Sentimental value proactively addresses owner grievances while giving lawmakers and judges a viable alternative to inapt statutes, Alampi says. Although defining the remedy is at a preliminary stage, the association plans to craft a bill and gain legislative sponsorship for its introduction this year.

"Identifying animals as family members has implications rational people don't view as in the best interest of anyone," Alampi says. "Pets aren't people in furry coats. Yes, there is an attachment, and I think we are prepared to acknowledge that. But we want to stay away from the slippery slope that is emotional distress."

While legal and legislative allowances for more than an animal's fair market value in cases of wrongful death or malpractice promise to expose the profession to costly litigation and heightened critique, sentimental value puts parameters on pet worth, as do cases addressing the loss of a friend, explains Dr. Charlotte Lacroix, legal expert and owner of Priority Veterinary Legal Consultants in Whitehouse Station, N.J. The bill will allow lawmakers to recognize the importance of animals while realistically assessing their value, she says.

"Animal advocacy groups are trying to substitute the pet as an immediate family member such as a child or spouse, and that distinction is not valid," says Lacroix, who's guiding NJVMA on formulating its bill. "We won't piggyback on law inappropriate for the loss of pets. New Jersey is taking a different approach and hopes to create a movement that will value animals as more than a car but not equate them with a human life, specifically the life of a spouse or child."

Still up for debate is a cap on damages related to sentimental value and criteria whereby the human-animal bond must be established. At presstime, the NJVMA Legislative Committee was meeting on the issues.