Can Animal Lovers Sue for Emotional Distress in Pet’s Death?
What’s a dog’s love worth? That’s the question before the Vermont Supreme Court today in a case that could create a new legal doctrine for animal lovers who sue when their beloved pets die from acts of malicious intent. Sarah and Denis Scheele of Annapolis, Md., who brought the case, lost their mixed-breed dog “Shadow” in 2003 when a man fatally shot him after the pet wandering into his yard. Lewis Dustin, 76, of Northfield, Vt., pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty and was given a year probation. He also was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and pay $4,000 to the Scheeles for the costs of adoption, medical bills and cremation. But the Scheeles say that doesn’t come close to covering the emotional cost inflicted by the traumatic incident and loss of companionship, equating the death of Shadow to the death of a child. “Shadow was our little boy, our son, our child,” Sarah Scheele wrote on her Web site JusticeforShadow.com. “We loved him as if he were
