Take a quick look at Pet Smart, Inc. (trading on NASDAQ under symbol “PETM”). Pet Smart’s stock price has more than tripled in three years, has a market cap of almost $4 billion, and pays a dividend of $.12 per share per year. Pet Smart provides products and services for the lifetime needs of pets in North America. The National Institute of Health has concluded that there are more pets in the United States than people, and in most American households the pet business is big business.
With one possible exception pets have no legal rights of any kind. Under Pennsylvania law animals are classified as tangible personal property, for which non-economic damages are not available. An animal cannot be sued, cannot sue, and cannot own property. This means that the owner cannot recover for personal distress, pain and suffering, or loss of companionship. The only exception is that an owner of a pet may, in some circumstances, be entitled to recover damages if intentional infliction of emotional distress occurs, such as where the animal is killed or seriously injured because of reckless, wanton or malicious conduct of a third party. Otherwise, the animal owner may only collect the value of the pet. Pets in Pennsylvania are no different from a table or an automobile. Can you believe it?
Ownership of an animal can be established by possession, by a sales receipt, by a bill of sale, or another type of transfer document such as the record of birth from another owned animal. Breeders are now inserting a micro chip in the ear of the pet which, when triggered, would identify the original owner.
In order to hold a pet owner liable for the actions of a pet, the claimant must prove that the owner was negligent. A plaintiff must show that the dog had unmistakable vicious tendencies and that the owner knew or should have known these tendencies. The “one free bite rule” is not accepted as a defense in civil cases in Pennsylvania. There exists a “Pennsylvania Dog Law” which contains other statutory rules and requirements pertaining to injuries and damages inflicted by dogs. This Act provides for fines and penalties up to one year of imprisonment. The provisions of this Act are beyond the scope of our limited review.
There are pet owners who desire to provide for long–term care for their pet if the animal survives the owner. Unfortunately, a valid trust cannot be established under Pennsylvania law. Under basic trust law, a trust does not exist unless it has a trustee, assets, and a beneficiary. Because a pet is considered personal property in Pennsylvania, a pet does not qualify as a proper beneficiary of a trust.
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