Historically, pets have been characterized as personal property under the law, with little to no consideration of the special place they hold in our lives. If your pet was harmed or worse, the remedy was monetary compensation, usually capped at the market value of your pet. Only a decade ago did a Massachusetts court in Irwin v. Degtiarov, 85 Mass. App. Ct. 234 (2024) acknowledge that paying veterinary costs in excess of the market value of your pet could be deemed reasonable and be recovered from the defendant responsible for the harm.
The special nature of pets is slowly, but surely, being recognized by our courts, which can now consider such things as age, special skills or traits, place in a household and an owner’s affection when deciding how to compensate for injury to or loss of a pet.
Just this year, a Massachusetts Appeals Court went a step further in deciding that money is not always enough to compensate a pet owner for the loss of a pet. In Lyman v. Lanser, 103 Mass. App. Ct. 787 (2024), the court held that the legal remedy of “specific performance” (an order to perform as required by a contract) was available to a pet owner seeking to enforce his contractual right to spend time with the dog he shared with his former domestic partner. The parties had orally agreed to share their pet and did so amicably for a period of time before the defendant stopped all contact. Although still considered personal property, the court recognized the special nature of a pet that is not found in a car or a couch, and determined that it was appropriate to order compliance with the agreement to share the pet instead of mere monetary compensation.
It is important to note that this was a breach of contract case, and, for reasons beyond the scope of this article, the court specifically noted that the decision would not apply to the placement of pets owned by divorcing couples. Regardless, the courts are clearly moving in the direction of acknowledging and respecting the importance of our pets in our households and in our hearts.
