Going To Court For Fido

Advice on Going to Court on a Pet Loss Claim

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini

Q: Dear April Masini,

A few months ago our family dog, Peaches, died because we unknowingly fed her tainted pet food. Our family has suffered so much emotional (not to mention financial) grief over his death and decided to take our case to court, so that even more pets won't die the same way. We're a little worried about going to court and are not quite sure about how we're supposed to go about our case. Do you have any advice?

Sincerely,

Fighting For Our Dog

A:

Dear Fighting For Our Dog,

Whenever any personal relationship is brought into the court system, it's a sad day, but nonetheless, anyone who wants to sue for the value of a relationship does need to prove the value of that relationship to the court.

This undertaking is not unlike a divorce or a custody trial -- the messiest and most unpleasant trials ever -- because these are also cases where value of relationships has to be proved. These are not quantifiable many times, and that's what makes the court's job so difficult.

If you're on your way into court on a pet loss claim, think about anyone going into family court. A mother may have to prove that her relationship with a child is more valuable than the father's relationship with the child in order to get custody. A husband may have to prove his relationship to his ex-wife was valuable enough for him to collect spousal support form her in a divorce proceeding.

Showing your pet's value to you involves listing experiences and proving these experiences kept you from being harmed in some way -- physically, psychologically, emotionally, or financially. And also, you have to prove that your pet's loss proved harmful and you have to list and show the ways. It's all about evidence, and that is hard to muster in relationships. A broken heart can be shown by loss of income, absence at work or school, illness, sickness, loss of appetite that is documented by a physician, etc.

Dirty work, but that's what the court system is all about when it comes to awarding judgments.

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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