The AP reports from Austin, TX, “The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that bereaved dog owners can’t sue for emotional damages when someone else is to blame for the death of a pet. A Fort Worth family had challenged the law after an animal shelter mistakenly euthanized their Labrador retriever in 2009.” The AP continues, “Justice Don Willet wrote the 25-page opinion with flourish rarely seen from the state’s highest civil court. Texas does allow owners to collect damages for wrongfully killed pets that had economic value, such as a prize-winning show dog or a stunt canine. Jeremy and Kathryn Medlen said equally irreplaceable was their family dog, Avery, although the pet was essentially worthless in terms of market value. Avery wound up at an animal shelter after running away from home, and was mistakenly put down even though a worker at the pound placed a tag on Avery instructing that she not be euthanized.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
