Dogs Shot by Cops: Companion Animals and Law Enforcement

When a police officer kills someone’s companion animal, it deeply affects the animal’s human family, as well as the officer, the neighborhood, and the community. This sad situation is all too common and ALDF fields many calls asking for advice. Unfortunately, there is rarely a clear path to justice.

Let’s start with the law. Companion animals are treated by the courts as personal “property.” When an animal is harmed, a lawsuit must show damage to the owner. Incredibly, civil lawsuits must demonstrate violation of the owner’s constitutional rights (known as a Section 1983 case). In tort cases, damages may be measured by the “market value” or purchase price of the animal, regardless of the egregious harm done to the animals and the emotional damage done to their human companions.

 
 

States including Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Tennessee, Texas and New York have demonstrated openness to cases that request relief beyond an animal’s market value. Emotional distress of the owner, loss of companionship, and intrinsic value may be considered in some cases. In Texas, the State Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case filed for “sentimental value” of a companion animal. Similarly, a Tennessee statute allows suits for emotional distress damages due to the wrongful death of a companion animal; Tennessee’s General Patton Act, as a result of the infamous Smoak’s case, mandates training in animal behavior for law enforcement officers.