Judge Says Pet Is Property, Not Companion

May 25, 2006 — -- A dispute between two Estacada, Ore., neighbors turned tragic when 63-year-old Raymond Weaver intentionally ran over his neighbor's dog two years ago. The neighbor's beloved Grizz was so badly injured that doctors were forced to euthanize the 14-year-old Labrador retriever-cocker spaniel mix.

After Weaver was convicted of first-degree animal abuse, Mark Greenup and his family sued their neighbor for $1.6 million, claiming. among other things, loss of companionship.

Though the dollar amount involved in the lawsuit is large, what drew the attention of animal rights groups was that claim could signal a change in the nature of the legal relationship between human and animal.

But Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Eve Miller dashed their hopes that for the first time a court might recognize the emotional bond between people and their pets. Today she rejected the part of the suit that asked the jury to consider Grizz in terms of his worth as a companion as opposed to the current law that considers pets as property.

The judge said that she saw nothing in Oregon law that would allow the Greenups to ask the jury to treat Grizz as anything other than property.

"The Greenups are definitely on edge and emotional," said their attorney Geordie Duckler. "To have a new law dangling between them in establishing this law and have it taken away last minute is very disappointing."

Judge Miller will allow the jury to decide if the family should be paid for punitive damages for emotional distress. Jury selection is currently under way.

Despite the earlier conviction, Weaver maintains Grizz's injury was an accident. His lawyers did not return calls for comment.

Though animal rights experts had hoped for a different outcome, they said they are not surprised by the judge's decision.

"Unfortunately, this is something we see on a regular basis in a variety of ways," ASPCA senior vice president Dr. Randall Lockwood said.

Alison Gianotto, director of PetAbuse.com, said she believes acts of pet abuse retaliation happen because people are pulling away from one another other and making less contact with their neighbors.