(HOST) Lately, commentator Willem Lange has been thinking about a recent Vermont Supreme Court decision regarding the status of dogs.
(LANGE) In April 2010 I followed a case before the Vermont Supreme Court in which the plaintiffs were appealing a judgment that owners of dogs that have been injured or killed by others are not entitled to damages for "mental distress, emotional pain, and destruction of a special relationship." Their dog Shadow had died after being shot by an elderly man in Northfield when it wandered onto his property.
Many people weighed in with their own judgments on the case. Personally, I feel that shooting an animal for innocent trespass is a bit heavy-handed. But the law has been clear on the limits of liability for acts of that nature.
There was one famous case in which damages were awarded for emotional distress. In 1870 a Missouri attorney named George Vest became famous with his description of the bond between a man and his dog. A sheep farmer had threatened to shoot any dog found on his property. When he spotted Old Drum, a neighbor’s hound, in his yard one night, he killed him.
The owner sued for damages, which were denied. In an appeal of that judgment, Vest delivered what William Safire called one of the best speeches of the nineteenth century. Here’s just a bit of it:
"Gentlemen of the jury: The best friend a man has in this world may… become his enemy….A man’s reputation may be sacrificed…. The people who…do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles…upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.
"A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer….When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in…the heavens."
When Vest’s opponents heard his oration, they knew they’d had it. Damages were $50. There’s a statue of Old Drum in Missouri today.
However, in this recent case, the State Supreme Court affirmed that Vermont state law "does not recognize non-economic damages for the malicious destruction of personal property, even when the property is a beloved pet." It expressed compassion for the suffering of animal lovers whose companions have been killed by the thoughtlessness or malice of others. But: "We do not doubt plaintiffs had a strong emotional bond with their dog and have suffered by Shadow’s untimely death. That said, we adhere to our long-standing precedents in affirming the trial court’s ruling."
So that’s that. This is Willem Lange in East Montpelier, and I gotta get back to work.