Prepare for Holiday Changes in Your Home
The holiday season kicks off this week and now is a good time to think about the changing environment inside your home that will transpire during the season.
Extra care is needed for the protection of your pets. The Tampa Bay SPCA has the following tips for you:
"Be careful with snow globes, as they sometimes contain antifreeze; if broken and ingested by pets it can result in kidney damage. Because antifreeze tastes sweet, most pets drink it, willingly.
Chewing on electrical cords can yield disastrous results.
Cats often try to climb Christmas trees, be sure your tree is well anchored.
Ornaments and decorations should be pet friendly. Be very careful with glass ornaments.
Eating tinsel can cause intestinal obstructions.
Don't let your pet drink from the water if you have a live tree. The water could contain bacteria, fertilizers and/or preservatives that can harm them.
Chocolate can be highly toxic to pets. Call your vet immediately if your pet has ingested a large amount of chocolate.
Grapes, raisins, holly berries, mistletoe, and macadamia nuts can cause serious and life-threatening illnesses to pets.
Any rapid changes in diet-or even adding novel "safe foods" can cause intestinal upset or even pancreatitis problems for pets.
Holiday guests and other activities can be very stressful and even frightening to pets. It can also trigger illness and intestinal upset.
Ensure pets have a safe place to retreat in your house.
Make certain pets are wearing current I.D. or are microchipped in case they escape out a door when guests come and go. Most veterinarians offer microchipping services, which have reunited a countless number of pets with their families."
Take the time to prepare with extra precautions and you and your pets will have a safer and more enjoyable holiday season.
Provide Basic Information for Your Pet Sitter
Many of you will be traveling for extended periods in the next few weeks with the holiday season fast approaching.
If you choose not to take your pets with you, the two logical choices for their care are the use of your veterinarian for boarding or a pet sitter.
You probably already have a set routine with your vet. He or she has all of your contact information and emergency numbers as well as a solid full background and history of your pet’s needs and desires.
However, the pet sitter may not readily have this information.
Generally, they will look to you for the specific instructions as for the care and well-being of our pet.
Be sure to provide at a minimum, the following information.
Your Name;
Your email address;
Your cell phone numbers;
Your travel plans and dates;
The name of the hotel or location you are visiting along with all local email, cell phone and facsimile information;
The name and address of your veterinarian;
The business and cell phone of your veterinarian;
Driving instructions to you veterinarian;
The name and number of a local personal contact for emergency purposes, and
An updated power of attorney for that local contact.
The list of necessary information could well include additional items, but at minimum, the above should be left with the sitter.
Financial Assistance for Pet Owners
FloridaPets.net is a site that I often visit.
It is a valuable source for animal owners in the State of Florida and has, in general, good information that applies to pet owners and animal lovers in all locations.
Their blog recently posted an idea for generating funds to help animal owners during this particularly difficult financial atmosphere:
"I've been working on an idea for a new Web site that would help people with pets keep their pets during the current financial upheaval. There are simply too many beautiful animals being abandoned - or worse - when people are forced to leave their homes due to foreclosure or the downsizing of their wallets. Granted, there will always be people who welcome any opportunity to dump a dog or cat and being kicked out of their home will be just another great excuse. However, there are many others who love their pet dearly and just need a bit of assistance to stay united with their companion animal.
I put the idea out to my email contacts last month and was heartened to get many replies of encouragement and offers to assist. I've already compiled a fairly good list of resources for low cost vet care, free pet food, medical care assistance, and more, and am tracking down others."
If you want to contribute or assist, contact them directly at WebMistress@FloridaPets.net.
You can visit their website for additional information at http://www.floridapets.net.
How to Locate a Pet Hospice
Do you have specific suggestions of how to find a hospice service for dogs? We live in the Boston area.
Susan
Susan, I recently wrote about Hospice services for pets here.
A Pet Hospice can provide for the use of specific diets, the use of pain medications, general comfort and hydration for the animals.
Generally speaking, many hospice for human organizations are now offering a similar type of service for pets and companion animals.
I would contact your local agency and discuss the possibilities with them.
Secondly, many humane societies maintain lists of individuals and organizations that provide quality hospice care for pets.
Finally, more and more of your local veterinarians now offer hospice services from their office into your home.
New sources are available every day for your pet, your area should be no exception.
Why do I need a Pet Power of Attorney?
Why would I want to include a Power of Attorney in my estate planning for my lab, Fernando?
Betsy Sarasota, Florida
Betsy, in the event that you would be unable to provide for the care of Fernando, you could authorize an Agent to act on your behalf.
The Power of Attorney would allow the Agent to take emergency and temporary possession and custody of your dog and spend such amounts of your money as may be necessary for the health, care and welfare of Fernando.
The Power can also give the Agent the ability to pay for food, veterinary care or insurance, toys and other recreational activities, and temporary boarding and pet-sitting fees.
It can also specify that the Agent makes sure that Fernando receives the same standard of health, care, and welfare as you would normally provide.
When your emergency has ended, you can rescind the Power of Attorney and return to taking personal care of your pet.
It will only be used in an emergency and is for the protection of you and Fernando.
A win-win situation for all involved.
Managing the Loss of a Pet
I constantly receive requests for information regarding how to personally manage the loss of a pet.
Each owner has a different relationship and attachment to his or her pet and no general answer to this question will suffice.
However, the Humane Society offers some solutions:
"While grief is a personal experience, you need not face loss alone. Many forms of support are available, including pet bereavement counseling services, pet-loss support hotlines, local or online Internet bereavement groups, books, videos, and magazine articles.
Here are a few suggestions to help you cope:
• Acknowledge your grief and give yourself permission to express it.
• Don't hesitate to reach out to others who can lend a sympathetic ear. The Delta Society offers a list of pet loss hotlines for those grieving over the death of a pet.
• Write about your feelings, either in a journal or a poem.
• Call your local humane society to see whether it offers a pet loss support group or can refer you to one.
You may also want to ask your veterinarian or local animal shelter about available pet loss hotlines.
• Explore the Internet for pet loss support groups and coping information.
• Prepare a memorial for your pet...."
There are countless ways for you to manage and accept the loss of a friend or a loved one.
Most pet owners consider their pets to be family members.
It is all right to to treat their loss in the same manner.
Internet Hunting is Ugly News
I recently had a query regarding Internet hunting.
I was unfamiliar with the phrase and I had to do a little research.
This is Internet hunting according to the State of Connecticut website, OLR Research Report,
"Internet hunting (also called cyber hunting or computer-assisted remote hunting) allows a person with an Internet connection to fire a rifle from virtually anywhere, killing real prey in “real time.” Supporters of the practice say it is a way to allow people with disabilities to enjoy the thrill of hunting. Critics say it is not hunting; it is killing and it violates the rules of “fair chase.” Internet hunting has been strongly criticized by the Humane Society of the United States (which calls it pay-per-view slaughter); pro-hunting groups, including the National Rifle Association; and animal rights advocates, among others.
At least 35 states, including all the New England states, but not Connecticut, have banned Internet hunting. Opponents are seeking a federal ban.
Internet hunting emerged as an issue in 2005 when a Texas businessman launched the website www. live-shot. com promoting the practice as “a real time on-line shooting experience. ”
For a $ 14. 95 monthly fee and deposit towards the cost of the animal he or she wished to kill, a subscriber with a high speed Internet connection could log on to the website at a scheduled time and, using a remote controlled . 22 caliber rifle with a webcam mounted on it, shoot animals at a private game farm in Texas. Employees at the farm would lure the animal the subscriber ordered to a feeding station within range of the rifle. When the animal approached, the subscriber used the computer mouse to line up the cross hairs and clicked the mouse to discharge the rifle. Employees at the farm finished the job if the hunter missed. (It appears, after visiting www. live-shot. com, that the remote hunting service is no longer offered. )
Is Internet hunting legal in your home state?
Sounds like an idea that all states should outlaw...
What Is the Cost of a Pet Trust?
How much would a Pet Trust typically cost?
Billie Bob Crothersville, Indiana
Billie Bob, that is a question that I really cannot answer.
It will depend upon a number of issues.
Will you provide for the trust in a clause of a new will that you are writing?
Will it be a completely new simple trust of five or six pages or one of twenty to thirty pages for numerous animals?
If you already have your estate plan in place, is this a new document or a codicil (addition) to those documents?
Are you establishing numerous specific rules for the caretaker, or allowing a great deal of latitude?
If you are leaving your pet to an institution, do they have guidelines for your documents, do they prepare form documents or will they accept those of your counsel?
The needs and desires of each individual is different and therefore each estate plan will be different.
A competent professional legal advisor will be open and clear about the costs of the Pet Trust and how it interacts with the totality of your specific estate plan.
Just ask!
No Relief for Emotional Distress for Loss of A Pet
I recently received a phone call inquiry regarding the availability of money for emotional damages available to the owner of a pet. The call was made from a Connecticut resident.
This issue, as we have previously discussed, is very state specific.
At least one case in Connecticut has denied such a recovery.
In Pantelopoulos v. Pantelopoulos, 49 Conn.Supp. 209 (2005), the issue before the Court was the death of the family dog.
At the end of a not so friendly divorce proceeding, the wife left the residence and also left the husband’s dog alone without food or water.
The dog did not survive and the distraught ex-husband sued for damages for emotional distress for the death of his dog.
The Court, applying the laws of both New Jersey and Connecticut found:
1) In order to prevail in a case for intentional infliction of emotional distress, four elements must be established: 1) that the actor intended to inflict emotional distress or that he knew or should have known that emotional distress was the likely result of his conduct; 2) that the conduct was extreme and outrageous; 3) that the defendant’s conduct was the cause of the plaintiff’s distress; 4) that the emotional distress sustained by the plaintiff was severe. Whether a defendant’s conduct is sufficient to satisfy the requirement that it be extreme and outrageous is initially a question for the court to determine; only where reasonable minds disagree does it become an issue for the jury.
2) There is no authority which supports the plaintiff’s argument that New Jersey recognizes an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim for the loss of a pet.
3) There is no New Jersey precedent permitting a pet owner to recover non-economic damages when a pet is negligently injured or killed.
4) Connecticut common law has never recognized a right to sue an individual for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress resulting from injury to such property as a pet.
In this case, the Court denied all recovery for the death of the dog.
Hospice Care For Your Pets
Hospice service for humans has been available since the 1960’s.
Now, hospice care for pets is a growing field.
Like its counterpart, pet owners who see their companions as important members of the family and deserving of a peaceful end, welcome the veterinary or animal hospice.
The goal of palliative care is to relieve the pain, symptoms and stress of serious illness, whatever the diagnosis or prognosis.
Pallimed , recently wrote in its website;
"Yes, there is a small but growing veterinary hospice/palliative care movement. There is even one pet hospice foundation that is an associate member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. It is an interesting topic of discussion for several reasons. Obviously, euthanasia has always been a part of veterinary medicine and a mainstay of veterinary "palliative" therapy. However, as some pet owners demand ever increasing levels of high-tech medicine for their pets (pets that are often treated as nearly human members of the family), veterinary specialists have dealt increasingly with issues of futility and aggressive treatment efforts at the end of life….
There are also a group of owners who decline euthanasia, and veterinarians must either provide palliative care (for which we have little training and some degree of ethical quandry) or leave owners to do what they can and watch and wait for their pets to die "naturally" at home."
There are many forms of pet hospice and the fees vary greatly.
However, if you find yourself in this position of having a pet with little hope of recovery from a serious illness or disease, you might consider this alternative form of assistance and comfort.
Lost Cremation Remains
Hi Danny...I was wondering if you could help me out. My Mother's dog was euthanized two years after she passed away. It was her wishes that he be cremated and placed with her. The vet clinic that had his body sent him to the wrong location and instead of getting his ashes back..he was cremated in mass and his remains are forever lost. Needless to say I am heartbroken.. I have filed a lawsuit and my attorney is a little at loss since he can't find any established civil cases regarding this issue. I'm trying to help find out anything that I can and was wondering if you may know of any cases or information that may be of help. Your reply would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Name Withheld by Request
I have set up a time to speak with the counsel for this individual, but the answer to the question is generally fact and state law specific.
As we have discussed before, the attitude on whether pets are personal property or a part of the family vary widely throughout the various court jurisdictions.
Case results for actions for lost cremation remains, a body placed in to a wrong grave site or a totally empty grave site or the wrongful development of a former cemetery are totally non-uniform.
It is difficult, even when dealing with human problems such as this, to find a court that will grant money damages to the family.
General tort (civil action) law provides that there is no property right, in the strict sense or the ordinary use of the term, in the dead body of a human being.
Abuse of a cadaver is more a quasi-property right and that takes us back to the issue of animal versus human rights.
This is a very difficult, emotional and sensitive question that has no simple answer.
