A case out of Virginia has been raising some eyebrows and causing controversy over the past week, for what seem like obvious reasons. Basically, it involves a woman who died and who left instructions with her executor that she wanted her dog euthanized and buried with her after she died:
A healthy dog was put to death in Virginia at the behest of its owner, who made the request in her will.
The owner of Emma, a Shih Tzu mix, died March 8. Her dog was held at the Chesterfield Animal Shelter before it was picked up March 22 and then euthanized, NBC affiliate WWBT in Richmond first reported.
Heartbroken animal shelter officials said they had no choice but to turn over Emma to the estate executor, even knowing what was going to happen to her.
“We did suggest they could sign the dog over on numerous occasions, because it’s a dog we could easily find a home for and re-home,” Chesterfield Animal Services manager Carrie Jones told WWBT. “Ultimately, they came back in on March 22 and redeemed the dog.”
Emma’s owner, Anita Cullop-Thompson, 67, wanted to be interred with her pet, Morrissett Funeral and Cremation Service owner Larry Spiaggi told NBC News.
Spiaggi, who is also president of the Virginia Funeral Directors Association, said he only learned of Cullop-Thompson’s request after his Richmond mortuary handled the woman’s cremation. Over the years, Spiaggi said he’s come across families that have euthanized a late loved one’s pet when the dog or cat was old and couldn’t cope with a new home.
“I do see that point of view, but that wasn’t the case here,” Spiaggi said. “This dog was healthy and friendly, that’s the sad thing about it.
A healthy dog was put to death in Virginia at the behest of its owner, who made the request in her will.
The owner of Emma, a Shih Tzu mix, died March 8. Her dog was held at the Chesterfield Animal Shelter before it was picked up March 22 and then euthanized, NBC affiliate WWBT in Richmond first reported.
Heartbroken animal shelter officials said they had no choice but to turn over Emma to the estate executor, even knowing what was going to happen to her.“We did suggest they could sign the dog over on numerous occasions, because it’s a dog we could easily find a home for and re-home,” Chesterfield Animal Services manager Carrie Jones told WWBT.
“Ultimately, they came back in on March 22 and redeemed the dog.”
Emma’s owner, Anita Cullop-Thompson, 67, wanted to be interred with her pet, Morrissett Funeral and Cremation Service owner Larry Spiaggi told NBC News.
Spiaggi, who is also president of the Virginia Funeral Directors Association, said he only learned of Cullop-Thompson’s request after his Richmond mortuary handled the woman’s cremation. Over the years, Spiaggi said he’s come across families that have euthanized a late loved one’s pet when the dog or cat was old and couldn’t cope with a new home.
“I do see that point of view, but that wasn’t the case here,” Spiaggi said. “This dog was healthy and friendly, that’s the sad thing about it.”
While many people who have reacted to this matter online have wondered how this can possibly be legal, the reality is that it is clearly legal under Virginia law and most likely under the laws of most other states. Principally, this is because Virginia law provides that pets, like livestock, are considered property. Among other things, this means that if someone kills your dog due to an act of negligence the most you can get in damages is the cost of replacing the animal. There are no damages permitted for “pain and suffering” or any other similar damages that one might be entitled to in the case of the death or injury of a person. The other thing this means is that a pet can, generally speaking, be put down at any time.
The only caveat to these general rules are laws against animal cruelty, but those laws don’t seem to apply in this case. The dog in question was euthanized by a veterinarian and did not suffer when it died. At that point, the legal inquiry into the matter is basically over with the exception that Virginia law forbids human and animal remains to be buried together in public cemeteries, From other news reports, though, it appears that both the late owner and the dog were cremated. While it’s unclear what happened after that, it’s unclear if the ashes of the late owner and her dog were interred somewhere or are simply in an urn or urns at some unknown location. It’s also unclear if the aforementioned law regarding the burial of human and animal remains applies in the case of cremation.
For those who are blaming the executor of the will for all this, it’s worth noting that executors are legally bound to carry out the wishes of the decedent unless there is some law against what the decedent directed in the will, Since that does not appear to be the case here, the executor had no choice but to follow the instructions in the will, although it’s unclear what would’have happened to him or her if they refused to do so, or if there is even a family member that would have taken the Executor to court to force him or her to act. as directed by the will.
Beyond the legal issues, though, this case has also raised some ethical concerns that are worth pondering. For example, is it time to reconsider the general rule that pets are considered property? If we do, though then we have to ask ourselves what they are and how they are to be accounted for. There’s also the issue of whether or not a situation like this, which I will bet has happened before albeit in not such a public manner, is really anyone else’s business. By all accounts, the late owner was very close to her dog and the will reflected her desire to spend eternity with the animal. This isn’t all that different from the cultural attitudes of past cultures where it was common for owners to be buried with their animals. Is it really our place to question it in this case?
I understand the negative reaction to what happened here, and if I were the decedent I would have stated in my will that the dog should be placed with a family member willing to take care of her or placed with a no-kill animal shelter that would help find a new home for her. But that’s my choice. I’m not ready to say that the woman in this case was wrong in the choice that she made.
