Most likely you treat your dog as part of the family but does it stop there?
The other day I was reading an older (2013) article on rescue dogs and one of the comments, in particular, got my attention because the author (Lex Gore) stated dogs should be given “personhood” based on the relationship man and dog shared for thousands of years, read her comment below.
I truly believe given the relationship we’ve had with dogs for thousands of years that they should be given ‘personhood’ status or at the
least better protection from abuse.
Speaking as a shelter worker here, I have seen too much horrific cruelty (often with few consequences) inflicted on these animals who guide our blind, take care of our disabled, guard our homes and families, find our dead, seek explosives and drugs, even detect cancer. They have done so much for us, I even doubt how far our species would have gone without our partnership with these amazing animals.
It’s time to honor that.Author Original Comment: Lex Gore, Lead Female Throat at Adaptive Reaction
[irp]
What exactly is the definition of Person-hood, according to Wikipedia it defines the following:
Personhood is the status of being a person. Defining personhood is a controversial topic in philosophy and law and is closely tied with legal and political concepts of citizenship, equality, and liberty.
In 2014, French parliament reclassified animals as “living beings” instead of simply property. Following suit, in 2016 New Zealand passed the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill, acknowledging that animals are sentient beings just like humans. And in December, Quebec granted animals the same rights as children under its laws.
[su_row][su_column size=”2/3″ center=”no” class=””]With so many countries recognizing a new legal status for animals, especially pets, it seems only natural others would follow suit. However, organizations like the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) are concerned that if the law recognizes pets as family members, then veterinarians could easily be sued for malpractice.
Critics say granting animals such legal status could lead to a lot of unintended consequences, that dogs can’t be spayed or neutered against their will, for example. [/su_column]
[su_column size=”1/3″ center=”no” class=””][su_lightbox type=”image” src=”https://i.ibb.co/bKNnhSd/copy-of-newspaper-article-with-title-dogs-part-of-family-can-use-lift-for-free-2.jpg”]
[/su_lightbox][/su_column][/su_row]
There are also concerns that by recognizing pets as humans under the law, pet owners themselves could lose rights. Other say that taking such a step could spawn a great deal of frivolous and expensive litigation, as well as a slippery slope that could lead to the end of hunting and breeding.
Now what do you think, are you willing to extend your dog’s legal position to person-hood?
[irp]
