`Legal Beagle' Offers Problem-Solving Tips

Dog fights inevitably involve more than the combatants. Their owners often become locked in heated and expensive court battles that make the fight itself look tame, says Linda Cawley, author of "Legal Beagle: Diary of a Canine Counselor" (New Horizon Press, $21.95).

Cawley, of Denver, who operates the only law practice in the country dedicated to dog law, details one intriguing - and often disturbing - anecdotal case after another, ranging from poorly written and unenforceable breeder contracts to stormy divorce settlements where ownership of a pooch is contested.

The death of Penny, her family's tricolored collie, after being struck by a car near her home, was, Cawley believes, the trigger mechanism from which "I think I made up my mind somehow, some way I would right the wrongs done to animals. I would be their champion.

". . . My love for dogs and my joy in their companionship came because of my bond to Penny. Her death was the greatest loss I had suffered and hers was the greatest love I had yet known."

Underdog role

Early in her career in a San Diego courtroom, another incident put Cawley squarely in the corner of the underdog. The case involved a suit against a veterinarian based on "reckless disregard for a dog's life, for which, under California statutes, punitive damages are recoverable."

The plaintiff's case was built chiefly around the owner's emotional distress following the loss of her dog, Chief, a golden retriever.

Quickly, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss. The judge, a man in his 60s, summoned both attorneys to his bench and said, "This is a dead-dog case, Ms. Cawley. "I will not have a dead-dog case in my courtroom." Case dismissed.

That, recalls Cawley, made her recognize she must determine a means of presenting dog-law cases that would be taken seriously. It and other cases were breeding a deep-rooted frustration and the genesis for a backlash against a legal system that featured a roguish combination of arrogance and vulnerability.

Under most state laws, dogs and other pets are considered personal property and their division is like any other piece of property - furniture, painting, memorabilia, etc.

Consequently, dogs become political pawns between fighting mates. The best protection, according to Cawley, is for couples to provide for the pets upon marriage in a prenuptial agreement or during divorce in a separation agreement. The courts, she says, will generally recognize these documents.

Property classification

Because dogs are considered personal property, very little can be recovered for their wrongful death. "This is also the basis for people getting away with committing acts of horrific cruelty or gross negligence against dogs resulting in injuries or death.

"Although judges have been sympathetic to the harsh results of the law, very few have gone so far as to change the laws with their rulings.

"The only way to change the laws is for dog owners to continue to challenge them, both judicially and legislatively. Dogs are more than personal property, and emotional attachments to pets should be encouraged, not punished, by our legal system."

If frustrated owners find the system doesn't work for them, she encourages them to turn to the media. Press coverage has helped aggrieved owners who couldn't sue for wrongful death of their dogs because of governmental immunity or failure of available laws, says Cawley, and been the springboard from which solid legislation has been written.

Television, according to the author, has changed the way the public looks at dogs and the law. She was asked to consult in the O.J. Simpson trial.

"As I told E! Entertainment host Kathleen Sullivan, `The best witness in the case is the dog, Kato (an Akita).' A dog's temperament can be tested by an animal behaviorist immediately after a traumatic event with some amazing results. If Kato had been properly tested, it could be determined whether the attacker of his mistress had been someone he feared, was submissive to, someone he could have dominated, or someone he didn't know . . . The reaction of his estranged wife's dog to O.J. Simpson at the murder site would have, in my opinion, been quite revealing."

Cawley addresses breed-specific laws, breeding limitation regulations, lemon laws regarding the health of newly purchased dogs and even wrongful birth action (yes, that's right), where a neighbor's male dog gets loose and enters the fenced yard of female counterpart in heat, divorce custody battles over dogs, suits against insurance companies unwilling to pay more than replacement value of a cherished family pet.

Busy caseload

She handles approximately 100 cases a year, with fees ranging from $500 for the minor dog bite to $10,000 for longer jury trials, which range from challenges to local laws to divorce custody battles over Fido. She is consulted on canine cases by attorneys nationwide.

Unlike child-custody battles, once those involving the family pet reach court, the outcomes seldom based on the best interests of the animal - or even the owners.

"The party that can prove the strongest ownership rights," she says, "by showing proof with receipts of purchase and veterinary care, can build a strong case for keeping the animal, whether that person has suitable housing for the animal or not.

"The dog often becomes the centerpiece of not only divorce custody cases, but community conflicts as well. The key is encouraging cooler heads to prevail. There is often a way of working through these matters despite the intense adversarial feelings on both sides. You must convince both sides the animal's welfare should be the No. 1 priority in the end."

There only about a half dozen other attorneys nationwide, she says, who are highly familiar with dog law.

Local representation

While her caseload involves numerous out-of-state litigations, she encourages frazzled owners to hire a local attorney while she remains in the background for consultation. A call to a local animal-welfare organization will often produce leads of someone in the area familiar with dog legislation.

"Legal Beagle" leaves you feeling that the standard culprit of dog law is cynicism, but Cawley, 35, is quick to emphasize that the nation's courts are beginning to recognize the intrinsic emotional and physical value provided by these four-legged characters.

"These are living beings that you can't put a price on," she concludes. "In most cases, they're the heart and soul of their owners. And sometimes that's a wake-up call for the court."

Crash `pasta' course

If your dog can say the word "pasta," you could win a 10-day trip for two to Italy. Saturday is the deadline to enter your pooch in the "Teach Your Dog to Say Pasta" contest sponsored by Thompson's Pet Pasta Products.

First runner-up gets a six-day trip for two to New York. More than 100 would-be talking dogs have entered so far. Call (800) 228-3738 for details.