[Wicked Felina]

Last December Beverly Hills became the latest and the seventeenth city in the nation to legally codify the term animal guardian. This includes the entire state of Rhode Island!

Semantics do matter, and when in the case of domestic animals, "owner" is changed to "guardian" it can only mean more safety for our pets. Changing them from "property" to an individual being in our care.

I doubt that in my lifetime we will see this change in every state, but at least this is a very positive start. It means that in a court of law you may recover (punitively/emotionally) against a person who willfully harms your pet. And it takes into account that pets are part of our families.

Old news for you rescuers, I bet. But I just found out about how large this movement actually is. It began in 1999!

[mrs1885]

While it's a step in the right direction, Bev Hills is faced with state laws that out rank local laws. And the Gov has decided the best was to save the tax payers money is to start euth'ing dogs in shelters even faster than they already do. While it may not change much for those that have homes, if any of them find a way out of their fenced yard and are picked up, the time their owner has to find them in the many shelters before they are euth'd is greatly reduced.

Schwarzenegger on Shelter Animals - Kill’em Faster to Save Money! :For the Love of the Dog

[Wicked Felina]

I know it's a meager step. But it's a step. And the fact that there is one state, Rhode Island, which has adopted the term guardian, is at least a glimmer of hope.