i am all for animals are family not property but its also her fault for not doing her research and buying a dog from a pet store instead of a good breeder

“It’s going to put a number on my dog’s broken hips that you created because you’re negligent, you’re greedy, and you’re mass-producing these puppies,’’ Lask said. “Right now, even if you return it, they just kill it, which is so inhumane.’’

Yeah, put the little bugger through as many surgeries as money can buy and make the dog suffer for as long as you can because that's really humane and you get to USE the dog strictly for your purposes. It's nice to know how much you honestly care.

Should have done research and bought from a reputable breeder or adopt from a shelter, instead of going to a store at all. That being said the puppy mills need to be stopped and if this does it more power to them.

First, simply by feeling pain doesn't mean you have a soul. Secondly, what do you expect when you BUY an animal? Why don't you take all that money you are spending on a lawyer and donate it to your closest animal shelter. If everyone would stop BUYING dogs and cats and ADOPT them from shelters and rescue groups, the puppy mills would shut down. "Respectable Breeders", yea not too keen on them either. There are rescue groups for nearly every single breed, so if you are one of those people that have to have a so-called "pure breed" (which if you do your research there are only 4 original breeds of dogs), then go find a rescue on-line and save an animal.

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dogs have emotion and are not products. On the other hand there is pet insurance available just like people have blue cross. I think they should refund the purchase, but not the medical. If equating this to a person, an adopted childs new parents can not go back to the birth parents and sue for a medical condition they were unaware of. That said, puppy mills would all shut down if there was no money in it. Upping the cost of dog ownership for unspayed or neutered dogs would do this.

Although I agree that the dog is a living soul and not property, the price of purchase should be refunded, but not the medical expenses. Pet medical insurance could have been purchased, that would have covered the expenses. Puppy mills and backyard breeders do it for the money. Take that away and you shut them down, no demand, not money, no mills. If dog registration was cheap for those with fixed, chipped pets and very expensive ie:more than a spay or neuter for each unfixed pet then most of these mills would discontinue operation.

You can't sue for medical conditions, how silly. Watch out...everyone will be in court suing for bad eye sight and early gray hair.

Dogs are a lot more like a person than a chair or table. They have a heart, lungs, and can get all the same illnesses like cancer, diabetes - just like humans. I don't understand why we have to prove if they have a soul or not - no one is saying animals are humans. But animals are living, breathing, feeling creatures that deserve better treatment than what is covered under "property". This suit would finally hold the money-greedy puppy mill owners accountable for irresponsibly mass producing sick dogs!!! Unfortunately, many people don't know that those cute puppies in the dog store windows come from puppy mills and the suffering the dogs left behind endure. And sadly, people don't realize all the amazing animals at the local dog shelters. If this even puts the smallest dent in the puppy mill business - then I say BRAVO to the lawyer that took this case!!!!

Who do I sue for inhieting a bad heart? This lady is a fruitloop and the shyster lawyer supporting her should be locked up in jail. I'd really like to be on the jury in this one, if something so stupid gets to trial. She bought the dog like it was a slave, that ought to tell you something about this lady right there. Or does everyone buy family members as she now claims it to be. Absolutely ridiculous and supported by the scurge of our society, a lawyer.

If a manufacturer of chairs continually produced bad chairs, people would sue to set the standards of their merchandise higher. This is no different - puppy mills are notorious for mass producing sick animals. Hopefully this will get some laws changed so that if they continue to produce sick animals, they will have to pay. Why should they continue to charge up to $1000 or more for a dog and it be sick when I can go to the shelter and get a perfectly healthy dog for so much less!!! If the laws affect their pockets - they will be forced to change! People do get very attached to animals, and why should the animals keep suffering because of the mills greedy practices!!!! I wish this law suite all the success in the world!!!

If dogs are not property but in fact are living souls, what about pigs? Cows? Chickens?

We eat these animals and the products of the animals every day. Are we all planning on going vegan? Certainly it would be against the law to eat a living soul, right?

Listen, this isn't going to fly well with very many people, but I have three cats, one dog and a fish. If my house caught on fire, I'd evacuate my children and husband first, go in for the dog second, round up the cats third, and my fish would be last. If I could only get out my children and husband, I'd mourn for my animals, but that'd be that. I cannot honestly say that I would go in for a fish or feline and risk my children growing up without a mother.

This woman decided to purchase a puppy. If you do that, you run the risk of getting a dog that does have lifetime 'defects'. If you want to shut down puppy mills, stop buying from them.

In my opinion, it is more cruel of her to subject the dog to a lifetime of surgeries than to euthanize it.

I also do not believe that the store owner should pay her purchase price with our without interest, nor the cost of the surgeries or whatever else this woman is vying for. It is often cheaper to purchase an animal from a shelter than it is to purchase one from a reputable breeder, but the cheapest of all is to purchase one from a puppy mill where they reproduce dogs faster than rabbits.

You get the quality you pay for.

The homeless man that you drive past on your way to drop your dog off at doggie daycare is a living soul. Stop the nonsense. Dogs are pets, animals, end of story. Lets care more for our fellow humans and stop hiding behind superficial things like pets and homes and vehicles, iphones. How many people feel lost without their electronics. Will we be declaring our laptops to be living souls ten years from now? Peopl can argue that they give us pleasure and are very helpful and important. I just cannot come to terms to how people can devote so much time to these things when there is so much human suffering in the world.

BTW: Love dogs. Have had three of my own.Can't have one now because I can't I can't afford to care for one at the moment. However, I'd rather give $1000 to feed the hungry (HUMANS)than to a dog who needs hip surgery. If you are in a position to do both, more power to you. but don't make the rest of us feel like animals have to be a priority in our lives.

And another thing: Some people don't need to be pet owners just like some don't need to have children. Have many people get dogs just everybody else has one. Enough already

Echo.. you are COMPLETELY wrong. Animals need our help AS MUCH AS humans who are homeless because they cannot take care of themselves as well as people can given the chance to do so. You can't throw $100 (for example) at a dog or a cat and say - go get yourself some food and a place to stay - but you CAN do that with a human. So tell me..... who actually needs us to help more? And by the way - the homeless likely wouldn't do it.. they'd likely go buy another bottle of booze. Animals would at least love you in return and they wouldn't forget it either. I think the animals have a bigger hearts and souls - as EVIDENCED by the cruelty some sub-humans put them through. ANY animal on the planet is more important to me than ANY human. ANY human.....repeat - ANY human. Furthermore - not all "humans" have souls either.

I seriously believe in animal rights and anyone who abuses animals needs to be put down just as many of the animals who have been abused need to.

That said. They are property. We bring them home, we take care of them their entire lives. They do not grow up, get a job and move out. They are never able to take care of themselves. As a species they are dependant on us or risk living the ferrel life or dread and early death.

If you buy a defective animal it may be heartbreaking to return it to the pet store but it is the only way the animal will not cost you out the arse for the length of its life. Your only other choice is to keep it and pay for its healthcare. The choice is yours.

By-the-way, those who say it all has to do with buying from a reputable breeder is only 1/2 correct. Joint issues are common among many of the pure breads, even from healthy breading stock. It happens, it is sad but that is the way it is. It is a chance you must take if you want a specific breed and is exactly why reputable pet stores and breeders will give you your money back if a puppy does have problems.

"Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation.^{[citation needed]} Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property has the right to consume, sell, rent, mortgage, transfer,exchange" or destroy it, or to exclude others from doing these things."

That does not sound like a description of a dog or a cat to me! In addition, the "return nest syndrome" has squashed the argument about "growing up, getting a job and moving out".

A living breathing creature is NOT defined as "defective". The battery in your car can be defective. Your house alarm system can be defective. An animal is NOT defective.

With this said, the way to stop puppy mills is to STOP buying your pets from stores. Go to your nearest shelter or rescue or go online and you will find the puppy or dog or kitten or cat of your dreams. They are out there and waiting to be adopted.

I am also of the belief that if this suit changes or slows down the rate at which puppy mills spring up and conduct business, then all the more power to them!

People need to wake up and realize that buying a pet from a store comes with a huge amount of risk because you have no idea where that puppy came from. Shutting down puppy mills is definitely a worthy goal but I'm not sure that proving that animals have a living soul is going to work.

I believe dogs and other animals feel pain and love. They endure unbearable abuses and neglect caused by humans and any witness can tell you that a dog feels that pain and yet demonstrates an amazing ability to overcome it and be the most loyal and loving pet ever. Bottom line, whatever label, property or living soul, has the benefit of saving more dogs and making harsher penalties for animal abuse and neglect enforceable seems to be a worthier goal.

In this case, it appears the dog is being used as a pawn. Albeit for something that needs to change, but if you MUST have a purebred dog that you go to the breeder, or you look online for a breed rescue, you don't buy over the internet or from a pet shop. Pet shop dogs are puppy mill dogs 99% of the time. That means they are damaged from the get-go physically or psychologically or both. A reputable breeder is seeking to breed for puppies that are great examples of the breed and can tell you the history of the dogs in the lineage and whether there is a chance for health problems. And if they can't, you should walk away.

Why didn't she adopt from a shelter or rescue? There have been Brussells Griffon dogs finding themselves in shelters in need of homes and since there are few no kill shelters in the country (comparatively), they are at risk of being killed just because someone decided they didn't want them.

Hopefully this case will bring more attention to why puppy mills need to be shut down. However, I'm not sure this puppy should suffer to prove this. That this dog may never have a life without pain says there need to be decisions made in the best interest of the dog. The puppy can't speak for itself, so it's owners need to listen. Even people reach a point where they say "I can't take any more."

I wasn't sure how to view this article at first. I love my pets, I view them as a part of my family. But I'm with Meghan Herr..if my home caught on fire, I would save the humans first, my animals second.

This case is about a woman who bought a dog from a pet store.By bringing a trial about whether dogs have souls, the sensationalism masks a very simple dilemma. SHE is an enemy of her own cause.

She obviously didn't do any research. Even a quick google search including the words "puppies/pets" and "store/shop" brings up a myriad of warning about puppy mills. If she wanted to be thorough she could have asked the actual store where they got their dogs, asked for health clearances, googled the breeder. SHE is the very reason puppy mills exist. Because people want the cuteness, without any effort to be responsible for the choice they make. Her dog is the result of that.

If she wants to shut down puppy mills, she has an inside track on how to educate people and change their perspective on buying dogs. After all, she knows the exact mindset of the average client who will buy from a puppy mill, and why they make this choice. She is one.

Dogs (like humans) are sentient beings and have natural rights. They are not property.