How Much is The Doggie in The Window?

An Oregon family thinks their dog is worth $1.6 MILLION! Their dog was run over by a neighbor and they are suing to recover emotional distress, in addition to economic loss.

Now, before I start this, I should admit my bias: I am a dog lover. I grew up with dogs. I currently have two dogs. The dogs are sitting with me now as I write this. And putting a dog down is one of the hardest things I have done.

With that being said, my dogs are not worth $1.6 Million. They are not even worth $600,000. Heck, $60,000 seems like a huge stretch to me. I love the little guys, but they are dogs.

In California, dogs are generally seen as personal property. Therefore, if they are injured, you can recover vet bills, up to the value of the dog. And, being the nice guy I am, I once paid a woman the vet bills even though they were more than the value of the dog. But, that is about it.

I feel for this family. However, giving them any money for emotional distress sets a bad precedent. Remember when your dog is injured, in California, it is the cost of the vet bills that you can recover.