A very curious trial took place in September of this year, two “dogs” filed a lawsuit against their owners. With this judgment, the question remains: “Is it possible for dogs to sue their owners?”.
In fact, the process happened due to the work of an NGO for the protection of animals, the NGO “Sou Amigo”. And the case happened in Paraná, where the dogs Rambo and Spike were mistreated by their former owners. Thus, at the end of the trial, the judge presented a decision that named the two dogs that sued the owners as perpetrators.
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The mistreatment case took place between the end of 2019 and January 2020, when the English pointer Rambo and the Golden retriever Spike were abandoned. According to witnesses, the dogs' former owners left them alone at home during the holiday season.
Therefore, the dogs were being fed by neighbors who were also the ones who triggered the NGO, his friend and the Military Police. Also according to reports, the dogs spent the entire holiday period alone and had to face, in addition to hunger, fear. That's because in that period, the constant fireworks terrified the dogs, plus some thunderstorms.
Furthermore, dogs were saved with already infected wounds, most likely due to fear accidents. After the rescue, the NGO filed a lawsuit against the former owners in the civil sphere, and the NGO itself requested that the dogs be considered as the interested party.
It was then that, in September 2021, the court accepted the request and the dogs were seen as interested parties. Therefore, the dogs would now be liable to receive compensation for possible psychological damage.
According to specialists, the way the case was handled and the elaboration of the decision may influence other courts. Therefore, animal defenders would have the victory they seek: that animals have representation in court. This step represents the recognition of animals as “sentient”, that is, subject to pain, fear, joy and aware of their own lives.
However, it is worth mentioning that until now, mistreatment of animals is a crime, and recently the Samson Law increased the penalty for cases of cats and dogs. Therefore, let's wait to find out how the fight for the recognition of psychological and heritage damage against animals will take place.
