Pets as Property: Signs of Change in the Law of Judgment Collections

Americans are deeply connected to their companion animals, regardless of what protections the law affords animals. Because the law follows culture, recent legislative and judicial developments have begun to reflect the bonds formed between human and nonhuman animals. This Article first highlights how courts and society viewed animals in the twentieth century to the present day, focusing on how courts have struck a balance between protecting animals yet still classifying them as property. While the law still views companion animals as property, this Article highlights the interstitial “property-but-not-property” framework courts use to consider the interests of animals in debt collection cases, arguing that laws and courts must go further to protect both animals and their humans.