Recovery in Suit Seeking Damages for Intentional Killing of Dog Limited to Market Value of Animal.

Plaintiffs sued their neighbor for compensation after the neighbor was convicted of intentionally killing the plaintiffs’ dog. The trial court limited damages to the market value of the dog. On appeal, the court affirmed, finding that dogs were classified as personal property by an Ohio statute. As such, the court had to abide by the market-value limitation on damages derived from common law. While the court appreciated the subjective value of the dog to the plaintiffs and their emotional attachment to him, the court found that the law simply did not consider sentimentality as a “proper element in the determination of damages caused to animals.” The plaintiffs had not identified a particularized and identifiable pecuniary loss. Davison v. Parker, No. 2013-L-098,  2014 Ohio App. LEXIS 3201 (Ohio Ct. App. Jul. 28, 2014).