NYC takes its love for animals quite seriously. This week, Supreme Court Judge Aaron Maslow ruled that dogs are no longer seen as property, but “immediate family.”
This news comes on the heels of City Councilmember Keith Powers introducing a bill to legalize bodega cats. All in all, it’s a good week for our four-legged friends.
Dogs are ruled as “immediate family”
The reason for this legislation is all because of a little dachshund named Duke. Trevor Deblase’s beloved pup was sadly taken from him and his family on July 4th, 2023 because of an out-of-control driver in Mill Basin. His mother had been walking Duke at the time of the accident.
Given the emotional distress the family had to go through, Judge Maslow wrote in his court documents that dogs should no longer been considered property.
“This Court fails to see why a beloved companion pet could not be considered ‘immediate family’ in the context of the zone of danger doctrine under the fact pattern presented by Plaintiffs,” he wrote.
Trevor took to Instagram to celebrate the news showing an adorable photo of Duke in a green tux — a very good boy, indeed. However, he also included video footage from a security camera at the time of Duke’s accident, which is completely heartbreaking. If you visit Trevor’s Instagram page, do note that his post on Duke contains distressing content from the night of the accident.
“The judge on the case has finally ruled that dogs are no longer just seen as private party and will now be seen as “immediate family”! This is a monumental win for families of NYC and long over due,” Trevor wrote.
He concluded, “The emotional heart ache my family has collectively felt these past 3 years cannot be quantified with a dollar amount, but knowing that something good has come out of this tragedy brings me some kind of solace.”
Duke will forever be in our hearts. He paved the way for dogs to be recognized for what they really are: family.