Oregon Supreme Court Rules Dogs Are Not Solely Property

Portland, OR -- The Oregon Supreme Court is making it easier for law enforcement to step in if they think an animal is being abused.

The court says says an animal is not merely property such as a box requiring a search warrant.

The decision came in relation to the case of 28-year-old Amanda L. Newcomb who had been found guilty of starving her dog, Juno.

Newcomb's lawyers had tried to get blood tests from Juno thrown out as an illegal search, saying law enforcement should have needed a search warrant because Juno was Newcomb's personal property.

The court, which upheld Newcomb's conviction, ruled that is to the case.

The case started when an Oregon Humane Society officer responded to a complaint of animal neglect, including claims that Newcomb was "beating her dog, failing to properly feed it and keeping it in a kennel for many hours a day." The officer seized Juno after observing his severely malnourished state, and took him to a Humane Society vet for feeding and further tests.

The vet fed Juno, and measured and observed his weight gain over the following days. Juno's blood was also drawn to test for any possibility of disease but no disease was present. Given the information on hand, the officer noted nothing was wrong with the dog other than the fact it had suffered from extreme hunger, resulting in the aforementioned malnourished state.

The defendant argued that the blood draw was an illegal and warrantless search, akin to searching inside someone's purse or a chest of drawers inside someone's home, given that Juno was her personal property.

The prosecution countered that Juno's blood draw was greater similarity to examining a child who is suspected of abuse, which is legal. The prosecution also noted that animals have a right to medical care and be free from neglect.

In the court's decision they agreed, noting that:

"In these circumstances, we agree with the state that Juno is not analogous to, and should not be analyzed as though he were, an opaque inanimate container in which inanimate property or effects were being stored or concealed. Juno’s “contents”—in terms of what was of interest to Dr. Hedge—were the stuff that dogs and other living mammals are made of: organs, bones, nerves, other tissues, and blood."

The decision overturned a 2014 decision by the Oregon Court of Appeals to throw out Newcomb's conviction on the basis that a warrant was needed to draw Juno's blood.

The court did limit the ruling's impact, stipulating that it applies only to animals that have been seized lawfully in the belief that the animal is being abused or neglected. It also only applied to medical procedures appropriate to ascertain the diagnosis and treatment of a sick animal.

So while it may seem small, this is a significant ruling that ensures dogs or animals in similar situations can be removed from their environment and treated for abuse, while allowing the abuser to be fully prosecuted.

The full Supreme Court opinion can be read here.

Photo courtesy of Oregon Humane Society