Beverly Hills knows words matter to animals

January 9, 1:19 PMLA Pet Rescue ExaminerKate Woodviolet

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Maya, at Friends of Animals Foundation, would rather be protected and loved than "owned"  Photo: Jackie Bass 

The Beverly Hills City Council voted unanimously this week to replace the word "owner" with "guardian" in all their animal-related ordinances, thus joining the vanguard of animal awareness and protection-orientation previously almost unilaterally occupied by West Hollywood and its bans on de-clawing cats and foie gras.

While I am no doubt the "Pet" Rescue Examiner, and not the "Companion Animal" Rescue Examiner, at least not yet, I applaud the move as demonstrating not just receptivity to the idea of animal rights (a much-maligned term, but I'll get into that in a subsequent column) but a commitment to acknowledging that animals aren't property.  They do have rights.  How do I know this?  Because if I have a coffee table I don't like I can throw it in a dumpster or take a sledgehammer to it.  But if I did that to my (absolutely beloved) dogs or cats I'd go to jail, and I doubt anyone reading this would think that was unjust. 

 The word "guardian" is also important because, unlike "owner," it implies a person's obligation to care for the animal. The dictionary defines a guardian as "a person who guards, protects, or preserves."  I own a car and if I don't take care of it then the consequences are mine alone to bear.  But once I'm acknowledged as the guardian of my animals, the law has recognized that I have an obligation to them to provide them with care, medical attention and proper sustenance.  It's a vitally important distinction that finally proactively recognizes that animals deserve care, rather than simply punishing neglect after the fact. 

While I have been known in this column to use the word "pet" as it flows a lot more easily than "companion animal" I have never thought of my dogs and cats as things that I own.  I think of them as my dogs and cats, but I also think of myself as their person.  

Beverly Hills has just put itself in the forefront of the movement to codify respect for animals and acknowledge that they aren’t chattel.  What happens to an animal matters to all of us in a way that what happens to my coffee table doesn’t.  Beverly Hills has also done an important thing in placing its world-recognized brand on the idea that animals deserve respect.  It’s a great thing and I hope City leaders are justifiably proud of this important step forwards.