Pet shop that allowed the escape and death of a dog under its care will compensate the animal’s owners – Press

A pet shop in the west of Santa Catarina was ordered to pay compensation for moral and material damages in favor of the owner of a dog that, left in the establishment’s care, escaped from its premises to suffer a fatal run over on the streets of that city. The animal, a Shih-tzu breed, named “Buddy”, had been purchased by the family for R$800 and had lived with them for five years. The court in the district of Campo Erê, where the action was processed, judged the request to be valid and set the compensation at R$ 6,800 to cover material and moral damages, with monetary correction and late payment interest of 1% per month, counting of the pet’s death.

The records indicate that the dog’s owner left the animal at the pet shop on March 15 of this year, as she had to go on a trip. It turns out that four days later she received a message from the person responsible for the establishment with the information that she had needed to leave and had left “Buddy” with her own dogs. Inadvertently, the trader continued, “someone” opened the gate that served as containment and allowed the dogs to enter the public space. The shih-tzu crossed the street and ended up being hit by a car. With the injuries recorded, the dog died at the scene.

The plaintiff reported that the animal was held in great esteem by the entire family and was even featured as one of the characters in her daughter’s birthday photo album. The child, when he found out about the fateful accident, fell ill, had a high fever and lived in a state of mourning for several days. The pet shop, in defense, did not contest the facts themselves, which are now admitted as true, but considered the reasonableness of the sentence for moral damages. He said that he admitted paying R$800 to reimburse the cost of the animal and states that he later proposed, extrajudicially, to pay R$3,000 for the episode, albeit in installments. The claim was rejected by Buddy’s family.

“The emotional shock suffered is evident, since, as a pet, there is, as a rule, a natural relationship of affection, which, with the loss, causes psychological shocks similar to the loss, in analogy, of a family member”, said the sentence. He also recalled that although the Civil Code elevates animals to the status of moving goods and science considers them sentient, the fact is that affection must be considered, and there has even been doctrinal and jurisprudential evolution to the point of regulating the very custody of animals. Therefore, he concluded, given the illicit act, the damage and the causal link, it is the establishment’s duty to compensate Buddy’s family. The sentence can be appealed (Docket no. 50005762020238240013).