Woman gets $45,480 for a cat killed


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Paula Roemer knows most people don't understand her passion for animals.

Some of her North Seattle neighbors aren't thrilled about the crows she attracts to her back yard with bird seed, she says. When she rescued a scraggly kitten abandoned on a pathway while she was vacationing in Israel 13 years ago, people reacted with disdain.

So when a neighbor's dog mauled and killed that same beloved cat, Yofi, last year, Roemer barely mentioned it to people she knew. But now she feels that she found one person who understood: a judge.

Last week, Seattle District Court Judge Barbara Linde ordered the dog's owner to pay $45,480.12 to Roemer for the cat's death.

"Not too many [people] value a cat," said Roemer, a retired, 71-year-old former junior-high-school teacher, who lives alone except for her animals. "You know what I'm saying: 'It's just a cat.' And I'm very, very thankful we had a judge who knew that a cat had some value."

Judge Linde determined that Roemer should receive $30,000 in replacement value for the loss of her cat, $15,000 for emotional distress, $90 to recoup the cost of having Yofi cremated, $80 in medical expenses and $24.12 in interest.

Yofi was Paula Roemer's beloved cat.

The judgment may be among the largest amounts nationwide in lawsuits over the loss of pets, according to Roemer's attorney, Adam Karp of Bellingham, a specialist in cases involving animals.

"I do think it's the largest in our state for any type of animal, excluding, say, a Thoroughbred or other commercially valuable pets, or service animals," Karp said. "And I'm pretty sure it's the largest for a cat."

In 2003, a Snohomish County couple was awarded $25,000 in emotional damages when someone who was supposed to care for a horse and goats instead sold them for slaughter.

In a recent Texas case, the owner of a Mini-Schnauzer was awarded $10,000 in emotional distress when the dog escaped from a Petco grooming parlor and was hit by a car, according to Associated Press reports. In one New York case, the court found that a good dog's value increased with age, and its owner should be compensated accordingly upon the pet's untimely death.

The defendant in the cat case, Wallace Gray, pleaded guilty to an animal-control violation last October in Seattle Municipal Court. Court documents say he admitted that his dog killed a neighbor's cat in February 2004 "due in part to my negligence."

Gray said he just learned of the financial judgment yesterday from a reporter. "This is way out of hand. This is absolutely crazy," he said.

Gray said he had already served 21 days in jail and three months under house arrest for the animal-control violation. He wasn't living in the house with his dog at the time of the attack, he said, and the acquaintance who was taking care of his dog left town before the trial.

Paula Roemer keeps two urns with ashes of beloved pets. Yofi's ashes, at left, are with a booklet Roemer created for court featuring pictures of the pet.

"I'm sorry she lost her cat, but I had no control over it," Gray said.

Gray added that he thought the punishment was excessive considering that dogs and cats are natural enemies.

"Cats eat birds and dogs eat cats," he said.

Gray did not appear in court for the case and was not represented by a lawyer, Karp said.

Judge Linde could not be reached for comment.

While Roemer predicts she won't collect a nickel from the judgment, she and her attorney take the ruling as a message that even cats count. She plans to give any money from the case to an animal-protection group.

Her lawyer says the public perception of cats puts them at a disadvantage.

"I think there tends to be a culture that says dogs are more of man's best friends and cats are aloof and can't bond," Karp said. "But if anyone has ever shared their bonds with a cat, they know that's utter nonsense. I think our society tends to devalue cats, and I think the judgment recognizes that cats, too, can mean the world to people."

Still, Roemer said, that can't erase the painful memory of what happened last year in her back yard, or the loss of a cat that slept in her bed, curled up against her stomach, nearly every day since she rescued it.

Roemer was in Israel visiting friends in 1992 when she came across a heap of matted fur covered with flies. Roemer stopped to offer the cat some water from a bottle cap.

"Here's this one cat that saw me as a savior and I couldn't walk away from her," she said.

She named the cat Yofi and finagled her way through customs and back into the United States, with the tiny white and black kitten in a pet carrier.

Back in Seattle, Yofi became a fixture in Roemer's house, she said, befriending other cats and dogs she adopted.

Then, Roemer said, one day in February 2004 she heard screeching coming from her back yard and saw a neighbor's dog, a chow, holding Yofi in its jaws and shaking the cat. Roemer said she tried to rescue Yofi but lost sight of the cat while trying to save another one of her cats and get the dog out of the yard. She found the cat dead in another neighbor's yard the next day.

Roemer said Gray's dog had repeatedly escaped from its yard before the incident, partly because a fence on the side of the yard had large gaps.

Roemer said she sued Gray out of grief and frustration.

"I didn't go to court to get money," she said. "I could either burn his house down or I could go and shoot his dogs in front of him and shoot him, or I could shoot myself. So I decided to be rational and get a lawyer."

Now, the cremated ashes of Yofi rest in a small ceramic jar on a table in the living room of her small Northgate house. Behind it stands a large card with Yofi's name written across it and a montage of photos of Yofi inside.

The house is a testimony to her devotion to animals. A framed, hand-painted portrait of eight cats she has owned hangs in her bedroom. Boxes of cat-food cans rest on a spare bed in another room. A piece of cardboard sits in her living room near the television with detailed instructions on how to take care of the animals in case she can't.

Roemer still has the company of her other animals, a Husky mix named Ginger and three black-and-white cats, including the latest addition, Patsy Cline. She adopted that cat several months after Yofi died, when it cried one day as she looked at it.

She knows some people may find her odd for her love for animals. But she's past making apologies.

"It sounds crazy that I value my animals more than I do people. I help out people, too," she said. "It's just that in my personal life, I get along better with animals."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/loca...01_yofi09m.html

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"I didn't go to court to get money," she said. "I could either burn his house down or I could go and shoot his dogs in front of him and shoot him, or I could shoot myself. So I decided to be rational and get a lawyer."

The government ruled to give a woman with this type of mentality that much money?

I hope her mental ass doesn't move to Wisconsin anytime soon, the state where they ruled it legal to hunt stray cats...

WTF :pinch:

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youre taking an obviously hypothetical response out of context and then trying to insult her?... :rolleyes:

anyway, I wish theyd explained the circumstances more... I was watching the news down here in olympia all morning trying to find out what exactly happened... cause down here, plenty of people let their cats roam around and my 2 dogs have come mighty close to getting a few of them... its not my fault if people let their animals roam... :whistle:

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I agree with you, thenut. Cats typically are able to roam free, and therefore their owners should be responsible for what happens to them. However, if it was the dog that got in the neighbors yard and killed the cat, well thats different. But still, $45k!!?!?!?! I think the people should rise up and oust such an irresponsible judge.

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its just crazy, i was watching this lastnight on the news.. if a cat comes in to my dogs area and my dog kills it. why is iy my fault..

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youre taking an obviously hypothetical response out of context and then trying to insult her?...  :rolleyes:

It might be hypothetical, but they've expelled students from public schools for saying as much, and she gets directly quoted saying it and receives no reprimand. I find that as ludacris as paying her $40k for a cat which was killed by another animal, which happens in nature everyday.

:rolleyes:

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yeah, I completely agree that if the dog somehow got out, the dog owner would be responsible... I know that I control my dogs, I certainly dont allow them the opportunity to get out and when we go out, harnesses and leashes are on at all times

seeing this does make me wonder, however... Ill be moving and the laws down there are clear that if someone or something comes onto your property and is attacked or killed by a pet, you can be to blame... even if it was trespassing... I know that my rottweiler is gonna have a field day with anything that crosses into our yard... :ninja:

Zoneblitz61: schools have certain rules restricted... you dont have the same freedoms at school that you do in everyday life... you cant use that comparison at all

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It might be hypothetical, but they've expelled students from public schools for saying as much, and she gets directly quoted saying it and receives no reprimand.? I find that as ludacris as paying her $40k for a cat which was killed by another animal, which happens in nature everyday.? ? ? ? 

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There's a difference between a student making a threat and a woman saying it to make a point.

And there is a difference between a pet getting killed and animals killing each other.

For some reason, with the points you're making about this woman, I am not surprised by the way you spell ludicrous, either.

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WTF, cats suck. Hell the woman didn't even pay for the cat, it was a stray cat. All she needs to do is wait a day or so and another stray cat will show up.

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WTF, cats suck. Hell the woman didn't even pay for the cat, it was a stray cat. All she needs to do is wait a day or so and another stray cat will show up.

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REALLY! :woot: YOU THINK! :woot: NO WAY! :woot:

I mean, hell, why would she pay to feed it, take it to the vet for vaccines and checkups, and etc.?

The second half of your name is really living up to its reputation right about now... :sleep:

Yes, $45k is a lot, but we all know you'd act just as foolishly if it happened to one of your pets.

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People spend money on animals, train them to do silly tricks, give them human names and attributes. Then act all shocked when they do what thousands of years of evolution is doing.

If you let a cat wander the streets (as they naturally will), other people have the right to let their dog wander the streets (as they also will). It's also natural for dogs to attack cats - and animals don't care about legal rights!

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I mean, hell, why would she pay to feed it, take it to the vet for vaccines and checkups, and etc.?

I meant that she didn't have to pay for the cat initially. For example, my grandfather paid for my dog. This woman didn't pay for this cat.

The second half of your name is really living up to its reputation right about now...  :sleep:

Nice try with the personal attack, but they're not allowed here.

Yes, $45k is a lot, but we all know you'd act just as foolishly if it happened to one of your pets.

Speak for yourself. I'm a responsible person that doesn't want to tie up the courts with stupid lawsuits.

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Hey I love cats, but this is pathetic. No offence, but these American judges are getting worse! The dog owner forking out $45,480 - I wouldn't bluddey pay it (like I can afford that kind of money), I'd appeal like crazy for normal human justice!

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People spend money on animals, train them to do silly tricks, give them human names and attributes.  Then act all shocked when they do what thousands of years of evolution is doing.

If you let a cat wander the streets (as they naturally will), other people have the right to let their dog wander the streets (as they also will).  It's also natural for dogs to attack cats - and animals don't care about legal rights!

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dogs wander the streets ? stray dogs perhaps but what person in their right mind lets their dog wander the streets ? also im quite sure its against the law (well in this country it is) no doubt its idfferent in america oh and cats suck ? well stfu :whistle:

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I have a strong feeling the fact she went on vacation to Israel and named the cat Yofi have something to do with this - I don't know if it is partiality towards her because of race (I am assuming she is Jewish, based upon her picture and the other details)... it just doesn't sound like the sort of compensation an average person would get. The judge's name "Karp" is Jewish, I believe.

PS - This is not meant to cause offense to any race in the slightest, just an observation.

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Wow, another pointless lawsuit. Someone should tell her that everytime a pointless lawsuit is made, god kills another kitten.

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Only in the US!!! :alien: :alien: :alien:

This would never happen here in England. People here are insane about pets but it would still get thrown out of the courts. So far the same dogs that killed my cat have killed another possible 15 and I can't even get the owner to stop letting them out. Despite all the laws the owner has never even gotten a poop fine! :angry: Cocopuff killed by irresponsible owner's dogs If you visit the site please sign the guestbook - link at top of page to show your support!

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its just crazy, i was watching this lastnight on the news.. if a cat comes in to my dogs area and my dog kills it. why is iy my fault..

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because it YOUR dog

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To bad she wont see $1 of that money...

Sure in the USA, you can sue for anything, and for any amount. But the good thing about the USA, is you dont even have to pay that money! You cant go to jail for not paying.... And you cant MAKE someone pay the money. All he has is a judgment against him for $45,000. It doesnt mean he has to pay it...

Just claim bankrupcy and it all goes away.

Hell my dad had a $400,000 dollar judgement agaist him, and he still bought me my car 5 years ago...lol

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