Pet law is a growing practice area, which uses existing legal principles, such as negligence, breach of contract, bailments, and malpractice, as well as specific state statutes that have been enacted by the legislature to protect the rights of pets and their guardians.

Most people do not realize how many issues pet law covers, including: animal abuse, animal attacks/bites, negligent injury of a pet, pet-restricted communities, ordinances limiting the number of pets a person can care for, violations of noise restrictions, problems with neighbors, assistance animals, breed restrictions, problems with animal control ("the pound"), legal issues with pet stores or breeders, and veterinary malpractice.

Simply stated, malpractice is the failure of a professional to exercise an accepted degree of professional skill or learning, due to specialized training and experience, which then results in some type of injury, loss, or damage. Examples of malpractice would include misdiagnosing you pet's injury or illness, providing a pet with the wrong medication, or failing to diagnose a pet's ailment which then leads to the pet's death.

A veterinarian is generally held to a standard of care which is higher than that of the
ordinary person, and this is due to his/her specialized training and background. In order for a vet to overcome allegations in a lawsuit based on malpractice, the vet must prove that his/her actions in treating the pet were at least the same as would have been taken by a vet of ordinary abilities and experience. This standard of care will increase based on the level of skill and specialization attributed to the individual vet.

Assuming that a legal action has been brought against you and/or your pet, you will want an attorney to facilitate a resolution as quickly, effectively, and inexpensively as possible. This ranges from negotiating a settlement to defending the case in court.

If, however, your pet has been injured or killed due to someone's negligence, an intentional act, or malpractice, you may have legal grounds to file a civil lawsuit against the responsible party to obtain damages, bring criminal charges, and possibly obtain an injunction to keep that person from harming other animals.