Roxy the Bed Bug Dog: The End of Secure Property Rights in Working Animals?

Roxy is a “specially trained bed bug sniffing dog,” owned by M & M Environmental—a bed bug exterminator—and kept for four years at the home of M & M employee Barry Myrick; Myrick and Roxy “work[ed] together visiting homes and business to determine whether bed bugs were present.” Myrick had agreed at the outset that he “must return Roxy to M&M immediately upon the request of the Employer or upon the conclusion of my employment.” The company paid for Roxy’s food and medical care.

In March 2020, Myrick was either laid off or quit (there’s a dispute about), but never returned Roxy. M & M sued to get Roxy back so she could “resume her bed bug sniffing duties” (M & M Environmental v. Myrick), but Monday New York trial court Judge Paul A. Goetz said no:

Traditionally under New York law, dogs and other companion animals such as Roxy have been treated as personal property. However, in light of the many protections afforded animals under the law, a growing body of case law has started to recognize that dogs fall within a special category of property that is treated differently from other types of personal inanimate property (Ferger v Warwick Animal Shelter, 59 AD3d 68 [2nd Dept 2008] [observing that trusts may now be created for pets upon the death or incapacitation of their human companions and pets may now be included in orders of protection issued by Family Court]). The question then arises what standard should be applied when determining custody and ownership of this special category of personal property.

In Travis v Murray, the court, in the context of a divorce action, was called upon to decide with whom Joey, a miniature dachshund, should live. After a thoughtful and extensive survey of the law concerning pets, the Travis Court determined that the most appropriate standard to apply when deciding with whom a pet should reside is the one found in the First Department case, Raymond v Lachmann (264 AD2d 340, 341 [1st Dept 1999]), the “best for all concerned” standard.

{Other courts have cited Raymond for the proposition that the appropriat