Three things you may not know about Oklahoma’s animal laws

by Sally Gilbert
Legal Columnist

1) You can leave your estate to your pet. If you want someone to take care of your ferret after you’re gone, you can set up a trust for that pet. Oklahoma legalized trusts for pets in 2010. At last count, there are 44 states that allow such trusts.

Under the law, a trustor - the person who creates the trust - sets aside money to take care of a domesticated animal. The trustor usually names a person or institution, known as a trustee, to take care of the trust. If a pet trust doesn’t name a trustee, the Court will appoint one. The law also provides for an “enforcer” of pet trusts. The enforcer can be someone identified by the trustor, the caretaker of the pet or a person appointed by the Court. The trustee and the enforcer cannot be the same person. The trustee is entitled to reasonable fees for taking care of the trust. The trustee must report to the court annually on how the trust money was spent. The trust lasts as long as the animal is living.

2) Oklahoma outlawed cockfighting in 2002. As of 2008 when Louisiana banned cockfighting, the sport is illegal in all 50 states. In January 2005, State Sen. Frank Shurden, a Democrat from Henryetta, tried to bring cockfighting back by proposing that the cocks wear tiny boxing gloves and vests. Shurden’s proposed legislation went nowhere fast but not before Jay Leno picked up on it. Dog fighting has been banned in Oklahoma since 1982.

Any person who takes part in putting on a dog or cockfight is guilty of a felony and can go to jail for ten years and pay as much as $25,000 in fines or both. Watching a fight is a misdemeanor, meaning up to a year in jail and a $500 fine, or both.

3) If your dog bites or injures someone, you are liable for damages to the injured party unless the injured party was trespassing on your property or the animal was provoked. People taking care of an animal for the owner can also be responsible for injury caused by the animal. The injury does not have to be a bite. If an animal knocks someone down, the owner or person taking care of the dog may be responsible.

Courts and juries are tough on animal owners whose pets cause injury, especially where the attack is vicious. In one lawsuit, the dog owner knew that a neighbor child sometimes climbed into his back yard to retrieve his toys. Under those circumstances, the jury decided that the boy was not a trespasser and was entitled to recover for his injuries. It is also hard to convince a jury that an animal has been provoked. A child that fell on a dog while the dog was eating a bone was allowed to recover damages. If the dog’s reaction to the provocation is out of proportion to the provocation, the injured party is likely to get a judgment against the owner.

Have questions about setting up a trust for your pet? Call Sally Gilbert at (405) 848-2000 (or see ad on pg. 10 of The Gayly print edition, now on newsstands).

The Gayly – May 18, 2015 @ 11:20am.