Those four words, “do something you love,” express a goal that many people strive for throughout their lifetime. Over the years I have grown thankful for how my life has played out, and now I wake up every morning filled with joy knowing each and every day I have the ability to practice what I love. During law school I developed a passion for several areas of the law, but one of my strongest passions centers around Animal Law.
I must confess that my love for animals has grown significantly in the past 6 years. It started when my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) and I adopted a dog. We had talked about adopting a dog for sometime prior to making the decision. We were getting ready to graduate with our master degrees and contemplated getting a “dog breath” prior to summer. We wanted the summer to become acquainted with the dog and to allow the dog to become acquainted with us. In May 2005, we were living in Gainesville, Florida and we went out to Gainesville Pet Rescue to look at the dogs that were available. Well, we were there for about 10 minutes and we saw a dark brown lab/pit mix named Karma sitting in her “prison box.” We read her card and then asked to take her for a walk. We knew instantly that we had a match.
I can still remember the Gainesville Pet Rescue workers saying that Karma was a little shy and that she may only eat tuna from a spoon when we got her home. After filling out the papers and bringing Karma home it was an instant connection and she had no need for tuna anymore. It seemed as though the three of us had lived together for years and we were all on the same page.
During law school my love for Karma and the law seemed to cross paths and the topic of Animal Law hit me in the face like a hammer hitting a nail. I realized that there were people who felt the same way about their animal and they were also using the legal system to help others with wrongly injured pets. During this time period, I found out about and attended the annual Animal Law Conference at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. This conference was a great way for people with a similar passion to get together and discuss and work towards improving the protection of animals.
This is why I love what I do, because I can take my love for animals and adapt it to practicing Animal Law. People often ask what is Animal Law? Here are just some of the sub topics of Animal Law:
Creating a pet trust
Divorces involving a pet
Veterinary Malpractice
Puppy Lemon Laws
Dogs on “Death Row”
For some their pets are a member of their family. True animal lovers would do anything for their four legged loved ones and I am honored to assist in anyway I can to assist people in protecting and helping their animals. Every time I meet someone or talk to a prospective client I know the love that I have for Karma is not an anomaly, because I can sense that I am not the only person who loves his four legged friends. Practicing Animal Law allows me to achieve the four words above; I truly get to “do something I love.”
