Record $45,480 award in loss of pet case

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2005:

Seattle District Court Judge Barbara Linde on May 8 ordered
dog keeper Wallace Gray to pay $45,480 to neighbor Paula Roemer, 71,
for the February 2004 fatal mauling of her cat Yofi by Gray’s chow.
Gray was not living on the premises next door to Roemer at the time.
The chow repeatedly broke through the fence between the properties,
Roemer testified, before the fatal attack on Yofi and several other
cats. Gray, who did not defend against the lawsuit, told Seattle
Times reporters Warren Cornwall and Craig Welch that he had already
served 21 days in jail and three months under house arrest for a
related animal control violation. The award, including $30,000 for
the loss of Yofi, whom Roemer rescued on a 1992 visit to Israel,
and $15,000 for emotional distress, is believed to be the highest
yet in a loss-of-pet case. Roemer was represented by Washington
State Bar Association animal law section founder Adam Karp.