Dogs, cats and creatures of all sorts are being redefined in an emerging area of legal practice known as animal law. Once considered mere property, animals are being invested with legal standing as they're increasingly being named as partial beneficiaries of estates, subjects of lawsuits and victims of abuse.

As animals rise in the law, so does the profile of animal lawyers, or lawyers who practice animal law.

Ninety-two of the 196 law schools in the country approved by the American Bar Association now offer courses on animal law, up from the nine that offered classes in 2000, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

"You're seeing this real snowball effect," said Pamela Alexander, director of the defense fund's animal law section.

Part of the push has come from animals' rise in prominence in people's lives, with owners routinely spending thousands of dollars to give a cat chemotherapy and sending dogs to day care, therapists and groomers.

High Point publisher Randall B. Terry Jr., whose name will adorn N.C. State University's new veterinary hospital, left an estimated $1 million to ensure that his six golden retrievers would be cared for after he died in 2004. After her death last year, New York hotel queen Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her Maltese, Trouble.

A number of top law schools, including those at Duke, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and Northwestern universities, bolstered their animal law offerings after each received $1 million from a foundation set up by Bob Barker, former "The Price Is Right" host and animal philanthropist superstar.

North Carolina is warmly regarded by animal rights activists. They point to a state statute that allows people to bequeath money to pets and clears the path for lawsuits against animal abusers.

Lawyer Calley Gerber is among North Carolina's pioneers in representing four-legged clients. She gave up a job as a corporate lawyer to start a practice dedicated to animals with no idea whether she'll be able to eke out a living.

She switched after deciding she had made the best use of her law degree when she spent five years as an animal cruelty prosecutor in Colorado.

"Everyone says you can't make a living doing it," Gerber said. "But I decided, well, I'm going to try."

As the awareness of animal law grows, practitioners like Gerber are finding more need for their expertise. Lawyers address legal issues such as what happens to pets that are abandoned, involved in divorce custody disputes or left behind after an owner dies.

Uncharted territory

Animal law disputes still take place in largely uncharted legal territory and revolve around questions about the inherent rights of animals, said William Reppy Jr., a Duke law professor.

Reppy, who started Duke's animal law clinic, said the newness of animal law is inviting to activists who see a chance to define new rights, as the areas of civil rights and environmental law have become more established and settled.

"Here's an area where it's still bad," Reppy said. "People with an activist mentality can see there's room to do something."

At Duke, an animal clinic puts law students to work on animal-related issues, from cruelty to the drafting of animal control ordinances, Reppy said.

But the increased training has outpaced job creation in animal law.

Reppy said many of his students are taking conventional jobs in law firms and offering their expertise when animal issues come their way, or they're doing pro bono work for local humane societies and shelters.

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