Help Save Abandoned Pets By Supporting Lucky's Law

This is a bit beyond my usual work, but it’s too important not to pass along.

Sometimes, animals are left behind when their humans move away.

When renters are evicted, they have a set amount of time to retrieve any property left in the unit. Only after that time has passed is the landlord or property manager allowed to remove it (I’m aware that some don’t obey this law strictly, but that’s an entry for another time). The problem is that since California law considers live animals to be property, it can be legally impossible to rescue an abandoned animal trapped in a locked rental unit. (Not a lawyer, just a former property manager.)

Living beings should NEVER be left to suffer and die when their humans fail them. That is animal abuse. I never had a tenant abandon a live animal, but if I had, I know my boss would have kept calling the tenant until they picked up and had me pet-sit the poor darling until the tenant either retrieved or agreed to surrender their pet.

Enter Kendall Kiper. When the woman across the hallway was evicted, she left her cat behind. Kendall, hearing the cat’s cries, sought help from the building manager, animal services, animal control, police, and the fire department. None of them would step in to save the cat. For weeks, Kendall kept him alive by sliding food under the door. The cat now lives with Kendall, who named him Lucky. (Please don’t give Kendall any crap about not breaking in to save Lucky; getting arrested for B&E would have put her other cat in the same situation.)

Kendall wants to close the legal gaps that fail to protect abandoned pets. You can sign the petition here.