Washington - Animal rights took a small step forward on Wednesday when the California city of West Hollywood symbolically freed its pets from the shackles of their status as the property of humans, Patrick Smyth reports.
The city voted to change all reference in city ordinances from "pet owners" to "pet guardians" in a bid to change the way people think about their pets and get them to take more responsibility for them.
Councilman Steve Martin, the guardian of four cats, told journalists that "we have a large population of seniors and gays and lesbians for whom pets are surrogate companions and family members. They are not just property."