While getting dog insurance from providers like http://www.petsathome.com/petinsurance/doginsurance may protect your pet against physical injury, there’s currently no policy that protects their everlasting souls – although this could be set to change after one strange case from New York. Dog owner Elena Zakharova is currently seeking damages from a pet shop in the Upper East Side because her Brussels Griffon puppy suffers from joint problems caused by birth defects.

Under state law, pets are considered property – but if Ms Zakharova can convince the courts that Umka is a “living soul”, the shop may be liable to pay out damages for vet bills. “Umka feels love and pain like any human being whose pain and suffering would be recognized in a court,” said Susan Chana Lask, Ms Zakharova’s lawyer.

According to Ms Lask, the goal of the legal action is to step up penalties against pet stores that procure animals from commercial “puppy mills”, where dogs are bred under conditions that can lead to genetic defects. “Umka suffers a disorder causing her pain, her legs hurt, she cries when she is in pain, she drags herself with her front paws, she cannot run like other puppies,” the lawsuit reads.