Alert! For anyone thinking of adopting a pet from a rescue organization...

[truth2power]

66. First of all, thank you, moriah, for a reasonable, polite response...

Here is an answer to your concern. From the link I posted in my OP, which, strangely enough, I don't think anyone on this thread has taken the time to read:

"Because there are a number of kinds of property, however, pets enjoy a special legal status. The law recognizes, for example, that pets are not the same kind of property as desks or cars. Rather, each state in the U.S. has laws requiring humane care of pets and criminalizing cruelty to animals. Other laws set standards for the care and handling of companion animals involved in commerce. So while pets do not have the same legal status as people, they are treated as a special type of property, a kind of property that requires humane treatment by pet owners and protects pets from irresponsible neglect and other forms of abuse by pet owners.

In contrast, under U.S. law, guardians are not owners; they are merely caretakers. Guardian status could reduce the petcare choices available to the caretakers. Legally, for example, human guardians must always act in the best interest of the "ward." What is "best" is determined by anyone with a self-proclaimed interest or expertise and who is willing to use the court system to force a caretaker to make the "best" decision."