Animal Rights by: Deborah Lambert, April 24, 2008 It used to be so easy owning a pet. You were the boss, Fido was the dog. Today, if you get home late from work, he might sue you. Thanks to a new legal specialty called Animal Protection Litigation, there is a rapidly growing niche for those concerned with the rights of animal companions. Some say it’s growing because animals are no longer just “property,” but have true legal standing as “partial beneficiaries of estates, subjects of lawsuits and victims of abuse,” according to the Raleigh News and Observer. Proponents of the...