Is Your Dog a Legal Family Member in Michigan?

Only 6 states consider your dog a legal part of your family. Is Michigan one of those states?

I don't need a Pew Research study to tell me that dogs are like a member of my family.  A recent Pew study showed that 62% of Americans have pets and 97% of all pet owners say that pets are a member of the family just like humans.  I am lucky to live in the very dog-friendly city of Kalamazoo which is in what I would consider the very dog-friendly state of Michigan.  However, Michigan is not among the short list of states in North America that legally classify dogs as a member of your family according to the Daily Mail.

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Six States Where Dogs Are Considered Legal Family Members

• New York
• Alaska
• California
• Illinois
• Maine
• New Hampshire

Dogs bring a level of happiness to a home that a human simply can't provide.  For example, if you run to the store and come back 10 minutes later, are your kids so excited to see you that they jump around and make noises?  Nope!  But your dog is.  After finding out that Michigan isn't one of the 6 states that consider dogs a legal family member I did a deep dive. I was shocked to find that Michigan ranked near the bottom in a Forbes list of most devoted dog states.

States With The Most Devoted Dog Owners

• #17 Illinois
• #32 Ohio
• #34 Indiana
• #46 Michigan

As a person who has personally put over $20,000 into dog surgeries over the last 10 years, I'm having a hard time with these numbers.  I demand a recount.  What do you think?  Should dogs be considered a legal part of your family?