While you were shopping for the holidays this year, you may have noticed more and more people walking the busy aisles cradling their puppies instead of babies. The trend is also seemingly popular in banks, which have replaced lollipops for dog treats in some branches.

Whether these beloved pets are in lieu of children, or are simply loyal companions, it is no doubt that pets have become an integral part of many families. This new family dynamic has led to changes in New York's estate laws over the years to ensure that pets are cared for upon their owners' demise.

Historically, pets were always considered property. Besides the traditional pets such as cats, dogs, birds, fish, etc., according to McKinney's Agriculture and Markets Law §108, a domestic animal is also any “domesticated sheep, horse, cattle, fallow deer, red deer, sika deer, whitetail deer which is raised under license from the department of environmental conservation, llama, goat, swine, fowl, duck, goose, swan, turkey, confined domestic hare or rabbit, pheasant or other bird which is raised in confinement under license from the state department of environmental conservation before release from captivity, except that the varieties of fowl commonly used for cock fights shall not be considered domestic animals for the purposes of this article.”