The Challenge of Balancing Your Career & Caring for Companion Animals

I was recently presented with an opportunity to work abroad with an attorney in India for several weeks this summer. As a busy law student pursuing a career in international animal law, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better chance to get hands-on experience at my dream job. My first reaction: Yes! I’ll do it! Perfect! Excited!

And then reality struck: What on earth will I do with my three companion animals while I’m gone for an entire summer?! Not only do I have two dogs and one cat (a large number by typical law student standards), but each has their own issues that may make him or her hard to place. My cat, Kitten, is FeLV positive. My dog, Ajay, has dog aggression issues. My other dog, Hershey, needs large amounts of exercise to keep her energy level under control. How will I ever find other people willing to take on less-than-perfect companions for the summer?

As I started to face the task of finding temporary foster homes, I realized that so many of us are faced with a similar challenge: how do we choose between our companion animals and our career?

Obviously for most of us, we’re in the animal law field (law students, attorneys, advocates, etc.) because we like animals. I’m sure a lot of us really love animals. For many of us, that love of animals extends to our own companion animals. We are tasked with dividing our time between working for the greater good of animals and maintaining healthy, positive relationships with our own.

Whether it’s deciding to put in extra hours at the office or traveling away from home for days, weeks, or months on end, finding balance is a challenge to which those of us with companion animals can relate.

Personally, I try to “make up” for lost quality time. If I know I’ll be putting in some extra hours at the law library in the coming week, I try to make an extra effort to take Ajay and Hershey on runs and car rides (their favorite activities) or spend some extra snuggle time with Kitten. Doing this helps me feel slightly less guilty when I head out the door for what is surely going to be a long day away from home.

I got incredibly lucky by finding three wonderful people to care for my animals while I’m gone. Kitten gets to stay in my apartment for the summer and live with the woman, Anne, subletting it. Ajay, the troublemaker, will be living in a large house with a series of gates keeping him separated from the other dogs in the home until he feels comfortable enough to make friends with them. Hershey, my bundle of energy, will be hanging out with two other energetic dogs and will enjoy daily trips to the dog park.

Through my search for caretakers, I realized that I couldn’t take care of my three animals without the help of my wonderful network of family and friends. They are the ones that help me find and maintain a balance between working for animals in general and caring for my own. There will hopefully be numerous times throughout my career when I have the opportunity to travel abroad and now I know that I’ll be able to take advantage of those opportunities thanks to my network of support.

So, to Anne, Lily, and Karen, the amazing people who will be caring for and loving my companion animals for the entire summer, I express to you my deepest gratitude. And to my friends and family who help me daily, whether by letting my dogs out if I can’t make it home or understanding if I need to leave an engagement early, I also send you big thanks.

I wrote this on the airplane on my way to India for a three month stay. I’ll send lots more updates of my travels and am looking forward to expanding my knowledge of international animal law.

Claire Czajkowski
J.D. Candidate 2013
Lewis & Clark Law School




Claire & Ajay





















Just Ajay

Hershey & Kitten

Our Hen House on Summer Animal Law

Mariann Sullivan of Our Hen House blogs about the Summer Intensive Animal Law Program. Read Mariann's post.

Everything Happens for a Reason

As Student Conference Coordinator for the 2011 Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark, I have been reading the newly published Animal Law in Nutshell, in an effort to gain a broader grasp of the myriad issues animal law encompasses. It leaves me wondering..."What do I want to focus on as an animal lawyer?"

The idea of becoming a lawyer is fairly new to me. I studied psychology and music in college, pretty set on becoming a music educator or music therapist. Through a story I refer to as, "The Best Disaster That Ever Happened," I found myself in Hong Kong for a summer, unable to volunteer at the organization I was scheduled to be at, and in need of a network of people with whom I could spend a few months. Animals Asia Foundation took me in, and I spent my summer helping with their moon bear campaign and teaching 'Professor Paws' courses. Professors Paws classes entailed bringing a certified therapy dog into a Chinese government-run classroom, and while teaching the children English, teaching the children to love and respect dogs and animals. At the end of four one-hour sessions over the course of four weeks, the children graduated as official "Pet Cadets," ready and able to stand and take a pledge to protect all animals.

Watching the children transform over the four weeks was so touching to me. I know how much my dog has meant to me growing up, and being able to share that love of an animal with children who formerly viewed them as dirty or scary - what a feeling being able to share something so important to me. Animals Asia's lawyer invited me back the following summer to work directly under her supervision, and well, the rest is history.

So here I am, in law school at Lewis & Clark, studying animal law, and wondering what I am actually going to DO once I pass the bar. I was inspired this morning by an email my dad sent me. I sent him a news article about a fox that accidentally stepped on the trigger of a gun, shooting the hunter that had been aiming to shoot him. My dad replied to my email with this little story:

Can you imagine the fox going back and telling his other fox friends what happened. He sits there with his bandaged wound telling the story: "So after I shot him, I told that hunter 'Don't you ever come back here again!' And then the hunter just ran away crying like a little baby."

They all laugh hysterically, emboldened for their own next encounter with a hunter. But suddenly, a small twig snaps in the bush. A hush goes over the crowd until they realize it was just an overweight squirrel. They go back to their laughing at the hunter, but perhaps a little bit more nervously than before.

Thanks for brightening up my day. I like to see the little guy win at least once in awhile.

Growing up with my parents, it would be impossible not to love animals. My favorite childhood story is from the time my parents let some squirrels live in our attic all winter, because despite the fact that they were eating our house, the squirrels had babies and my parents didn't want them to die in the cold. My mom used to come home with new companion animals it seemed like every week for a while - and every single one of them was the runt of the litter, or the bird that had plucked all its feathers out, or another animal that desperately NEEDED love and care. My parents gave me binoculars when I was little to watch the birds in the woods behind our home more closely. I could go on and on about all the ways in which my parents instilled in me a love and respect for animals, both companion and wild.

I was intrigued by the notion of studying animal law because it seemed that the law would be the most effective way to make change for the most animals. By changing the laws, and changing the infrastructure of our legal system as to not view animals as property, we can help an infinite number of animals. But as I re-read my dad's email this morning, and reflect on my experience teaching in Hong Kong, I am realizing that perhaps equally important as changing the law is campaigning for widespread humane education. If every child grew up hearing the values that my parents instilled in me, maybe we wouldn't need to have a law making it illegal to abuse a living being.

Maybe I will become an educator after all. As they say, everything happens for a reason.

Jaclyn Leeds J.D. Candidate 2013 Lewis & Clark Law School

Finding Balance

Tonight I have forty pages of reading and legal writing work to complete. For the last few weeks I have been on a wild hunt for a summer job. Plus, I have to deal with life issues that do not stop just because I am in law school.

How am I supposed to keep up with all of this and still take the time to get involved in the many animal law opportunities available at Lewis & Clark Law School? Just keeping up with opportunities available through the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies is tough. Plus, how am I supposed to do everything I want and keep current on animal protection issues? After all, like many of my peers in L&C's Animal Law Program, animals are the reason I am in law school. I am pretty sure I am not the only one who constantly thinks about the issue of finding some semblance of life balance while studying law (or at least I hope not).

I have been working hard trying to figure out how to balance it all. I don’t have any fabulously wise advice for anyone but what has been working for me is to get involved a little at a time. Add one straw to the camel’s back, feel it out, and then see if you can add another. After all, I'm pretty sure no one in the Animal Law Program wants a broken camel back literally or metaphorically.

Jokes aside, I think all law students should remind themselves everyday why they are studying law. Whether the goal is to run a successful business, become the world's greatest criminal defense lawyer or work in animal protection, we must stay focused and keep our eye on the prize. Otherwise, we risk getting too caught up fearing embarrassment in class should we say something wrong, or with what a particular torts case is about, or whatever the case may be. We are all here for a more important reason; we should remember that.

For me, I'm here with the ultimate goal of helping to better the lives of animals. I'm biased of course, but I think this is such a great goal that any of us here for the same purpose should stay laser-focused on it. While animal law is a growing field, it is still small and we are all needed if we want to make a real difference in the lives of animals. So, who cares if I get something wrong in class. I'm in class to learn and making mistakes is part of that process. What really matters is my ultimate goal.

This is my first-ever blog posting. I was told today blogging is the way of the future, so I decided to jump right into it. I hope to be back to share more thoughts but for now, I still have civil procedure waiting for me and I want to be able to get some much-needed rest.

Oh, and just in case you haven’t already heard, Dr. Ramona Ilea, Ph.D., of Pacific University will be speaking about “Philosophical Perspectives on Animals” at Lewis & Clark Law School on January 20^th from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. in McCarty Classroom 1.

Michelle Pawliger J.D. Candidate 2013 Lewis & Clark Law School

Michelle with Rogue, a rescue she helped rehabilitate at Sanctuary One.

Michelle at the Oregon Coast.

Lessons From the 18th Annual Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark

Well, the 18th Annual Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark has come and gone, and what a weekend! I so enjoyed my first Lewis & Clark conference. I felt proud to be a member of this remarkable community and to share our school with people from around the world. I learned vast amounts about many different animal law issues and was both daunted by all the work that has to be done for the animals as well as inspired by all the groundbreaking achievements that have been done.

The most striking piece of information I learned this weekend was in a panel with Nancy Perry, vice president of government affairs at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). She was discussing the bills that she is hoping will get passed before the end of this congressional session, rapidly approaching on January 3rd. One of the bills being considered is The Truth in Fur Labeling Act (H.R. 2480). If passed, it would close the loophole left in the Fur Products Labeling Act of 1951 that exempts the labeling of fur products valued under $150.

According to Congressman Jim Moran, author of the bill and co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, 13% of the fur market falls beneath the $150 threshold. Additionally, recent investigations conducted by HSUS found “a proliferation of falsely labeled and falsely advertised fur on fashion clothing sold by some of the largest names in U.S. retailing.” Of the mislabeled (labeled as “faux fur”) and unlabeled fur-trimmed jackets tested by HSUS, 96% were found to be domestic dog, wolf, or raccoon.

• Read the text of the bill at this link.

• Read the Fur Products Labeling Act as it is currently.

Here is the text of the Act that desperately needs amendment:

(d) The term "fur product" means any article of wearing apparel made in whole or in part of fur or used fur; except that such term shall not include such articles, other than any dog or cat fur product to which section 308 of the Tariff Act of 1930 applies, as the Commission shall exempt by reason of the relatively small quantity or value of the fur or used fur contained therein.

I was both shocked and disgusted to learn this. I don’t know how many times I’ve bought boots with “fur” on the interior, assuming that since it wasn’t labeled as fur and the boots only cost $30, well then of course the fur wasn’t real! Was it? I certainly hope not. The realization of this possibility really drove home for me how significant each subtle word is in the law. Yikes. Every word counts. A single clause allows products containing dog fur to go unlabeled – unbelievable.

On a lighter note, I was so excited this morning to come to school and see all of my animal law peers. I feel like we all bonded this weekend. I was particularly struck by something L&C Animal Law Clinic Director Kathy Hessler said in the last panel, “Student Career Summit.” She advised us students to not consider our peers as competition, but rather as colleagues. The spirit of the conference really supported that notion - that everyone in this field needs to support each other.

Pamela Frasch and Joyce Tischler offered an engaging panel on social movements, examining the civil rights and women’s suffrage movements and using them to predict the future of the animal rights movement. A question that arose was, is it good or bad that the animal rights movement is so dispersive?

While I have mixed feelings on that, I do believe what is perhaps most important is not that we all agree on what is the “correct” way to go about securing rights for animals, but instead, that we all need to help each other help animals. I think for this field to really see wide success, we will all need to put our varying creative ideas together and support each other in our efforts.

That said, I am so excited to work with my peers at Lewis and Clark Law School, with my peers nationally who are passionate about making a difference for animals, and with the remarkable leaders already paving the way for present and future change.

Thanks to everyone for making this conference such an enriching experience!

• Visit the conference website.

Jaclyn Leeds J.D. Candidate 2013 Lewis & Clark Law School Jaclyn Leeds & Fellow 1Ls, Kelly LaToza & Lora Dunn

Nancy Perry, Vice President of Government Affairs, The Humane Society of the United States ( L&C Alumna)

Kathy Hessler

Animal Law Clinic Director, Lewis & Clark Law School

Pamela Frasch Assistant Dean/Executive Director, Center for Animal Law Studies & Joyce Tischler Founder/General Counsel, Animal Legal Defense Fund

A Note From Incoming 1L Jaclyn Leeds

A few shots from Jaclyn and Ebony's recent trip to the Oregon Coast. Although I have only been in Oregon for a couple of weeks, I already feel that this is home. Everyone has some measure that indicates when a house (or in this case apartment) becomes a home; for me, it is refrigerator magnets. Now that my fridge is covered, I am home. I just officially relinquished my New Hampshire driver’s license for an Oregon one. I never thought I would go to school on the West Coast, but when I flew out to visit Lewis and Clark, it was love at first sight. I got greeted by dogs! And their proud guardians! What better place to study animal law than at a school where most everyone loves dogs?! My dog whom I’ve had for almost 12 years sadly stayed at home with my family, but last week I welcomed Ebony into my home. Ebony is a gorgeous 10-month lab mix, and why anyone would not want this dog is completely befuddling to me, because she is the sweetest, most loving dog on the coast (I am not biased, of course). So now I have magnets on the fridge and a dog at my feet – I just need to join a choir and a synagogue, and my life will be complete. And, as at the beginning of every new season, I’ve made a list of goals that always seem hardest to fulfill: eat dinner at the kitchen table every night with nothing in front of me but my food, try at least one new recipe every month, go for a run with my dog every day, actually frequent the gym I just joined and maybe even join a fitness class to have some accountability, sing whenever I am stressed, read a few pages of something for pleasure every night before I sleep, and start each day with a smile. Jaclyn Leeds J.D. Candidate 2013 Lewis & Clark Law School

Conference Registration Open!

I'm thrilled to announce that registration opened today for the 17th annual Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark! This year's conference is titled Animal Law: The Links and will focus on animal law and its link to other areas of the law and professional disciplines, philosophies, and social movements. Expect panel sessions on the link between animal law and: domestic violence, climate change, international trade, religion, the media, and many more exciting topics. And you won't want to miss keynote speakers: Nicholas D. Kristof, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and New York Times columnist, and Jonathan R. Lovvorn, Vice President & Chief Counsel for Animal Protection Litigation & Research at the Humane Society of the United States! For more information and to register for the conference please visit our conference website at: www.alawconference.org. Questions? Please email us at alawconference@lclark.edu.

Amicus Curiae Brief in U.S. v. Stevens

We are very pleased to report that CALS successfully spearheaded one of our most favorite projects to date. On behalf of a group of animal law professors from across the nation, we filed an amicus curiae brief for the U.S. Supreme Court in the animal cruelty case of U.S. v. Stevens. In this brief, we argued that preventing animal cruelty is a compelling governmental interest and should be held as such by the Court. If the Justices agree, their decision will have historic implications for animals throughout the United States. We filed our brief on behalf of a group of animal law professors to provide our expertise to the Court. We are happy to report that our List of Signatories included 45 professors representing 50 different law schools from across the country. Read this historic amicus curiae brief.