Are pets companions or property?

I say they are our responsibility. That being said the law here in the state of CT has determined that they are property. In other words my dog went in for surgery that should have added years of pain free living to his life. It did the exact opposite .In fact if he had died from some sort of negligence or mal practice during surgery ect then the hospital /doctor could say "Here's $1,000....thats the going rate for a boxer".
Mr Beebs has a bacteria living in his leg.The infection raged on for so long that scar tissue formed which is a great breeding ground for bacteria. The medicine can't reach the bacteria because there is no blood supply to scar tissue.
This started on June 6, 06. It is now January 27 2007 and the dog is still recieving two shots a day and can not be let off a leash or go on walks over 5 minutes or so.His leg will fracture because it has never been able to heal with such a massive infection.
Ironically the culture report dated June 23 2006 shows the enterobacter is present in his leg. The surgeon never read the report. Not for one second do I believe that the bacteria was contracted anywhere but that hospital.The TPLO plate was either contaiminated or some one had dirty hands, dropped it on the floor....whatever but don't try and pass the buck.
So far every vet has said "Well we can't be sure he got it from the hospital."
Oh really??? Just how does a normal healthy dog contract a super bug? Isn't it a bit of a coicidence that this all started after surgery? Hmmmmm...
"I'll watch your back" seems to be the vet standard of the day.
Baloney...he got this somewhere else. To make matters worse the sugeon called it a "niggling and pesky infection"
So Mr Beebs who has spent nine years of his life visiting nursing homes and hospitals is doomed to a life of shots and pain meds.Is that justice? What about the hundreds of elderly people who have said rosaries for him, prayed for him, sent letters to the drug compamy for him? My dog is my family he is not my property he is my responsibility.If he recieves bad treatment then I expect the doctors to ALSO take resposibility for what they have done.