In Italy, a woman won sick pay to care for her dog with the court agreeing her absence from work was related to "serious or family personal reasons". Photo: AFP

 

ROME: An Italian woman has won her battle to be granted sick pay for days she took off to look after her poorly dog, in a first for the pet-loving country.

The woman, a Rome academic, won her case with the help of lawyers from the Italian Anti-Vivisection League (LAV), one of the biggest animal rights groups in Europe, the organisation said Wednesday.

A judge accepted the lawyers´ case that her university should count her two days off under an allowance for absences related to "serious or family personal reasons".

Their argument was underpinned by a provision in Italy´s penal code that provides for people who abandon an animal to "grave suffering" to be jailed for a year and fined up to 10,000 euros.

"It is a significant step forward that recognised that animals that are not kept for financial gain or their working ability are effectively members of the family," said LAV president Gianluca Felicetti.