Fido has lawyered up.

Dogs, cats and creatures of all sorts -- once considered mere property -- are being redefined in an emerging area of legal practice known (appropriately enough) as "animal law."

According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, 92 of the 196 law schools in the country approved by the American Bar Association now offer courses on animal law, up from nine that offered classes in 2000.

This means animals are more likely (with human help of course) to sue and be sued. They're better able to fight back against abuse but more likely to be held liable for their actions. They are more often named beneficiaries, and more often the subject of custody battles in divorce cases.

Animals are becoming courtroom fodder like never before, according to ">this recent story by reporter Sarah Ovaska of McClatchy Newspapers.

The article mentions two dogs that recently inherited big money. Randall B. Terry Jr., who was the publisher of the High Point Enterprise in North Carolina, left an estimated $1 million to ensure that his six golden retrievers would be cared for after he died in 2004. After her death last year, New York hotel queen Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her Maltese, Trouble.

According to the article, a number of top law schools, including those at Duke, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and Northwestern universities, bolstered their animal-law offerings after each received $1 million from a foundation set up by Bob Barker, former host of The Price Is Right and animal philanthropist.