Animal rights is an abolitionist philosophy. It argues that sentient beings—those capable of experiencing pleasure and pain—have a moral status that prohibits their use as property. The most prominent voice here is philosopher Tom Regan, who argued that animals are "subjects-of-a-life" who possess inherent value regardless of their utility to others.

Barnaby wasn’t a "pet." He belonged to no one, which meant he was subject to the whims of everyone. To some, he was a nuisance to be shooed; to others, an invisible fixture of the sidewalk. He lived in the cracks of a legal system that often treated him more like an abandoned bicycle than a living being with a nervous system.