Yet another interesting topic!
Some people are very attached to their pets, particularly people who live alone, and would be quite distressed about leaving a very sick animal at home on it's own for 9-10 hours. You may find that this person is going to take that time off no matter what you call it (annual leave, sick leave, personal leave, unpaid leave).
If the law doesn't cater for this situation then I think it should be looked at on a case by case basis. If it's an employee who manages to take their full quota Personal/Carer's leave every year then you might be a bit less sympathetic than if it was someone who rarely takes Personal/Carer leave and has one long term pet that is critically ill.
There are also some moral issues to consider, such as, will the animal suffer if this person doesn't get the time off?
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