Angry game owners are demanding Google (NSDQ: GOOG) compensate them for wiping out their investments in online pets. The loss of a virtual kitty may seem like a trifle to some but, in the big picture, the new lawsuit could be a bellwether for how the law treats what is an exploding market in online goods and currencies.

For those more familiar with real-life Rovers, the new legal disputes turns on SuperPoke Pets, an online game in which players chose a pet (dog, frog, sheep, etc) and then care for it an online realm with other pet owners. Many owners purchased “gold” using real life money and used the gold to buy items in the game.

That gold is now worthless after Google, which had purchased the game from a company called Slide, decided to axe it last summer. (As of March 6, the website will be gone though players will be able to load their pet onto a display case of sorts).