Who gets the pets in a divorce?

#Middlebury

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: My husband and I have decided to call it quits after seven years together. We don’t have any kids, so we’re mainly just splitting up assets. But there’s a problem: Both of us want Spitz, our little terrier mix. What can I do? Is this something that has to be decided by a judge? – Calling it Splits in Sacramento

DEAR SPLITS: Who gets the pets is an issue that often comes up in divorce. And because the way we view pets is changing – they’re more often considered an extension of the family, rather than simply property – the way judges decide who gets to keep the pets is changing too.

For example, California now gives judges much more leeway in determining who gets custody of pets in a divorce. Rather than basing the decision on who paid for or who adopted a pet, the judge can look at factors like who walks the dog every day, who takes the cat to the veterinarian and so on.

In states with no-fault divorce or states that allow mediation rather than hashing it out in court, the divorcing couple can negotiate custody of pets, taking into account factors like who fed them every day, who trained them, who paid for medical care, etc., and determine who’s going to be responsible for those things. I even know of a couple who worked out a shared-custody arrangement where one of them cared for their two dogs during the week and the other took them on the weekends.

I wish you both the best of luck and hope you’ll both agree on an arrangement that is best for Spitz.

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