Question: My wife and I have been married for six years and have no children. We are in the separation process and are at odds not so much over money as the custody of our three dogs. I owned an AKC registered animal before we married. During our marriage, I mated him twice, and we kept a pup from each litter. My wife now wants all three dogs, claiming that they should not be separated.

Her lawyer claims that since the money to feed and take care of my premarital pet came from funds we earned during the marriage, he has somehow been “transmuted” into marital property. The sire is registered in my name. The puppies are registered in my wife’s name. Since she works from home, she claims to have been more involved in their lives than I.

My lawyer tells me that pets are like pieces of furniture to the court system, and I should get ready to lose this issue or begin spending a lot of money because she has hired a canine psychologist to testify about what is best for our dogs.

I never thought it would come to this and want to know if there are other people who have had this problem and, if so, how they handled it. The law does not seem fair.

Answer: The number of American households that include cats and dogs as pets is astronomical, not counting those with birds and exotic animals like snakes and ferrets.
That said, it is not surprising that today’s family splits are often accompanied by issued dealing with pets. To our knowledge, there is no state law governing these issues, meaning that these disputes are determined on a case-by-case basis depending upon the facts and the case law in each state, which, if it exists, is quite sparse.

Some reported appellate court cases have ruled that since pets are personal property, they are subject solely to the laws of equitable division and, therefore, there will be no custody or visitation issues addressed.

Even where a husband and wife have signed a formal “pet custody and visitation” agreement, some courts have pointed out that regardless of how the parties liken their pets to children, pets are still personal property and there is no place in the court system for disputes about these questions.

On the other hand, some appellate courts have granted enforceable custody and visitation rights regarding a family pet in the midst of a divorce proceeding, thereby giving family pets special status.

The bottom line, therefore, is how the courts in your state will deal with this issue. Clearly, with the mounting number of cases being filed, we don’t believe that most family court judges will be quick to embrace yet another volatile and modifiable issue that will result in as much, if not more, continued bickering between the parties -- as does the custody of, and visitation with, children. With the courts being overwhelmed, it does not appear to us that adding yet another layer of supervision will fly.

Next Week: What can you do to protect yourself?