A reader of this blog has queried what the legal position is in relation to ‘custody’ of the dog when couples split. So before I pop out to walk my own special pooch here’s a few thoughts:
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At first it might sound stupid to be fighting over a dog like it is a child. Indeed, objectively speaking it is also stupid to be fighting over a child – if only the parents could see where the child’s best interests lay and follow those there would be no dispute. Of course, it’s not that straightforward either with kids or dogs. And as any family lawyer will tell you where couples have split decision making is often based on emotion rather than cold objectivity or commonsense.
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As a dog owner I also know how important a dog can be to a person, indeed to a relationship. My husband and I have an agreement that if we split I get the house and he gets the dog. Although this is a running joke (which he tells alongside the one about being married to a divorce lawyer) there is a grain of seriousness in it. For the next couple of weeks at least (until our human child is born) Zach the wolfhound is our 10 1/2 stone baby and either of us would be heartbroken to lose him. And lets face it a dog is a non-judgmental companion in times of loneliness who rather than wanting to take us for every penny wants nothing more than to take us for a walk.
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That said, there have been various articles in the press lately about celebrity divorce disputes involving the custody of a dog. Most of them hail from the USA (why am I not surprised?) and therefore are not a reliable guide to the legal position here (see for example Family Lore or Kathy Gleeson’s blog). Hence ‘calling competitions’ or the involvement of veterinary or other animal experts to consider the welfare of the dog or the strength of its bond to one or other owner are unlikely to arise in this jurisdiction. It seems as if in some US States there is animal welfare law which dictates that the decision must be based upon the dog’s best interests, rather like the Children Act 1989 operates in this jursidiction! And in other areas of the US vets or animal experts are called upon to adjudicate over some kind of quasi-arbitration. Continue Reading…