Who gets custody. That's the question being asked in
courtrooms across the country a in many cases, it has
nothing to do with kids. It's humans fighting with each
other and the animals just sitting there and trying to,
you know, not be part of it, be it for a break up or
full on divorce. Couples are increasingly seeking legal
counsel for determining who takes custody of their dogs.
Cats, birds or even turtles as they part ways. It's a
trend that's been on the rise for decades playing out
in court TV shows and movies like this scene illegall
Blonde. Tell him Paulette, I'm taking the dog. So
what's driving these pet custody disputes The problem
is the change of the family. Um There aren't kids to
fight over anymore. Um So many couples choose not to
have Children. And so the pet, the companion animal
does become the child substitute. David favor is
professor specializing in anima law at Michigan State
University, similar to disputes over Children. He says
pets have become a contentious point of control fo
separating couples. Families have gotten smaller and
many people live alone and have an animal and then join
up with another human and that partnership, you know
falls apart. And so they have to hold on to that animal
for their own emotional well being in favor is right.
The family dynamic in the US is changing according to
the data collection platform. Saa the average family in
the US had 2.44 kids in 1965 whereas families in 202
average roughly 1.94 kids per household. Meanwhile,
Forbess advisor reports that us households with pets
jumped from 56% in 1988 to 66% of 2023 with millennials
making up the largest percentag of pet owners at 33%
fall by Gen Xers at 25% and baby boomers at 24%. I
remember one time I had a phone call from a woman who
said, you know, her life depended upon her getting
custody from her husband in a divorce and I'm sitting
there thinking, well, I'm very sorry you feel that way.
But I want to know what's the best interest of the
animal depending on what state you're in. That's a
question. More and more courts are taking into when
reviewing pet custody disputes. There have been laws
passed in recent years in states like Alaska,
California and Illinois that will specifically direct
courts to take into account the interest of the animal.
Um when dividing property during a divorce proceeding,
Christopher Berry is a managing attorney at the animal
Legal Defense Fund. And so far in 2023 lawmakers have
introduced pieces of legislation in Tennessee and
Pennsylvania, they would ask judges to consider what's
best for the pet. And Barry says more states will
likely follow suit. There's a disconnect between what
is happening in the law a lot of the times and what we
feel as uh families and as a society. But the law in a
lot of ways is still holding on to the traditional i
that an animal is no different than a piece of
furniture or a tractor or some other piece of personal
property that doesn't have any other value outside of
its uh monetary or market value. Since pets are still
widely considered property, oft the person who has
the most financial investment will retain custody of
the animal. They purchase receipts, vet bills and
training, but that isn't always the best fit for the
animal. So where does that leave couples And more
importantly, pets, I started this work out of necessity.
Kara Snay is a pet custody mediator and animal beh
expert who spent nearly 30 years working with families
and their pets. She says it is crucial couples discuss
who should keep the pet in the case of a separation
from the very beginning. Instea of a prenup, it's a
pet up at that moment, be adult enough to say, listen,
what we need to have one owner for this animal. So that
if if this doesn't work out, we know where the dog is
going. Nobody wants to have that conversation, nobody
likes what that conversation implies. Nay says,
unfortunately, the media's coverage of high profile
celebrities battling over their pets has fueled the
idea that pet custody is something that needs to be
thought over. For me. The sad part about that, that
story is it, it sort of pushes the narrative that it
should be a fight, it that it's ok to fight about it,
that it's like normal to fight about it because a
famous person did. Um And that's just a shame because
it doesn't need to be like that. It absolutely doesn'
You, you shouldn't feel righteous that you should fight
about um something like that as for who should take
custody. NAFTA says it's important to consider factors
like in time, time and the health needs of the animal.
People are often um without realizing it using thei
dog as a weapon or kind of a bargaining chip betwe
there and their, them and their ex. They're either um
not willing to give the dog up, not because they're
that attached to the dog, but because they're not
actually ready to say goodbye to their ex. You have to
really look at each dog as an individual, look at the
health, any health issues the dog has, look at the
exercise needs, the dogs have um kind of what does this
particular dog need to be happy as for split in custody,
NAFTI says, not so fast. People need to take a step
back and realize that by doing that they are setting
themselves up to be in constant contact with their ex
for years going forward. And in my experience, this
often um becomes unsustainable after a time, whether
it's a few months, sometimes a few years. Looking ahead,
Nafti says she expects courts will continue to evolve
in how they approach pet custody disputes. And she
hopes pet owners will do the same. They're not just
things, but they're not people either. There's
something different. And so we have to um really see
them as the species that they are the breed that they
are Meg Hilling scripts, news, Chicago.