Bellevue Legal News: Seattle Divorce & Domestic Violence Lawyer

Divorce And Property: Who Gets The Dog?

While many people understand how painful it is to divide property and decide on child custody during a divorce, for many, letting go of a beloved family pet can also be very painful.

That was certainly the case for Gail Myers, a woman who said that since she didn’t have children, her dog Lucky meant the world to her. But when she and her husband of eight years decided to separate, both wanted to keep the small lapdog. Since dogs are seen as property – and certainly not as a child – the fight over the dog didn’t have a good solution. The Judge in charge of the no contest divorce decided, however, to treat the dog as an emotional object – and gave the divorcing couple joint custody of the animal. Gail now gets the dog six months out of the year while her ex-husband gets him for the other six months. Any vet bills are split, and if either party wants to give up custody, they can head back to court.

However, this odd court decision is not common. In most cases, a pet will continue to be seen as joint personal property and if there is an argument regarding the dog’s future, it should be sold, which each person taking half of the proceeds.

What did the judge in the Myers case have to say? “It was very clear that both of them love this dog equally,” the judge said. “The only fair thing to do was to give each one an equal chance to share in the love of the dog.”

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