Remember the old country ballad, "I'll Take the Dog"?

I used to love to sing along to it on family road trips. Don't judge my 9-year-old musical taste. The options were limited!

The divorcing couple both wanted to keep the dog. They divvied up everything else including the records, the hi-fi set and the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink but when it came to the dog, neither of them would budge.

Such was their devotion to the dog, they decided they'd have to stay together!

 

 

For the extreme majority of the 46,000 plus couples who divorced last year in Australia, this is not how things panned out and they were faced with making decisions around who kept the pets.

 

Pet Stats

Animal Medicines Australia released its last Pet Ownership in Australia report in November 2016.

With numbers estimated to be in excess of 24 million pets in Australia and 62% of Australian homes owning at least one pet, Australia continues to have one of the highest pet ownership rates in the world.

 

Dogs vs. Cats

Are we a nation of cat lovers or dog lovers? Well, if it was on numbers alone, it would be neither. In fact, fish would win.

Dogs are the most popular type of pet with almost 40% of households owning a dog.

Cats were the next most common type of pet with nearly 30% of households owning a cat.

Fish were the most numerous pet type, with a total population of 8.7 million in 2016.

I’m a dog lover and whilst we also have a beautiful 16-year-old cat, and a cute-to-some little dog, Zinzi Purple, we added to the dog numbers this week with the introduction of NEO to our family.

Introducing, NEO.

 

Pets and Family Law

There are philosophical and ethical discussions and guidelines created around the welfare of animals as sentient beings. However, in family law, animals do not have any rights in their own capacity and they are afforded a status like that of inanimate objects; they are considered as property.

Pet custody cases are relatively new and undeveloped. American family courts, however, have a long history of dealing with these cases. In Australia, courts have very limited capacity to deal with such issues and anecdotal evidence tells me that with the Family Courts already unable to keep up with demand, a pet custody case will be given limited status. Perhaps alternative dispute resolution with a mediator or arbitrator is the better way to approach the situation.

It is generally accepted that a partner who owned a pet prior to the marriage will retain the pet in the property settlement.

Pets acquired during the relationship, however, will most likely be awarded to the individual who can prove the stronger ownership rights. Like the couple in the song, things like time spent with the animal, where the funds to purchase the pet came from, and receipts of expenses such as grooming bills and veterinary care would be taken into account.

However, the Companion Animal Act gives guidance to how an individual may vest ownership over a companion animal and that is usually by means of registration by the owner or the person which the animal is kept with, or associated for therapy, assistance or companionship.

 

Pets or Livestock?

Where animals are pets but also generate an income for the owner, as in the case of breeding cats or dogs, there is a grey area as to whether they are assumed to be pets or livestock.

As livestock, pets are considered within the overall business of breeding or farming. In this instance, records of expenses and day-to-day involvement with the animal become even more relevant.

 

Options to consider

Call me callous but I’m of the view that there would be few (if any) of the 8.7 million fish pets in Australian households who are particularly attached to one spouse or child owner over the other.

Cats and dogs, horses and birds, on the other hand, can be, and often are, impacted by the turmoil of a family breakdown and separation from one or more family members.

Here are some points to consider when making a divorce plan for your pets:

• Which spouse works longer hours than the other, or travels more often?

• Is the pet registered to either party as a support animal?

• Who had the pet first? In many cases, it makes sense for the pet to stay with the person who brought it to the relationship.

• Does the pet favour the children or one spouse over the other? Everyone wants to think the animal loves them but realistically, who is the pet more bonded to? With whom will the pet have the least trouble adapting to their new circumstances?

• If the pet belongs to a child, in whose home will the child be spending the most time and which parent will be better equipped to look after the pet when the child is not there?  

• If your family has multiple pets, is splitting them between the two new households an option? 

• Would you be able to manage a friendly “pet share” arrangement that allowed each of you plenty of time with the pet, say, one month on, one month off? For this arrangement to work, you’d need to ensure that the pet would be relaxed with the constantly changing environments. It may not work for an older, more finicky pet who’s particular about their routine.

• If one of you is going to remain the primary carer for the pet, could you agree with your ex-partner being your go-to pet sitter? This would mean they are able to spend at least some time with their old friend instead of sending them to an expensive pet hotel or bringing strangers in to care for them.

• Could sharing ‘custody’ of your pet help you to develop an amicable working relationship with your ex or is it going to be a continual source of conflict?

• Keeping the pets can make it difficult (not impossible), to secure rental accommodation. Are you going to be able to provide a suitable home for your pets?

• It may be a little extra work to care for the pet on your own and might be a drain on your financial situation once you have the additional costs of maintaining your own home. These are things that you will need to consider in relation to the great source of comfort, companionship and healing a pet can bring to your home after a divorce.

 

The bottom line is with all the consequences of the difficult decisions you are making when you separate, what is in the best interests of your pet and each party individually?

 

You may also like to read:

Pets at risk program: Helping keep pets in domestic violence safe

How to think optimistically about your future after separation

How to harness the power of your transition

How to minimise conflict and costs in divorce property settlement

7 Ways parents can help children cope with separation and divorce

 

 

Published by, Christine Weston
Founding Director and Creator of Divorce Resource and loving owner of Zinzi Purple, NEO and Casper the Friendly Cat