I am a dog lover and found an interesting article that I wanted to share on my blog. I have had clients agonizing over which spouse was going to get the dog. It's sad when both want the dog and fight like crazy over Fido (but working in Pet Rescue groups it's even sadder when no one wants the pet after divorce).
But when it comes to visitation schedules for Fido, unfortunately, Florida already has case law that makes "pet custody" issues void and unenforceable. If anyone is interested in reading the case law, it can be found using this citation: Bennett v. Bennett, 655 So.2d 109 (Fla 1st DCA, 1995), holding that Pets were subject to Equitable Distribution (like tangible personal property) and not subject to visitation schedules.
Looks like New Jersey is taking a different route!
Here is the article from the ABA Journal
Legal Bills in Pet Pug Custody Case Top $40K as Judge Mulls 'Subjective Value'
Posted Jul 30, 2009, 01:06 pm CDT
By Martha Neil
When Eric Dare and Doreen Houseman first asked a New Jersey judge to determine which of the two would get custody of their pet pug, Dexter, he treated the toy dog as if it were simply another item of property to be apportioned as part of the break-up of their relationship. He gave Dare the dog, because he already had possession, and awarded Houseman the $1,500 for which Dexter had been purchased.
But after a landmark ruling by a state appeals court determined that he should also have considered Dexter's "subjective value" to the parties, Salem County Superior Judge John Tomasello took a different approach, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. After hearing additional testimony,Tomasello determined yesterday that the pug is joint property, because the two shared his care while they lived together. He also found, however, that Houseman didn't prove her claim that Dare gave Dexter to her when they split, the Inquirer reports.
That still leaves undecided, however, who should get custody of Dexter. So Tomasello asked lawyers for both sides to submit briefs with their suggestions. So far, Dare and Housman tell the newspaper, each has spent more than $20,000 on legal bills pursuing the pet pug custody case. In their mid-thirties, they work as a police officer and a customer service manager, respectively. The two considered the pug their son, she testified.
Although animal rights groups have been pushing in recent years for more recognition that animals are not simply property, attorney James Carter, who represents Dare, isn't convinced that judges should be diverted from child-custody issues by pet custody issues.
"As far as the legal community goes, many attorneys realize this would be the first step down a slippery slope," he has said.
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