We understand that the idea of getting divorced can feel incredibly daunting, particularly for devoted dog owners where there is concern around how care of the dog will be shared moving forward. Pets are like family to those of us that have them (I myself have a golden retriever that I often refer to as my child!) and the thought of being apart from them can feel incredibly stressful.
Does the court have the power to make decisions in relation to the care and ownership of a pet in the context of a divorce?
In the UK, pets are generally considered ‘property’ in law and legal ownership will likely be determined based on who purchased or adopted the pet. However, recent case law (such as the case of FI and DO [2024] EWFC 384 (B)) indicates that Judges are increasingly becoming more willing to make orders in relation to who should have ‘custody’ of a pet by looking at who has principally looked after the dog during the relationship.
The Judgment notably states that ‘the legal authority to which I have referred provides assistance as to who has principally looked after the dog. Not who has purchased the dog, that fact in my view is not as important as to who the dog sees as her carer. This is not who had previously looked after the dog, but who does now.’
In this case, the dog was purchased jointly by the parties and had been cared for solely by the wife for 18 months post separation. The Judge recognised that the dog’s home was with the wife and that it would be upsetting for her, the dog and the children if the dog went to live with the husband. They observed that the wife clearly understood dogs, was compassionate and would always put the dog’s interests first. The husband, by contrast, had not cared for the dog at all since separation and his behaviour had been erratic (including kidnapping the dog when she was being looked after by the children’s grandmother!).
The Judge’s considered all the evidence and decided that the wife should retain ownership of the dog.
This is somewhat of an ‘extreme’ example, as there will not be many cases that go all the way to a contested final hearing where one of the key issues relates to the ownership of a dog. From a cost perspective it will always be better to try to reach an agreement outside of court (entering into a pet-nup at the outset could) but where that is not possible, it is reassuring to know that the court will approach these issues sensibly.
If you are purchasing a new pet with your spouse, entering into a pet-nup at the outset (detailing what should happen to your pet if you separate) could be a good option for you. For more information on a pet-nup we have two articles you can read: