I recently had a case involving a contentious dispute over the custody of a dog and a cat. After coming close to going to trial, we were finally able to resolve the matter between the two parties through negotiation.

As an animal lover with three dogs (and formerly two cats), I understand how pets can become like close family members and a potential source of conflict in a divorce or break up.

Who gets to keep the pet? Is joint court-ordered custody or visitation possible?

You’d think that courts would base pet custody decisions on what would be in the best interest of the pet, but in Massachusetts the law defines pets as “property”, like a piece of furniture or a car. So, ownership issues, such as who paid for the pet or who pays the vet bills, can be key determinants of ownership/ custody. Other times the status quo wins, meaning that if one spouse moved out of the house and the pet has been with the other spouse for months during the divorce this might be an important factor to the court. On the other hand, child custody law and decisions are based on the standard of what’s in the best interest of the child.

However, in practice, there isn’t strict uniformity in how judges rule on pet ownership/custody. Judges will often encourage the parties to try to work out an agreement and judges will almost always defer to these agreements a long as they are fair and reasonable.

Overburdened courts typically don’t want to spend a lot of time on pet custody cases and are likely to simply grant the pet to one party based on the legal standard of “property” with little opportunity for discussion. So, it probably would be in the best interest of the parties to work out an agreement on custody (and/or visitation) before going to court.

If the parties aren’t able to come to an agreement between themselves, they could look into mediation/conciliation or, in a more extreme situation, arbitration.

Resolving pet custody conflict in the case of divorce or break up can be emotionally wrenching and can devolve into a winning at all cost melee. So, it is often useful to have a skilled attorney with mediation skills help the parties to step back emotionally and look more clearly at what would be in the best interest of the pet.