Who gets to keep the dog?

Most separated couples manage to resolve the issue of pet ownership amicably, however sometimes a dispute will arise about which person gets to keep the family pet. Often, this involves a lot of emotion from both sides given the way in which pets are often treated as members of our families and we develop strong emotional attachments to our pets.

Pets are not treated as children

Family law deals with property matters and parenting matters. Although some people would like pets to be treated as “children” in family law disputes, for the purposes of deciding where a pet should live, pets are not treated as “children” by the Family Law Act 1975. Although the Act does not specifically mention the term “pets”, pets are deemed to be within the category of “property”.

A value is not usually given to a family pet for the purposes of a property settlement. An exception to this may be where a pet produces some kind of income for one or both parties for example, through a breeding program.

Options to resolve pet disputes

You and your former spouse can resolve the issue of pet ownership a number of ways:-

1. Negotiating directly with one another to try and reach an agreement about where your pet will live and who will be financially responsible for your pet. These types of informal agreements are not legally enforceable;
2. You and your former spouse can formalise the arrangements for your pet as part of your overall property settlement, through making an Application for Consent Orders to the Court.  A Court Order is legally enforceable; or
3. If you cannot reach an agreement with your former spouse, one of you would have to make an Application to the Court for property orders, which in part, seek orders about who is to retain the family pet.

How does the court decide who gets to keep a pet?

In determining which party should keep the family pet, the Court will look at a number of factors:-

1. Which person the pet is formally registered to;
2. How and when the pet was acquired, for example, who paid for (or adopted) the pet or whether the pet was a gift from one party to the other (or from a third person);
3. Which person took care of the pet during the relationship – this includes tasks like feeding and exercising the pet and ensuring the pet was vaccinated properly;
4. The type of accommodation of the people in dispute live in and whether one type of accommodation is more suitable than the other for the pet; and
5. The financial circumstances of the parties in so far as they are able to provide for the anticipated future costs of the pet. This includes things like food and veterinary costs.

If you and your former spouse are arguing over who gets to keep your family pet, you should obtain legal advice to know where you stand and to resolve your overall property settlement matter.  Contact our office on (07) 4963 2000 or via our online contact form should you have any queries.