Pets and Divorce

A recent court case in Pennsylvania has offered a glimpse at potential new laws involving the way pet custody is handled in divorce cases. The problem in the past has always been that the pets are treated as property, when to most people, pets are legitimate parts of the family. It has sometimes been hard to talk about Fido in the same breath used to discuss who gets the lawn mower. However, this new divorce case, and an incongruous criminal case, has reopened what was thought to be a closed book.

Doreen Houseman, a woman from Gloucester, Pennsylvania, was recently divorced from her husband, who got to keep Ms. Houseman’s beloved dog Dexter. However, according to Ms. Houseman, her former husband is not providing for Dexter’s health and happiness to the extent which the dog deserves, and the husband had promised her the dog and had gone back on this promise. She claims that he’s keeping the dog as a way of getting back at her, and that Dexter is unfairly suffering in the process.

In the past, this case would likely have been thrown out of the courts. But Ms. Houseman has a team of animal rights lawyers, and they’re using the Michael Vick case as a precedent. Vick was convicted in August of 2007 of running a dog fighting ring, and the government intervened to protect the well-being of the dogs. According to Ms. Houseman’s legal team, this provides a precedent of government intervention in cases in which the rights and lives of animals are being abused.

While it remains to be seen what, if any, effect this will have on the way pet custody is handled in divorce cases, it provides an interesting glimpse into what could soon be a shift in divorce law.

Contact Us

If you or someone you love is going through a divorce and is concerned about who will get custody of the pets, contact the Boca Raton divorce lawyers of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A., by calling 561-353-2800 today.