Wow! It’s Wednesday! Who Would Get the Pets if You Divorced?
So I found this Jezebel piece about a husband and wife staying together after their 2001 divorce “for the sake of their 6 dogs” all sorts of fascinating.
Apparently, neither spouse could bear to be parted from any of the dogs, and they even slept in the same bed for the first few years after their legal split, b/c the dogs, who all slept with them, created a furry wall between their bodies.
Finally the situation came to a head, and the former spouses decided to really split, each taking three dogs with them. However, a special animal psychic had to be called in to decide the fate of the white rescue pitbull that they both favored. The clairvoyant chatted with the canine and declared that he wanted to go with his father. And in 2009 the two spouses finally parted ways.
Wow.
Our youngest cat, Steve
Putting aside that these people obvs have nothing in common with me, in that they have 1) have 6 dogs, 2) were willing to stay together for 8 years beyond their expiration date b/c of them, and 3) would actually think to call an animal psychic into what is essentially a custody dispute — this article really got me to wondering about something couples almost never talk about:
Who would get the pets in case of a divorce?
I’ll be the first to admit that I love our cats, but I don’t love them the way CH loves them. He feeds them and plays with them and changes their litterbox, while I mostly just talk to them during breaks in writing and try not to trip over them when I’m walking around the house.
If the worse happened and we decided to split, the only reason I would demand the cats would be out of pettiness. And I hope to never be that petty.
But how about you? In the event of a divorce or split with your significant other, who would get the pets?
Because I'm crazy, I have pondered this before. We've got the three cats, the youngest, Lingers would go with Seen because she is madly in love with him (sleeps by his feet, skips to meet him at the door when he comes home from work, sits in front of the bathroom door when he's in there.)
I would get the middle child KoE, because even though Seen was the driver behind us bringing her home, she is my cat. She's pretty scared of everyone else, even Seen, who she's lived with for 8 years now.
The oldest would be the toss up. She's 17 and we may have to get the pet psychic to ask her who she'd want to live with. Probably whoever could best afford the vet bills. Luckily, we won't ever have to decide this stuff cause we like each other a whole lot, plus we just moved and neither one of us wants to ever pack and/or unpack again.
Why is it crazy to ponder such a question?… asks the crazy editor.
Ah, the difference is you ponder because you found an interesting article and I, being crazy, ponder unprompted.
I also, being crazy, keep a detailed list of care, feeding, personality issues and emergency pet contacts in my wallet should I ever be injured and can't communicate that somebody needs to care for the kitties. It has a kitty glamour shot for each creature.
Because I'm crazy, I have pondered this before. We've got the three cats, the youngest, Lingers would go with Seen because she is madly in love with him (sleeps by his feet, skips to meet him at the door when he comes home from work, sits in front of the bathroom door when he's in there.)
I would get the middle child KoE, because even though Seen was the driver behind us bringing her home, she is my cat. She's pretty scared of everyone else, even Seen, who she's lived with for 8 years now.
The oldest would be the toss up. She's 17 and we may have to get the pet psychic to ask her who she'd want to live with. Probably whoever could best afford the vet bills. Luckily, we won't ever have to decide this stuff cause we like each other a whole lot, plus we just moved and neither one of us wants to ever pack and/or unpack again.
Why is it crazy to ponder such a question?… asks the crazy editor.
Ah, the difference is you ponder because you found an interesting article and I, being crazy, ponder unprompted.
I also, being crazy, keep a detailed list of care, feeding, personality issues and emergency pet contacts in my wallet should I ever be injured and can't communicate that somebody needs to care for the kitties. It has a kitty glamour shot for each creature.
My husband and I actually talk about this a lot. Not because we ever think we'll split, but because I like to periodically declare that 'I'm leaving and taking the cats with me!' And then the not so serious discussion of cat custody comes up. Logically, we would probably each take one, but the idea of splitting them up is really hard to imagine. We have yet to reach a conclusion.
My husband and I actually talk about this a lot. Not because we ever think we'll split, but because I like to periodically declare that 'I'm leaving and taking the cats with me!' And then the not so serious discussion of cat custody comes up. Logically, we would probably each take one, but the idea of splitting them up is really hard to imagine. We have yet to reach a conclusion.
If we ever get around to getting a dog, my husband would 100% keep it. With our current cat, it could go either way.
But I have a better story for you. I had a friend whose parents divorced, but lived in adjacent towns. They had shared custody of the kids AND the dog. When I say shared, I mean shared. Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and every other Friday with mom, the other days with dad. The dog would jump in the car and switch along with the kids. The dog arrangement was actually part of their divorce agreement.
Then, after the kids grew up and went to college, the parents still kept up the same arrangement with the dog! After a few months they realized that switching multiple times a week didn't make sense, so they changed to switching every few weeks, and kept it up as long as the dog lived.
If we ever get around to getting a dog, my husband would 100% keep it. With our current cat, it could go either way.
But I have a better story for you. I had a friend whose parents divorced, but lived in adjacent towns. They had shared custody of the kids AND the dog. When I say shared, I mean shared. Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and every other Friday with mom, the other days with dad. The dog would jump in the car and switch along with the kids. The dog arrangement was actually part of their divorce agreement.
Then, after the kids grew up and went to college, the parents still kept up the same arrangement with the dog! After a few months they realized that switching multiple times a week didn't make sense, so they changed to switching every few weeks, and kept it up as long as the dog lived.