In Dickson v. Dickson, in 1994, a Garland County, Arkansas, court entered a consent decree ordering Mr. Dickson to pay $150 per month in dog support in a joint custody arrangement that designated the former Mrs. Dickson as the primary custodian of the animal. The parties later stipulated to a modification of the decree to give the ex-wife sole custody, with her former husband to have no further liability for the expense of the dog’s future care since he no longer had an interest in the animal.

In the case of In re Marriage of Tevis-Bliech, in 1997, the Kansas appellate court affirmed a trial court decision holding that it lacked jurisdiction to modify a divorce settlement agreement that (by contract) gave Michael Bliech visitation with Cartier, the family dog. This left visitation intact.

Although not a published court decision, Dr. Stanley Perkins, an anesthesiologist, and his wife Linda made headlines in San Diego County, California, a few years ago, when they engaged in a two-year dog fight over Gigi, a pointer-greyhound mix they had adopted from an animal shelter. Linda won custody of the dog through such legal theatrics as a canine bonding study prepared by an animal behaviorist and “A Day in the Life” video of Gigi. What was unusual was not only the astronomical legal fees incurred in the fight over Gigi, but the apparent willingness of the judge to listen to it all.

In a recent case in Alaska, the trial court tried a shared ownership arrangement between the divorcing parties and their chocolate Labrador retriever, Coho. When that did not work out, the court gave Stephen Gough custody and Julie Juelfs visitation. When that did not work out, it awarded sole custody to Stephen, meaning no visitation rights for Julie, an arrangement the Alaska Supreme Court upheld in 2002 in Juelfs v. Gough.

In spite of the foregoing cases, most courts seem to balk at entering animal custody orders. In Nuzzaci v. Nuzzaci, in 1995, a Delaware divorce court refused to sign an order agreed to by the parties that included visitation with a golden retriever. The court stated it did not believe it had authority to enforce such an order if the parties later disagreed.

In Bennett v. Bennett, that same year, a Florida appellate court refused to affirm a trial court order giving Kathryn Bennett visitation with the parties’ dog, Roddy, every other weekend and every other Christmas. The appellate court said the lower court had no authority to grant custody or visitation with personal property.