When fighting over furry friends, consider what it’s (really) worth

Pets are an increasingly hot topic in family law.  Here’s what our own Timothy Sullivan had to say about it in this week’s Advocate Daily:

Four-legged family members are often the subject of debate during separation proceedings, but — despite how much it may feel like it — pets are not considered children under Ontario law, says Ottawa family lawyer Timothy N. Sullivan.

“Pets are certainly a hot topic in separations, but they are really an issue of property and not one of custody,” he tells AdvocateDaily.com.

Sullivan points to a recent headline-making case that dealt with how to split the time of a couple’s beagle mixed breed dog which they adopted together when it was three months old.

The separating couple did not have children but spent years in mediation trying to strike a time-sharing agreement for the dog, named Pupineya, reports the Globe and Mail.

In the end, they decided Pupineya would split time between the two, even though they now live on opposite coasts — one in Virginia, the other in British Columbia.

Visit Advocate Daily to read the whole article.