Custody of Barney, the Dog

The attachment of humans to their pets can run deep. In a Pennsylvania case, a man sought an injunction to mandate “shared custody” of Barney, a dog, purchased by the wife from an animal shelter during the marriage. The written agreement between the parties provided, “Barney is [wife’s] property and she will have full custody.” The agreement also provided that the husband would be able to visit Barney. When the wife moved to a new county, she no longer made the dog available for visitation. The trial court dismissed the husband’s complaint for “shared custody” and the Superior Court affirmed, stating: “In seeking ‘shared custody’ and a ‘visitation’ arrangement, Appellant appears to treat Barney, a dog, as a child. Despite the status owners bestow on their pets, Pennsylvania law considers dogs to be personal property... The Agreement in question explicitly awarded this property to Appellee… Appellant, however, overlooks the fact that any terms set forth in the Agreement are void to the extent that they attempt to award custodial visitation with or shared custody of personal property... As the trial court aptly noted, Appellant is seeking an arrangement analogous, in law, to a visitation schedule for a table or a lamp. This result is clearly not contemplated by the statute.”

Source: Desanctis v. Pritchard (Pennsylvania Superior Court, 2002).