Whose Leash is it Anyway Lines from Linda F or the sec- ond time the Ameri- can Ken- BY LINDA AYERS TURNER KNORR
Anastasia Maria Hall captures AKC Companion Animal Law Writing Award
the home, or potential abuse or neglect situations. Likewise, in the event a pet is taken into custody of animal control or police, the owner must rely on statutes that usually follow a strict property analysis. Rebecca J. Huss, Article: Separation, Custody and Estate Planning Issues Related to Companion
nel Club has honored law students through their AKC Compan- ion Animal Law Writ- ing Contest. Open to all students currently enrolled at an Ameri- can Bar Association accredited law school, the competition awarded $2,500 for first place and $500 for
Animals, 74 U. Colo. L. Rev. 181, 209 (2003). PET CUSTODY AFTER A DIVORCE
There are three different methods that courts use to divide personal property during a divorce. Jessica Fox, Com- ment: The Use of Agreements in the Resolution of Pet Cus- tody Disputes, 85 UMKC L. Rev. 455 (2017). The first method is title-based distribution, used in California, Louisiana and New Mexico, which leaves judges little or no discretion. Id at 462. Using this method, spouses own the property as they owned it during the marriage and gifts to each spouse are kept respectively. Id. The second method is pure equi- table distribution, used in Hawaii and Iowa, which leaves the judge much more discretion. Id at 462-463. Here, all personal property is split in a manner that the judge sees as just and proper. Id at 463. The third method is equitable distribution of community property, which states operate in
second place. Jennifer Jacobs, a second year student at Boston College of Law School won first place with her paper, “Curtailing Com- panion Compensation.” It explored the impact non-economic damages could have on pet welfare. Anastasia Maria Hall, in her second year at Ohio Northern University. Claude W. Pet- tit College of Law placed second, writing “Whose Leash is it Anyway,” which examines how pet custody and ownership is interpreted by the courts. Because of the many cases brought to my attention in recent years involving these conflicts, Anastasia’s entry is the subject of my column this month. INTRODUCTION Traditionally, pets have been viewed by the law as prop- erty. However, 2018 is a much different world than 1897. For one, more couples are refraining from having children, meaning their Beagle is much more important to them. In addition, couples are also getting divorced more than in pre- vious decades, meaning their Beagle, whom they care about dearly, is going to have to go to only one of their homes, or even a shelter. Factors surrounding divorces such as changes in housing, significantly less spare time and the costs associ- ated with divorce often are what lead many owners to sepa- rate from their pets. Animal Adoption Agency, http://www. animaladoption.com.au/blog/pets-dumped-after-divorce/ (last visited March 29, 2018). However, several jurisdictions are finding different standards to use in pet custody battles, such as “best for all concerned” and “best interest of the pet.” These changes are expressing the willingness of the popula- tion to view pets as something more than property, not just in pet custody cases, but also in other areas of law such as tort law, criminal law and estate planning. RELEVANT LAW The Supreme Court ruled in 1897 that “by the common law, as well as by the law of most, if not at all, the states, dogs are so far recognized as property.” Sentell v. New Orleans & C. R. Co., 166 U.S. 698. Since the Sentell ruling, most jurisdic- tions have recognized dogs, as well as other household pets, as personal property. When pets are considered property, a court will treat them no differently than any other piece of property. In the event of a divorce, the pet will be distributed as any other piece of property would be in that jurisdiction without regard to the owner’s wishes, the environment of
AKC President and CEO Dennis Sprung and Sheila Goffe, AKC Vice President of Government Affairs are thrilled with the response from law students all across the country for AKC’s Companion Animal Law Writing Contest
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how S ight M agazine , J uly 2018
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