MUMBAI: In a break from norm, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra taking her former partner—lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai—to court seeking interim custody of her Rottweiler Henry gained prominence recently over her fiery interventions against the government. Indeed, cases of estranged couples – married or otherwise – fighting for ownership of their pets are a new challenge lawyers face.
Seated in her Fort office, lawyer Swapana Kode recently found herself in an animated conversation on the phone with her client who had decided to part ways with her husband after many years of marriage on mutual consent but the bone of contention between them was their cat Coco. Differences over property and other assets were ironed out, but the two could not agree on how to divide their time with the three-year-old feline both adored.
“It’s complicated,” said the lady, who chose to remain anonymous, underscoring that such perplexities have become a common occurrence among pet parents who chose not to have children of their own. However, the complexity arises because, unlike a human child, a pet cannot choose its own parent or express its preference for an arrangement.
“As every pet has a different temperament, they leave you guessing about what might work best for them,” she said. Therefore, she said, negotiating a co-parenting agreement for Coco through her lawyer was a key challenge, given the absence of any law governing such situations.
“In a similar situation, a child when a little older, can visit the other parent on their own. But in the case of a pet, you may be forcing two (divorced) people into a situation they don’t want to be in,” she said.
Caught in the battle over pet custody, lawyers such as Kode often find themselves brokering peace between the estranged couples. “As lawyers we have to respect our clients’ wishes but also protect their interests. In cases such as these, when pet custody becomes an issue, we tell our clients to work out a solution that is viable for both sides,” said Kode.
“Until about a decade ago, such cases were not as common as they are now,” said women’s rights lawyer Veena Gowda, adding that such issues arise among upper and upper-middle-class couples.
Leading family court lawyer Mridula Kadam, who has dealt with cases of couples with differences fighting over pet dogs, said, “In cases of divorce, disputes over pets cannot be compared to child custody because the gravity of the disputes involving pets is less in degree. The court will not entertain such disputes. It is both the lawyers representing the husband and the wife who have to help the couple come to an agreement and resolve the matter.”
The agreement they arrive at becomes a part of their consent terms in cases of divorce by mutual consent. Lawyers said couples who separate mutually often wish to co-parent their pets, with clearly defined consent terms over splitting expenses for vet visits, grooming, walkers and quality pet food.
A pet grandparent herself, senior family court lawyer Kranti Sathe said, “Claiming money (from the estranged partner) for meeting pet expenses is quite common.” She has dealt with many such cases—one being that of a woman who claimed her estranged husband did not clean the dog regularly and kept it in unhygienic conditions. She cited another case in which one partner, while retaining custody of the pet dog, agreed to allow the other to walk it every morning.
While several laws relating to divorce, guardianship, adoption and maintenance deal with issues of child custody or maintenance, in cases of divorce, there are none that deal with pets. “In the eyes of the law, a pet is counted among the couple’s movable assets,” said advocate Amit Karkhanis. “Couples may have an emotional attachment to their pets but there is no law that recognises the adoption of a stray dog. Then how can it decide who gets the dog if the couple gets divorced?”