Pets On Divorce – FI v DO 2024
5 June 2025
In many cases, the court will consider who is the owner of the pet and will consider who purchased the pet, whose name the pet is registered in, who pays for food, insurance and vet bills. However, the case of FI v DO 2024 involving a husband and wife looked beyond this.
When the parties separated, they both wishes to retain the family dog, which had been purchased by both of them. They both worked and were able to meet the financial needs of caring for the pet. The Judge wanted to look beyond who “owned” the dog, by looking further than how it was purchased and its registration.
The District Judge also wanted to consider the following:
- Who has principally looked after the dog?
- Who does the dog view as their carer?
- Rather than focusing on who cared for the dog in the past, who is currently caring for the dog?
In this particular case, the wife had solely looked after the dog for 18 months after separation. This was likely to have meant that the dog formed a stronger bond with her. In fact, the husband had removed the dog from the family home on occasion and it had eventually returned home on its own. The Judge therefore took the view that the dog considered that as its home and therefore, where he belonged. The wife was also able to evidence that she had knowledge in order to care for the dog and that she would put the dog’s interests first.
In this case, the Judge’s decision was influenced, not just by ownership but by who the dog considered to be its owner and where the dog considered its home to be. Of course, the dog cannot give evidence to this effect, but all the circumstances of the case would be considered in order to make a decision, with the welfare of the animal being an important consideration.
In Spain, in 2022, changes were made to the law whereby the welfare needs of the pet overrode the legal ownership when making decisions about where an animal should live. It is also possible that the welfare of the animal could necessitate it being able to have a relationship with both parties, even after separation.
The case of FI v DO 2024 is interesting in that it opens up the considerations for where a pet will live on separation, over and above traditional “ownership”. It also demonstrates that if a pet has been living with one party for a considerable period of time post-separation, that this may be detrimental to the other party, who should act quickly if on separation they do not have physical possession of the pet.
How can Taylor Bracewell’s family team assist?
It is important to obtain legal advice if you are going through a divorce. Our family team can help you with this. If you wish to speak to a member of our team, please contact the team by calling 01302 341 414 for our Doncaster lawyers or our Sheffield lawyers on 0114 272 1884. Alternatively, you can fill out our online enquiry form.
