WRITTEN BY: Heide Brandes
Sara Lorenzen of Norman sobbed uncontrollably when one of her Boxers left for the last time to live with her ex-husband.
Her marriage was not a good one. She had a Victim Protective Order against her husband, and she worried about the safety of Brinkley, the Boxer in his care.
“We got divorced in 2011, and we had two dogs. I had a Boxer named Turbo that I adopted before our marriage, and then we adopted another while we were married,” she said. “When we got divorced, he wanted custody of Brinkley. Because of the abuse situation, I was worried.”
The two had a temporary custody agreement. Because her ex worked in the oil field, he was often gone. On the week he was home, he got custody of Brinkley. That compromise didn’t last too long though.
“In our divorce, that became the sticking point. He refused to sign the divorce papers
because he wanted that dog,” Lorenzen said. “I finally caved in, mainly for my own protection. I hated doing that because I love my animals fiercely. I sobbed hysterically when she left.”
Since that divorce, Lorenzen has no idea how Brinkley fared. The divorce included language that her ex and his family could not communicate with her at all, so the memory of Brinkley still haunts Lorenzen.
“I still don’t know how she is or where she is,” she said.
According to divorce attorneys in Oklahoma, Sara’s story is not unique. While the law addresses how property and even how custody of children are worked out, it isn’t terribly clear on how pet custody works.
Oklahoma Law
Tulsa Attorney Kacie Cresswell said that while pet custody issues are common, actually going
to trial over the issue would be somewhat rare.
“Under Oklahoma law, pets are treated as property and can be both separate property— meaning your spouse doesn’t have a claim/not a part of the divorce—or marital property, subject to your divorce proceeding,” she said, adding that the best way couples can determine custody depends on several factors.
“I think that depends on the family and who has the best relationship with the dogs and most flexible schedule to be able to care for them. There are appraisals to value dogs, if necessary, for settlement.”
There’s no question that pets become an issue in many divorces, and dogs are most often the contested pet of choice. When pets are in dispute in a divorce, they are legally treated as property and emotionally treated as children.
“I’ve seen parents of children fight harder for their dog than they do for their kids,” said Chris Smith, partner at Ball Morris Lowe in Oklahoma. “As property, it’s left for the judge to simply determine who to award the dog to, but it’s rarely that simple. Property is divided either 50/50 or based on an equitable division in most states, and it typically looks like a business transaction in which partners are splitting up the business equally. Pets can become a contentious issue when both parties want the pet or neither party wants the pet.”
If you have more than one pet, don’t assume they will be treated like children and kept together. Just like two 70-inch televisions, the judge is more likely to split pets up if the parties can’t agree on who’s getting what, said Smith.
Visitation Rights and Cost
Matt Eckstein, a Norman attorney, has rarely had to deal with pet custody during his 20-plus years of practicing law. He said in most of his cases the pet stays with the person who keeps the house.
“I did have a divorce where we set up visitation rights for an expensive Bulldog,” he said. “That was kind of cute. But even though you can do visitation rights, I’m not sure if that can be enforced.”
Most couples are amicable when it comes to the wellness of the pets.
Jennifer McClintock and her ex-husband
were one Oklahoma City couple that reached amicable custody arrangements after the divorce.
“We are lucky, and both of us felt it important to put the dogs and their care first,” she said. “One of the dogs stays with me permanently because she has Cushing’s disease, which causes excess urination, so it’s best she be in a house with tile floors.”
McClintock and her ex wanted the least traumatizing experience for their two older dogs. They share custody of 14-year-old Sophie and Lily, both of whom were adopted.
“When we divorced, we decided to share custody. Since we didn’t have any children, the dogs were our de facto ‘kids,’” she said. “We share vet expenses and take care of the animals when one of us wants to go on an out-of-town trip. For us, it’s worked out great, but I know that’s not always the case.”
Eckstein said the problem with divorces is that they can become nasty and hateful, but that hate doesn’t extend often to the family pet.
“Someone is usually more bonded with the animal, but couples need to make sure whoever gets the pet does it for the right reasons,” he said. “In a divorce, people sometimes just want to ‘win.’ But winning a couch is different from winning something that is a living, breathing creature.”
