Divorcing Couples Discover They Can Also Fight Over Their Pets

You usually hear about couples waging epic battles for custody of their children when they split up, but more and more people are learning that they can also fight over custody of their pets. And why not since pets are often considered members of the family. Mo Rocca delved into the different arrangements people make with their former partners, and how it affects the pets. While he has fun with the topic, it can be a serious issue. Some couples, according to one divorce lawyer, have killed pets rather than share them. (Evil!)

We must be becoming ever more attached to our pets, because legal battles over pets have gone up 23% in the last ten years, and it’s not just cats and dogs people fight about—it can be birds, horses, and probably lizards and snakes too. But while divorce may be hard on the people, it’s not always bad for the animal. As Rocca points out in the case of Baldwin the dog, sometimes splitting up and sharing the pet means the pet gets “the best of both worlds”—happy owners and plenty of time with both of them.