Don’t Make Your Pet Another Casualty Of
Pets help children cope with divorce By Rosalind Sedacca, CDC Abandoned pets are one of the many sad outcomes of divorce. Marital problems, conflict and ultimately divorce is behind a significant number of pet turn-ins for animal shelters every year. Often one spouse doesn’t want to take the dog or cat while the other can’t keep them due to downsizing or reduced income. Many rental apartments won’t take pets over twenty pounds or allow more than one animal per unit. Sometimes couples will fight over dogs and cats as well as other pets. Often, they bring the conflict into mediation or attorney negotiations with as much emotion as their battles over child custody. However, in most regions of the world, pets are still considered property, much like a car or furniture. The emotional connection to the family is not a factor in determining pet custody or