A pair of divorcing women in the US will fight it out in court over their dog in what is slated as a landmark and New York's first matrimonial pet-custody case.
"People who love their dogs almost always love them forever," Manhattan Justice Matthew Cooper opined in his ruling granting the women oral arguments.
"But with divorce rates at record highs, the same cannot always be said for those who marry," Cooper was quoted as saying by the New York Post.
Washington Heights residents Shannon Louise Travis, 32, and her soon-to-be ex-wife Trisha Bridget Murray, who are both seeking divorce are in argument over who will get sole custody of their 2-year-old miniature dachshund named Joey.
Travis bought Joey as a 10-week-old puppy from a pet store and gave him to her then-girlfriend as a gift and "a consolation for her having to give away her cat at Travis' insistence," according to court papers.
Murray is fighting to keep her best friend, who always slept on her side of the bed.
"I consider this puppy, my little angel Joey, the love of my life," Murray was quoted as saying by the paper.
"He is my little soul mate, and there was no way in this lifetime I could ever live without him," she said.
Judge Cooper says it's surprising that, in a "canine- centric city where dogs play an ever more important role in our emotional lives," he is in uncharted territory.
There have been such cases in the US earlier as well, as an Alabama judge awarded a dog named Preston to one spouse over the other by taking into consideration the pet's "best interests", a gauge typically used in child custody cases.
Instead of regarding Joey like a piece of property, the judge - who gives the full disclosure that he owns a 12-year-old rescued pit bull mix named Peaches - will schedule a hearing to determine his fate.
"This is a cutting-edge case for animal rights," said Murray's attorney Sherri Donovan. "It recognises the special place of pets in our families."
Murray currently has possession of the pooch and has moved to Freeport, Maine to pursue a PhD in Philosophy.
