Who gets the dog in a New York divorce?
Since October 2021, New York law tells a court dividing property in a divorce to decide who keeps a companion animal by considering the animal’s best interest, not simply who paid for it. In practice that means who walks, feeds, takes the dog to the vet and has the space and time for it. In mediation you do not need a judge for this: couples decide it themselves, and arrangements range from one spouse keeping the dog to a shared schedule that follows the children between homes.
How a pet is decided
It used to be property, like a couch. The law changed because nobody treats a dog like a couch.
- The rule. Domestic Relations Law §236(B)(5)(d)(15), added in 2021: when a companion animal is marital property, the court considers the best interest of the animal in awarding possession.
- What courts look at. Who has done the daily care, who the animal is bonded to, who has the housing and schedule for it, and whether the children are attached to it. Who bought it or whose name is on the vet account matters less.
- What couples do. Most agreements name one home for the dog, often the one the children spend most time in. Some set a shared schedule; a few treat vet bills like a child’s medical costs, split by income.
- What to avoid. Taking the dog and refusing contact to gain leverage. It reads badly to a judge and worse to a spouse you still have to reach agreement with.
Domestic Relations Law §236(B)(5)(d)(15), effective 25 October 2021. Before that, New York courts treated pets as personal property.