Animal Companions in Mediation

Animal companions are an important part of American life. A 2010 study estimated that we share our lives and homes with some 90 million cats and 80 million dogs and spend $48 billion on their care. Being so important to our lives, it should be no surprise that companion animals also enter into our very human conflicts.

How laws in the U.S. view animals is evolving but generally they are treated as property and disputes in the courts involving them are primarily adjudicated based on contract and property laws. That approach does not take into account the human emotions that enter into disputes involving companion animals.

Human disputes involving companion animals include neighbor-neighbor disputes for such things as roosters crowing early in the morning, dogs barking at night and cats using gardens as litter boxes. More series disputes involve dog bites and malpractice disputes with veterinaries. But perhaps the greatest number of disputes concern custody of the companion animal when couples dissolve their relationship.

Generally disputes involving companion animals can be dealt with using traditional law, which focuses on property laws, the best interests of the humans involved, the best interests of the animals involved or some combination of these. When conflicts arise involving animal companions some resort to animal control officers or legal remedies which most frequently result in bad feelings.

It should then be no surprise that mediation is becoming increasingly common in conflicts involving this challenge. Mediators are experienced in dealing with the emotions involved and in helping the parties reach an agreement.

I once was asked to mediate for a young couple without children who wished to divide their assets and liabilities and go on with their lives as separate individuals. The couple wanted to begin by expressing to one another their feelings about their relationship before dealing with assets and debts. Things like the house, cars and personal property were all dealt with.  Credit card debt was next and then we came to the final issue—the couple’s three dogs.

Emotions became high again as they could not agree. but eventually the couple was able to set aside the custody issue to consider what was in the best interest of the three dogs. They were able to talk about their work and travel schedules, the living arrangement each now had and their ability of care for the dogs. Ultimately, they both agreed that it was in the best interest of the dogs to remain together.

With these considerations in mind, they agreed that the dogs would be kept during the week by the one who worked from home while the other could have the dogs on the weekend whenever possible. They further agreed to equally split medical bills and to review this arrangement in one year. While the two individuals still had bad feelings about each other, they were able to agree on what they felt was right for the dogs.

Where can one find mediators for animal companion disputes? I’d recommend starting with low or low-cost neighborhood community mediation centers. Veterinarians and animal control offices might be able to make referrals. In my experience, conflicts involving animal companions have been some of the most emotional but can often be resolved when the pet owners choose steps that are best for all.