Next time, put the pup in the pre-nup.
A pair of divorcing women are about to fight it out in court over a miniature dachshund named Joey in what will be New York’s first matrimonial pet-custody case.
“People who love their dogs almost always love them forever,” Manhattan Justice Matthew Cooper opines 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.”
That’s the case with Washington Heights residents Shannon Louise Travis, 32, and her soon-to-be ex-wife Trisha Bridget Murray.
The only bone of contention in their divorce is who will get sole custody of their 2-year-old pet.
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 told The Post.
“He is my little soul mate, and there was no way in this lifetime I could ever live without him.”
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.
He notes that New York law lags behind other states’ legal standing of their pets, and that “most pet owners would not trade their pets for even $1 million in cash.”
While some state courts like those in Kansas declined to stick their noses in a custody cases, others have leaped at the chance to treat canines like humans in legal proceedings.
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 recognizes 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.
Judge Cooper wants to sniff out the truth about who bore the major responsibility for meeting Joey’s needs.
He will ask the pup’s mothers to answer questions similar to those posed during child custody trials such as: “Who spent more time with Joey on a regular basis?”
Travis and Murray were only married for a year. Travis, who left on a business trip this past June and returned home to find both her wife and her pup gone, says Joey belongs to her because she “was the one who cared for and financially supported [him] on a primary basis,” according to the suit.
Cooper is taking a pause for paws because he believes pet custody cases are only likely to increase in the future.
“If judicial resources can be devoted to such matters as which party gets to use the Escalade as opposed to the Ferrari, or who gets to stay in the Hamptons house instead of the Aspen chalet, there is certainly room to give real consideration to a case involving a treasured pet,” Cooper says.
The parties are still working out a date for the hearing.
Neither Travis nor her attorney returned messages for comment.
Additional reporting by Matt Abrahams