Kate did not know what she would do if her partner kept their two dogs when they separated after seven years.
In their relationship, they cared for French bulldog Junior and British bulldog Winnie.
Kate’s former partner had Junior before they began dating, while Winnie came after.
But the issue was that both dogs were registered under his name. If they had gone to court, he would have got custody.
“They were our kids, we didn’t have human kids,” she told 9news.com.au.
“I live for them… They are literally my everything.”
But luckily, after what Kate said was an amicable breakup, they came to a solution.
“Ultimately, he just said, ‘Look, I just want you to have them’. And he bought himself a new dog, and they just stayed with me,” she said.
Kate’s situation is one of the rare cases.
In most instances, pets are not recognised under family law proceedings and are considered property.
”It could have been a very different outcome for me,” Kate said.
But under a national amendment to the Family Law Act coming into effect on June 11, courts will consider emotional bonds and the welfare of a companion animal when deciding who keeps it after a breakup.
This means the pet will no longer go to who the animal is registered to or whose home it stays at.
Eve Smith, whose firm Umbrella Family Law was the first in Australia to train each lawyer in pet custody matters, said these changes would be “really positive” for families and partners moving forward.
“What we find very much is that, particularly for people who don’t have children, their animals are their be-all and end-all,” she said.
“Even within families with children, children and adults find so much empathy, understanding from their animals and calmness that when people separate, it’s a huge decision as to what’s going to happen to the pet.”
Smith has seen pets become an aggravating factor in separation proceedings, and used as a pawn.
In one instance, a client of hers struggled to find alternative accommodation with her two Burmese mountain dogs, so she stayed with her estranged husband until the dogs passed away before she left the relationship.
“These amendments are actually the law catching up with what’s happening on the ground,” Smith said.
