Tragically, this deep love for and attachment to pets is what makes these animals targets of domestic violence perpetrators. Abusers threaten, abuse, or kill their victims’ pets in order to intimidate them into staying in the relationship, prevent them from reporting their abuse, or just to exact revenge for exerting any kind of independence.
The prevalence of animal abuse related to domestic violence is shocking. According to a 2021 survey of domestic violence survivors, Why Pets Mean So Much: The Human-Animal Bond in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence, 48 percent of those surveyed were worried that their abuser would harm or kill their pets, 37 percent reported that the abuser had already threatened to harm or kill their pets, and 29 percent said their pets had already been harmed or killed. Abusers are master manipulators and leverage their victims’ love for their pets into control over them. A quarter to half of survivors reported not leaving their abusive home because of fear of what their abuser would do to their animals. Testimony to the Maine legislature by one survivor illustrates the dire concerns survivors have about leaving animals behind: “It wasn’t just the cats and the dogs, it was the sheep and the chickens. I was terrified for their welfare. I knew if I were to leave, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. He had done it before.”
All the above factors might come into play when navigating pet custody battles of abuse survivors trying to keep and protect their beloved animals or trying to rescue them from their abuser.
How Pet Custody Issues Arise
Such custody issues can arise in divorce cases, civil actions for return of a pet, or even criminal charges your client may face (for keeping the family pet). Because pet ownership rates are so high, domestic violence rates are shockingly high, and a half to three-quarters of survivors also report pet abuse, you might well face such issues in your law practice. The stakes can be high for your client’s physical and mental well-being and her willingness to leave a dangerous situation. Attorneys must understand the dynamics involved in animal violence when such custody battles ensue and know how to protect their clients and their animals.
Abusers Use Their Victims’ Love for Their Pets Against Them
Abusers often use the same tactics and horrific violence against animals that they do against their human victims, including killing them and committing sexual abuse. It’s helpful to know what to look for—the myriad ways in which your client’s abuser may threaten and abuse her animals:
- threats—threatening to harm or kill the pet if your client leaves, reports abuse, or asserts independence;
- physical violence and abuse—hitting, slapping, punching, stabbing, poisoning, shooting, sexually abusing, withholding food or needed medicine, throwing the animal out of the home or car, or releasing caged animals (such as birds) to the outdoors;
- isolation—refusing to allow your client to take her pet to the vet for needed care;
- legal abuse—engaging in custody battles or filing theft charges if your client leaves with her pet;
- denying and blaming—blaming your client or pet for his cruelty, killing the pet by saying it didn’t matter because it was old or misbehaving;
- emotional abuse—disappearing or giving away the pet to take away your client’s source of unconditional love and support, forcing participation in animal sexual abuse;
- economic abuse—refusing to allow your client to spend money on pet food or vet care;
- intimidation—harming or killing the pet with the threat that “next time it will be you,” targeting the pets of family/friends who help your client escape; and
- targeting the pets of your client’s children—harming/killing/threatening the children’s pets to intimidate them, blaming the “disappearance” of the pet on your client to drive a wedge between her and the children.
Legal Protections Available to Domestic Violence Survivors and Their Pets
When representing a domestic violence survivor facing pet custody issues—however they arise—several protections in existing law are at your disposal.
Orders of Protection
One such tool to help protect your client and her pets is an order of protection that specifically includes the animals. Depending on the jurisdiction, these may be called protective orders, restraining orders, or temporary restraining orders; 36 states (and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) have legislation that specifically allows pets to be included in orders of protection. And even if your state does not specifically authorize the inclusion of animals in the order, most, if not all, states have the discretion to include animals. These orders may be of short duration or permanent and will include such provisions as ordering the abuser to stay away from the animal and refrain from attempting to injure or kill it. The Animal Welfare Institute has great resources for attorneys on such orders of protection, including manuals on how to obtain an order of protection in your particular jurisdiction.
Litigation alleging the abuse (of both the pet and your client) during the proceedings to obtain an order of protection lets you get the evidence of the abuse on the record, which is extremely helpful when it comes time to win final custody of the animal. Note that you may obtain an order of protection on its own or as part of a divorce proceeding or other litigation, and obtaining an order of protection is persuasive evidence for your client’s final award of custody.
Of course, orders of protection are just pieces of paper. Abusers often violate them, but they are important to get because they provide a forum to present evidence on the abuse and the impact on your client (and children), and they create an enforceable court order mandating the abuser stay away from the animal. This is critical if and when the abuser tries to get to the pet (or your client), and it shows the authorities that your client has legal custody of the animal and that the abuser is, in fact, barred from being near the animal. Your client should keep multiple copies of the order and have them handy—at home, in her car, with anyone who pet sits, and with the veterinary practice that treats the animals.
Divorce Proceedings and Property Distribution
More and more courts are grappling with pet custody issues in divorce proceedings and awarding final custody or ownership of the animal to one or the other parties. Indeed, the case law surrounding pet custody in divorce reflects the changing attitude that courts and the law have toward animals.
Companion animals and other pets have long been considered chattel property, and deciding custody of the animal has traditionally involved a property ownership analysis, including the determination of who paid for the animal’s purchase, its upkeep, and its care, as well as whether the animal was a gift.
However, and I would say inevitably (given the deep connection between animals and their owners), courts increasingly are recognizing that pets are more than just property; as a New York court stated in the pet custody case Travis v. Murray, 977 N.Y.S.2d 621, 628 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2013), “it can be concluded that in a case such as this, where two spouses are battling over a dog they once possessed and raised together, a strict property analysis is neither desirable nor appropriate.”
Instead of treating pet custody as a strict property issue, courts are moving toward something between viewing a pet as property and as a child whose custody must be decided. Some jurisdictions apply a “best to all involved” standard, in which the impact on the co-owners as well as the animal itself is considered. This seems to be the majority view in jurisdictions where pets are not seen as property. However, an emerging view is that who gets custody of the pet should be determined by what is in the pet’s best interest. Factors in this determination may include who the pet is more bonded with, who can care best for the pet—financially and physically—and, generally, with whom and where it would be best for the pet to live. Several states have introduced legislation requiring courts to award pet custody specifically based on what is best for the pet.
While courts are clearly moving away from a strict property analysis, not all jurisdictions have. And even in those courts that look beyond a traditional strict property analysis, strict property factors such as who paid for the animal and who has paid for its upkeep are still relevant and persuasive.
Document the Animal Abuse—It Wins Custody
Grappling with the correct standard to apply when awarding custody—whether it is a property analysis or a determination of the best interests of all or the best interests of the animal—involves balancing considerations of who loves the pet more, whom the pet loves, and who will provide it the best home. These are all nuanced considerations. But all that goes out the window when one of the owners has tragically abused or threatened to abuse the animal or has mistreated it. If you are able to show that the pet’s co-owner has abused the animal, then custody should be awarded to your client, the survivor, under any analysis.
Documenting the abuse involves getting descriptions of all the abuser’s mistreatment of the pet, whether physical violence to the animal, threats of harm, withholding of food or water, refusing to take the animal to the vet for needed care, disappearing the animal, dumping the animal in unfamiliar territory, sexually abusing the animal, or myriad other ways of inflicting harm. Record the frequency of occurrence and ask your client who she told about the abuse contemporaneously. Determine whether there are photos documenting the abuse, and ask her to take new photos of the animal if they would show the continued effects of the abuse, such as scars, thinness, untreated medical conditions, etc. Talk with the animal’s veterinary clinic and get copies of records showing past abuse; get statements/testimony from the treating veterinarian regarding the animal’s condition, your client’s clear love for the pet, and the abuser’s behavior toward the animal.
This is true even when abuse has not been an affirmative act but rather the withholding of care or otherwise neglect of the animal. All states have anti-cruelty laws requiring a pet owner to provide food, water, shelter, and medical care as needed.
Finally, when fighting for pet custody, I think it would be persuasive to document and show the court evidence of the domestic violence by the abuser against your client, in addition to evidence documenting the animal abuse (if you weren’t already going to offer evidence of this). Judges are becoming more and more aware of the link between domestic violence and animal abuse, and if you have solid proof of the domestic violence to your client, this could be a deciding factor in getting the court to believe that the animal abuse happened and that your client should be awarded custody of the pet.
Best Practices for Representing Survivors and How to Win These Cases
It is crucial to ask about animals in the home when you interview your client. The same goes for domestic violence and whether your client is currently experiencing it or has experienced it in the past. You should ask the following:
- Does any animal live in your home (pet, service animal, support animal)?
- Has your abuser ever harmed the animal or threatened to? Harmed or threatened any animals outside your home, such as the animal of an immediate family member or friend?
- How did this abuse/threatened abuse affect you? Did it affect any children in your home? Did you delay leaving or return to the abuser over concern for the animal?
- Where is the pet right now?
- Is your pet safe?
- Did your pet need any veterinary care because of the injury/abuse? What was the extent of the injury? [Veterinary records should be available from the veterinary clinic and can provide helpful corroboration.]
- Do you want the court to grant you custody of the pet?
Stay current on evolving pet ownership and custody law in your jurisdiction. Help your client establish ownership of the animal and/or that it is in the best interests of the animal that the court award her custody:
- Have her name listed as the owner on vet visits.
- Get the pet microchipped in her name.
- Make sure any pet licenses, including rabies vaccination proof, list her as owner.
- Keep receipts for pet food, toys, pet sitting and/or boarding, and other pet purchases.
Finally, it is crucial to know about the resources available for survivors with pets, specifically domestic violence shelters/transitional housing that offer pet housing on-site and animal shelters that house survivors’ pets or provide medium- to long-term pet fostering. (Visit DomesticShelters.org to find a list of domestic violence shelters that offer pet housing and Safehavensforpets.org to find animal organizations that provide boarding for pets, as well as domestic violence shelters that offer a pet program.) This can allow her to leave a dangerous situation with her animals, which may mean the difference for her between leaving and staying.
Helping a domestic violence client with pet custody of animals that have been abused in the home by her perpetrator is noble and lifesaving work. Pets are beloved family members, and domestic violence perpetrators commit horrific acts on the pets to maintain control over their victims. You can help your client win custody mainly by documenting and proving the animal abuse—behavior (often criminal) that should disqualify the perpetrator from custody of that pet.
