Here comes the bride
All dressed in white
Sweetly serene in the soft glowing light…
This bridal march, a staple at weddings and by far more brides have walked down the aisle to this piece of music than any other. While the walk down the aisle ends in marital bliss for many couples, for an equal number the end of the aisle is a place far, far from happily ever after.
And for divorcing parents, they are usually concerned about their welfare of their children during this troublesome process. Some parents are so worried that they remain in unhappy marriages, believing it will protect their offspring from trauma of divorce.
Divorce can be hard on anyone. There is property, furniture, art collection, cars, bank savings etc. to be divided and child custody issues, but what about the dog(s)? Yes, dogs are family too, and with so much lost in divorce cases sometimes, losing a treasured pet can be a terrible blow.
Welcome to the tricky and highly emotional world of pet custody with more and more couples ending up in courts fighting over access rights to the dogs and even demanding pet maintenance to look after their pampered pooch. Many dog owners now consider signed agreement to avoid battles over pets.
In the past, the issue of pet custody was never thought of and almost never emerged in divorce proceedings. Now it comes up in about half of divorce cases. About 15% of divorces end up ‘getting rough and rocky’ over dogs and cats.
A survey by American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the most desired animal is the dog with 88%. Cats were much less sought-after with 5%. Even iguanas, pythons, African grey parrots and giant turtles have been fought over.
Why have we become so willing to go to war over a pet?
Experts opine what is happening today is that lots of people are choosing not to have children, but they are getting pets earlier than ever, therefore pets become like children – and people will fight over them. If a couple does have kids, the typical arrangement is that the dog or cat will go wherever the children go.
WAR OF THE ROSES:
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. It’s not surprising that in a ‘canine-centric world, dogs play an ever more important role in our emotional lives’.
So let’s sniff out some truth in custodial battles fought by divorced couples over their pets.
Craig & Sara in good times
A 34 year-old New Yorker, CRAIG DERSHOWITZ, says he hired two private investigators to track down his ex-girlfriend, SARA BREGA, whom he accused of 'dognapping' his puggle (Half pug, half beagle)...
Sara Brega in court said - Dershowitz had unconditionally gifted 'Knuckles' to her. Brega has since hired a lawyer to fight her case.
So far, Dershowitz alone has spent over $60,000 on cross country legal fight against Sara Brega.
Romanian pensioner ELIZA BARBU, 70, has filed for a divorce after 50 years of marriage from her husband MIRCEA, who spends all his pension money in feeding his dog and more than 20 other stray dogs.
The Times of Israel’s daily edition ‘Maariv’ reported an unnamed man divorced his wife this week because she had brought 550 cats into their home.
The husband complained to the Rabbinical Court in Beersheba that he was unable to sleep in his bedroom. The cats blocked his access to the bathroom and did not allow him to prepare meals in the kitchen. The couple attempted reconciliation at the behest of the Rabbinical Court.
The wife, however, was unable to part from her cats… and preferred to part from her husband
TO LOVE, HONOR AND BELLY SCRATCH…
CELEBRITY DIVORCES:
Celebrities are known for excess and exaggeration, and unfortunately for them their divorces are often extreme as well. The common divorce may be just as nasty, of course, but with intense media scrutiny, we are privy to the dirty details of many stars’ marital troubles.
Zsa Zsa Gabor & Macho
When hotelier CONRAD HILTON married the younger Hungarian actress and beauty queen ZSA ZSA GABOR in 1942, the union raised some eyebrows. Eventually, Gabor got tired of Hilton and began sleeping with her stepson, Nicky. Hilton and Gabor ended up divorcing in 1947. Gabor picked up $275,000 in the process. Gabor later joked Conrad Hilton was very generous in the divorce, he gave me 5,000 Gideon Bibles.
DENISE RICHARDS and CHARLIE SHEEN:
The breakup of this marriage was without a doubt one of the ugliest Hollywood has ever seen. After three years of marital bliss, Richards filed for divorce in 2005 alleging that Sheen was unfaithful, abusive and addicted to both pornography and prostitutes. Sheen’s voicemail message record said to his estranged wife to rot in ******* hell and called her a sad jobless *****
LIZA MINNELLI and DAVID GEST:
This split got nasty even before the divorce papers were filed. Less than two years into marriage, Gest sued Minnelli for $10 million, alleging that his estranged wife had beaten him so badly during rages spurred by alcohol that he had suffered neurological and severe headaches and had to be hospitalized.
Minnelli counter sued accusing Gest of stealing at least $2 million when he produced several of her shows.
November 2009, during their divorce proceedings, both TIGER WOODS and NORDEGREN allegedly wanted custody of the pooches. While Nordegren reportedly received $110 million and joint custody of their two children and her dogs in settlement, Tiger Woods retained his visiting rights with the pooches.
BRITNEY SPEARS has amassed a fortune of $50 million. In her divorce with KEVIN FEDERLINE a meager settlement of just $1 million was received by Kevin because of a pre-nuptial airtight deal which was devised by her lawyers. Spears fought to gain custody of their dogs, in spite of her reputation as a subpar owner. She was voted the worst celebrity dog owner. PETA even wrote an open letter to Federline encouraging him to file for custody of his dogs.
HEATHER MILLS, an English entrepreneur, environmentalist and an animal activist came to public attention when a collision with a police motorcycle resulted in amputation of her left leg. She married Beatle PAUL McCARTNEY in 2002.
In 2008 when their divorce became final, Mills ended up with $48.7 million, which sounds like a lot to most of us, but is considerably less than the chunk of McCartney’s $800 million assets she had been asking for, and many think this is because of her attempt to drag Sir Paul’s name through the marital mud.
HUGH HEFNER let playboy bunny CRYSTAL HARRIS keep the ring when she broke off their engagement in 2011 – but he wanted to keep their dog, Charlie. The couple vied for ownership of their cavalier King Charles spaniel, with Hefner saying, ‘We both love the puppy. I told her if she wants to keep the ring and the Bentley, then maybe I can keep the puppy. I hope we will work it out.’ And work out they did, the pair have since reunited and tied the knot.
Twilight stars ROBERT PATTINSON and KRISTEN STEWART initially agreed to share time with their dogs, Bear and Bernie, after they split up in 2013. But it was reported last summer that Kristen had taken legal advice about pursuing sole custody, after Rob left them with friends while filming in Canada.
CHERYL COLE won custody of dogs Buster and Coco after her divorce from footballer ASHLEY COLE.
They reportedly agreed to split their fortune equally, but Cheryl insisted that she keep the two Chihuahuas full time. Cheryl had said of them earlier: There’s nothing like the comfort of your animals… They are definitely more mine than Ashley’s but he does love them really.
The UK’s most controversial and public doggie custody was between former Big Brothers stars MELANIE HILL and ALEX SIBLEY.
The pair spent more than a year, and an estimated $ 38,000 fighting over Staffordshire bull terrier Poppy after their relationship ended. The court awarded Alex the right to see the dog for two out of every five weeks and ordered Melanie to pay 80% of his costs. Alex said Poppy is a dog in a million. She is absolutely the best dog
in the world.
LIAM GALLAGHER reportedly consulted lawyers last autumn to seek access to the two dachshunds he shared with NICOLE APPLETON, which stayed in the marital home after the couple split. Liam was particularly upset to be separated from chocolate-brown Bridgette Bardot.
A civil case was pending for custody by Liam. He wanted to share the custody of the two dogs. No way was he prepared to lose them. It was breaking his heart, he said.
After golfer RORY McLLROY and his childhood sweetheart HOLLY SWEENY ended their six-year relationship, the pair agreed a special custody arrangement for their dogs Theo, a Labradoogle and Gus, a cocker spaniel. Holly said ‘He got to keep the dogs. It’s unfair for them to run around in an apartment rather than the many acres of land there is at his house, I’ll have my visitation rights’.
Rory also shared a dog called Bruno with recently jilted fiancée CAROLINE WOZNIACKI.
Although it can be difficult when your life is already going through a rough time to agree to let go of a beloved pet, sometimes it can be for the best.
Many divorces end up with the family home being sold and at least one, if not both, parties living in a small apartment or with a family for a while until they get back on their feet.
Depending on the situation, it is not always in the animal’s best interests to have them live with you. Recognizing and accepting that is sometimes a much better measure of how much a pet is loved.
Either way losing one’s dog adds to the pain of divorce.
It takes a commitment to help a dog through the changes divorce brings.
All dressed in white
Sweetly serene in the soft glowing light…
This bridal march, a staple at weddings and by far more brides have walked down the aisle to this piece of music than any other. While the walk down the aisle ends in marital bliss for many couples, for an equal number the end of the aisle is a place far, far from happily ever after.
And for divorcing parents, they are usually concerned about their welfare of their children during this troublesome process. Some parents are so worried that they remain in unhappy marriages, believing it will protect their offspring from trauma of divorce.
Divorce can be hard on anyone. There is property, furniture, art collection, cars, bank savings etc. to be divided and child custody issues, but what about the dog(s)? Yes, dogs are family too, and with so much lost in divorce cases sometimes, losing a treasured pet can be a terrible blow.
Welcome to the tricky and highly emotional world of pet custody with more and more couples ending up in courts fighting over access rights to the dogs and even demanding pet maintenance to look after their pampered pooch. Many dog owners now consider signed agreement to avoid battles over pets.
In the past, the issue of pet custody was never thought of and almost never emerged in divorce proceedings. Now it comes up in about half of divorce cases. About 15% of divorces end up ‘getting rough and rocky’ over dogs and cats.
A survey by American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the most desired animal is the dog with 88%. Cats were much less sought-after with 5%. Even iguanas, pythons, African grey parrots and giant turtles have been fought over.
Why have we become so willing to go to war over a pet?
Experts opine what is happening today is that lots of people are choosing not to have children, but they are getting pets earlier than ever, therefore pets become like children – and people will fight over them. If a couple does have kids, the typical arrangement is that the dog or cat will go wherever the children go.
WAR OF THE ROSES:
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. It’s not surprising that in a ‘canine-centric world, dogs play an ever more important role in our emotional lives’.
So let’s sniff out some truth in custodial battles fought by divorced couples over their pets.
Craig & Sara in good times
A 34 year-old New Yorker, CRAIG DERSHOWITZ, says he hired two private investigators to track down his ex-girlfriend, SARA BREGA, whom he accused of 'dognapping' his puggle (Half pug, half beagle)...
Sara Brega in court said - Dershowitz had unconditionally gifted 'Knuckles' to her. Brega has since hired a lawyer to fight her case.
So far, Dershowitz alone has spent over $60,000 on cross country legal fight against Sara Brega.
The husband complained to the Rabbinical Court in Beersheba that he was unable to sleep in his bedroom. The cats blocked his access to the bathroom and did not allow him to prepare meals in the kitchen. The couple attempted reconciliation at the behest of the Rabbinical Court.
The wife, however, was unable to part from her cats… and preferred to part from her husband
TO LOVE, HONOR AND BELLY SCRATCH…
CELEBRITY DIVORCES:
Celebrities are known for excess and exaggeration, and unfortunately for them their divorces are often extreme as well. The common divorce may be just as nasty, of course, but with intense media scrutiny, we are privy to the dirty details of many stars’ marital troubles.
Zsa Zsa Gabor & Macho
The breakup of this marriage was without a doubt one of the ugliest Hollywood has ever seen. After three years of marital bliss, Richards filed for divorce in 2005 alleging that Sheen was unfaithful, abusive and addicted to both pornography and prostitutes. Sheen’s voicemail message record said to his estranged wife to rot in ******* hell and called her a sad jobless *****
This split got nasty even before the divorce papers were filed. Less than two years into marriage, Gest sued Minnelli for $10 million, alleging that his estranged wife had beaten him so badly during rages spurred by alcohol that he had suffered neurological and severe headaches and had to be hospitalized.
Minnelli counter sued accusing Gest of stealing at least $2 million when he produced several of her shows.
In 2008 when their divorce became final, Mills ended up with $48.7 million, which sounds like a lot to most of us, but is considerably less than the chunk of McCartney’s $800 million assets she had been asking for, and many think this is because of her attempt to drag Sir Paul’s name through the marital mud.
They reportedly agreed to split their fortune equally, but Cheryl insisted that she keep the two Chihuahuas full time. Cheryl had said of them earlier: There’s nothing like the comfort of your animals… They are definitely more mine than Ashley’s but he does love them really.
The pair spent more than a year, and an estimated $ 38,000 fighting over Staffordshire bull terrier Poppy after their relationship ended. The court awarded Alex the right to see the dog for two out of every five weeks and ordered Melanie to pay 80% of his costs. Alex said Poppy is a dog in a million. She is absolutely the best dog
in the world.
A civil case was pending for custody by Liam. He wanted to share the custody of the two dogs. No way was he prepared to lose them. It was breaking his heart, he said.
Rory also shared a dog called Bruno with recently jilted fiancée CAROLINE WOZNIACKI.
Although it can be difficult when your life is already going through a rough time to agree to let go of a beloved pet, sometimes it can be for the best.
Many divorces end up with the family home being sold and at least one, if not both, parties living in a small apartment or with a family for a while until they get back on their feet.
Depending on the situation, it is not always in the animal’s best interests to have them live with you. Recognizing and accepting that is sometimes a much better measure of how much a pet is loved.
Either way losing one’s dog adds to the pain of divorce.
It takes a commitment to help a dog through the changes divorce brings.
No comments:
Post a Comment