Divorce court lets dogs decide who gets custody

MANY pet owners will admit that the prospect of being permanently separated from them would be too much to bear.

So they’ll sympathise with a divorcing couple who headed to court to resolve who would gain custody of their two dogs.

But in this particular case, it was left to the pets to decide. Popeye apparently choose Amorina Bascoy and Kiara opted for Emmanuel Medina. Confidentiality rules mean it isn’t known exactly how this was achieved, but canine preferences are easily identified, according to animal experts. The case in Argentina has set a legal precedent – that the couple are a ‘multispecies family’ with both humans and animals having rights.

Miss Bascoy said: ‘We didn’t have children, so our dogs are our babies.’ All four meet at least once a week. Judge Diana Sica, who made the ruling, said: ‘Animals are sensitive beings who feel, who miss, who rejoice, who suffer and who acquire habit.’