Until a few months ago, the only statute dealing with custody of a pet was found in the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, which allows a judge to award temporary legal custody of an animal if domestic abuse is a danger to the pet. 750 ILCS 60/214. However, effective January 1, 2018, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage …
Emotional Support Animals and the Americans with Disabilities Act
Animals can be domesticated pets, but they can also provide emotional support to their owners. An emotional support animal (“ESA”) is used to provide a therapeutic benefit to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. The difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal is that the service animal usually performs a task that helps a person …
NY Animal Law: Pet Ownership Case in Bronx
As a follow up to my first blog about pet custody/ownership, I wanted to discuss a recent case from the Bronx Civil Court, Ramseur v. Askins, 44 Misc.3d (Civil Court Bronx, 2014), an action for replevin of a shih tzu named Deva. The court’s decision mimics the general standard for pet custody cases in New York: the best interest for …
When a Couple Calls it Splitzo, Who Gets Custody of the Dog?
In young couples and/or childless couples, custody of pets has been a sore subject that has come up in my practice. Pets are interesting because they are not children, but they are not exactly purely personal property either. Custody over a mini dachshund named Joey was at issue in the interesting case of Travis v. Murray, 42 Misc.3d 447 (Sup. …