2023-06-20 12:04:44
A boy hugs his dogJohn Howard (GETTY IMAGES)
The Provincial Court of Vizcaya has adopted an original measure to prevent, after a divorce process, that the couple’s common child is separated from their pet. Thus, he declares joint custody of the child and also that of his dog in the same sentence. The special educational needs that affect the little one, afflicted with “global delay in development”, have been key to agreeing on the coexistence regime that best suited his development.
Thus, the resolution (the text of which can be consulted here) guarantees that child and pet live together. In addition, it will prevent their displacement: the ruling temporarily allows a “nest house” system, that is, one in which the parents, after the divorce, share custody and alternate use of the family home.
sensitive pet
For Gonzalo Pueyo, the father’s lawyer, “the sentence is rightly abstracted from the criterion of ownership of the animal”, a dog named “Quico”. The lawyer recalls that the law, since 2021, considers pets as “living beings endowed with sensitivity.” For this reason, the ruling grants custody and care “to the parent who maintains custody of the minor each week, for the benefit of the minor, for therapeutic reasons.” Thus, the weight of the decision falls “not only on the true nature of the animals, but also on the nature of the relationships, particularly those of coexistence, between them and human beings.”
To what extent has the beneficial role of “Quico” been relevant in coping with the minor’s disorder? Pueyo reveals that, although the ruling does not delve into it, his appeal did affect the value of the dog as a stimulus, “faithful and inseparable companion.” “Therapeutically, it had been recommended that the child and the pet stay together,” the lawyer describes.
Other specialists, such as Adriana Rodríguez, lawyer and founding partner of Vestalia Family Lawyers, share this vision. For the lawyer, “it has been scientifically proven that animals help the psychological development of children” and provide multiple benefits, “especially to those who suffer from some type of disability.”
Rodríguez, in addition, is in favor of joint custody, “given the multiple benefits that it brings to minors”, although “one must always adhere to the casuistry and characteristics of each case and family context.”
Initial maternal custody
The divorce sentence dates back to March 2022. The Court of First Instance number 5 of Bilbao attributed the custody of the child to his mother and established a parental visitation regime, plus alimony and a compensatory one. In addition, it granted the wife the use of the family home until the age of majority of her son.
Regarding the care of the pet, it was assigned “to its owner”, who should “face the charges associated” with it.
Finally, the dissolution of the condominium (that is, joint ownership) of the house, classified as “indivisible” was agreed: unless there was a particular agreement, it should proceed to its sale at public auction.
The ex-husband then filed an appeal against almost all of the ruling’s pronouncements. The Provincial Court considers in the new sentence some of these claims.
alternating housing
According to the magistrates, the minor’s needs required “special stability and maintenance of routines and habits.” However, contrary to the criteria of the previous sentence, “it is not relevant” that the mother was the reference model: the diagnosed disorder “can in no case be an obstacle to establishing joint custody”. It is essential, they add, that “the appellant and outside of his working hours has been taking care of the minor”, aware of his evolution and “present in all consultations and clinical assessments”, as proven by an expert report.
In addition, the reasoning continues, the parent’s work activity was compatible with joint custody, and it concludes: “what is relevant is that the father has shown that he is capable of assuming all the responsibilities that such custody implies.”
On the other hand, the father’s request to use the house as a “nest house” is accepted, but only for two years, as it requires an “excess effort of the parents to adapt”. In this way, it is ensured “without shocks” that the child’s need for a room is covered “in a stable manner”. It is, confirms Gonzalo Pueyo, a mechanism that was allowed by Law 7/2015, of June 30, of the Basque Parliament, and that will have consequences on the food regime: they will be assumed by each parent while the minor remains in their company.
Sharing the house alternately is not, for some jurists, generally recommended, “unless it is agreed on a temporary basis”, as is the case. This is how Adriana Rodríguez herself expresses it, in favor of joint custody of minors with disabilities “if both parents are suitable for the care of the minor and are available”. For the lawyer, alternating the nest usually supposes “an expensive solution (due to the need on many occasions to have to maintain three homes)”, as well as “a source of conflict between the parents by continuing to maintain, even indirectly, a coexistence ”.
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