Family Law

With Florida having one of the nation?s highest divorce rates, it?s not surprising that pets are part of custody battles all over the place.

Who gets the dog? How do you decide, and what issues should you take into consideration?

A lot of us have known friends going through this situation and sometimes the result has been that the pet loses its home. And that?s not good.

Luckily, if you?re going through that problem now (my heart goes out to you - it?s rotten for everyone), there?s some good advice by someone who?s been there, author Jennifer Keene, writing in ?We Can?t Stay Together for the Dogs.?

Just out by TFH books ($22.95), which only publishes books about animals, it?s a well-researched and written book with info on custody issues/arrangements and how to live single again with a dog.

Keene is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer and owns Pup-A-Razzi, a training business in Beaverton, OR. She lives with two dogs and has visitation rights for a third.

?As you decide who your dog will live with, level of commitment to the dog (and his special needs) must factor in significantly,? says Keene in her book.

Think about safe handling, commitment to training (would one of you do that, the other one isn?t interested?) and patience, among other things.

Keene talks about the reaction from family and friends and how to handle it. I don?t think she?s left much out in this book.

It would be a great gift for someone in this touchy situation. And there is good advice for those who think they need to stay together for the dogs. Don?t do that ? nobody wins that way ? but read this book as you go down that path.

From the Palm Beach Post.