Maine's top court decides dog's owner in odd, bitter custody dispute
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Breakups can be ruff.
Maine's Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday told a 25-year-old woman she was barking up the wrong tree in her lawsuit seeking custody of a dog she'd shared with an ex-boyfriend.
Jessica Sardina had asked the state's top court to grant her sole custody of Honey, a 4-year-old labrador-boxer mix she shared with ex-boyfriend Kelvin Liriano.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FLASHBACK: EX-MAINE COUPLE IN BITTER CUSTODY BATTLE OVER BELOVED DOG HONEY
Sardina based her case on claims she was the one who cared for the dog during the relationship, adding Honey "means the world" to her.
A lower-court judge previously ruled Liriano to be the dog's rightful owner because he signed the canine's adoption paperwork. Liriano's attorney argued there's no legal precedent for treating pets as anything other than "property," and asserted his client also cared for the dog, contradicting Sardina's contention.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Maine's Supreme Judicial Court decided on Tuesday that Jessica Sardina, pictured here, is not the legal owner of Honey, a dog she shared with her ex-boyfriend. (Samantha Sardina via AP)
The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in its ruling Tuesday that pets are property and, as such, awarded custody of the dog to Liriano. The ruling was issued swiftly, and there was no written opinion.
Chief Justice Leigh Saufley said during arguments she understood the case tugged at the heartstrings of those involved, but Saufley also questioned whether it's a good use of time for judges to analyze pet custody in cases involving unmarried former couples.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Is this really what we want judges in this state to spend their time on?” she asked.
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Pets are considered "property" in all 50 states, and only three states — Alaska, Illinois and California — have specific laws that address pet custody when a marriage dissolves, Marcia Kramer, of the animal advocacy group National Anti-Vivisection Society, told The Associated Press.
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No states have a statute dealing with custody of a pet when an unmarried couple breaks up.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.