Pat Shellenbarger wrote an interesting article from the Kalamazoo Gazette about a bill dictating pet custody in Michigan. Here is the article:

Bill dictates pet custody in divorce cases
Friday, January 18, 2008
BY PAT SHELLENBARGER

Gazette News Service

GRAND RAPIDS -- Before a couple splits, they should consider how divorce affects those caught in the middle, Michigan state Rep. Michael Sak believes. That's why the Grand Rapids Democrat introduced a bill dictating how custody of dogs, cats, gerbils and other pets is to be decided.

Often in divorces ``pets are treated as property,'' Sak said. ``I would say that a family pet is not the same as someone's sofa.''

The bill introduced last week would require any spouse filing for divorce to include a list of all pets and when they were purchased.

Under the proposal, if the estranged couple agree on a custody arrangement, they would file that with the court. Otherwise, a judge would decide the fate of the pets.

Some attorneys and judges who handle divorces questioned the need for such legislation.

``OK, maybe it's just me, but this strikes me as worse than useless and silly,'' Plymouth attorney James Ryan, former chairman of the State Bar of Michigan's family-law section, wrote on an Internet Listserv that goes to 800 lawyers and judges.

That touched off a flurry of comments from other family-law specialists, including from attorney Lisa McNiff: ``Is Sak bored or brain dead?''

Kent County Circuit Judge Nanaruth Carpenter said custody disputes are rare and typically worked out by the parties.

``I'm not saying pets are unimportant, by any means,'' Kent County Circuit Judge Mark Trusock said, but ``the last thing I want to do is take up the court's time for the custody of a dog. We need to make things simpler, not more complex.''

Sak said he introduced the bill after reading about similar legislation in Wisconsin, but he conceded that he is unaware if pet custody is a hot issue in Michigan.

Sak is not a pet owner, although he and his girlfriend found a dog on St. Patrick's Day a few years ago and named it Kate Rose. If they break up, Kate Rose would not be caught in a custody battle, he said.

``That dog is hers,'' Sak said.