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When a relationship falls apart, kids are often caught in the crossfire, and sometimes, that kid is a furry, four-legged one. A new survey finds that 81% of U.S. pet owners see their animals as children, or part of the family, which can make things messy if they split from the person they share a pet with.
According to a new poll by MetLife Pet Insurance of 1,000 pet owners, 29% have gone through a breakup while sharing a pet. And for a lot of them, it wasn’t pretty.
- Of those who’ve been through it, 60% got to keep the animal, 32% say their ex did and 6% shared custody, while 2% gave the pet away.
- Pet expenses sparked more fights than deciding where to eat out for 20% of couples and 13% admit they argue about pet costs regularly.
- To help avoid that, half of pet owners say they’d now sign a “pet prenup.” This would spell out who keeps the animal, who pays for what and how they handle emergencies going forward.
- For 88% of respondents, they’d want a pet prenup to specify who gets custody after a breakup.
- Another 70% want visitation schedules outlined, 67% want rules for dealing with vet and emergency costs, and 57% want it to divide regular expenses like food and toys.
- Some pet parents even want their pet prenup to cover agreements on training, lifestyle decisions and who introduces the pet to a new partner first.
- More than half of couples who share a pet say one person pays most of the pet bills, adding up to $100 a month, on average.
- To avoid a fight, 14% admit they’ve secretly covered pet costs.
- While pets are legally considered property, some states, like California, are starting to recognize pets are more like dependents and judges there can now consider an animal’s best interest in a custody dispute.⠀
Source: Vice