Who keeps Fido? Colorado lawmakers advance pet custody bill

DENVER (CN) — On a 6-5 vote, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill on Tuesday seeking to create custody rights for pets during their owners’ divorce proceedings.

“For most Colorado households, a pet is more than property, and existing law treats our pets like a toaster,” said the bill’s sponsor, Alex Valdez, a Denver Democrat.

HB26-1131 would grant state courts discretion in determining the best placement of a pet in its owners’ dissolution of marriage proceedings. To guide courts, the bill lays out criteria for placing animals, including each pet-parent’s history with the animal, who adopted it, distribution of care and expenses for walks, grooming, training and vet visits.

“Right now, when you look at property, judges are not looking at animals any different than a couch or a sofa and this leads to inequitable outcomes, and increased litigation,” Valdez argued.  

Rather than advance animal rights toward personhood, Valdez said the bill simply raises awareness of pets' wellbeing in couple separations.

Valdez drafted the bill to guide courts "in awarding sole or shared custody of a pet animal, the court shall consider the best interest of the pet animal, taking into account the pet animal's health, safety, comfort, and well-being.”

California, Illinois and Alaska have passed similar legislation in recent years.

While a representative from Animal Legal Defense Fund testified in support of the bill, the Colorado Bar Association testified in opposition, raising concerns that divorce dockets are already overburdened with issues of human child custody and domestic violence.

Denver Democrat Cecelia Espenoza, a former immigration judge, criticized the measure for adding to courts’ already taxed caseloads and carrying a six-figure price tag.

“I have significant doubts about your ability to pare down the fiscal note,” said Espenoza, who sits on the House Judiciary committee.

Roughly half of Colorado households own pets, and 80% of the 24,000 couples who file for separation each year end up in court. Nonpartisan legislative council staff estimate the new law would generate roughly 1,900 hour-long pet custody hearings, costing the Judiciary Department roughly $796,017 each year.

In addition to $442,094 in salary to cover the increased workload, lawmakers estimate adding pet custody hearings would also drive up costs for the "law library ($2,000), robes and cleaning ($1,500) and travel ($1,300)." 

Taking into account the fact that 30% of separations of couples with children require ongoing custody hearings, legislative council staff also budgeted 710 hour-long hearings for post-divorce custody adjustments and noncompliance claims.

Least she be seen as apathetic toward animals, Espenoza said she owns rescue pets and understands where the bill’s sponsor is coming from.  

“My husband takes care of all the things on this list, but it’s my pet. He goes to the pet store and buys the dog food, so I wonder how all of this would play out,” Espenoza said. “If we pass this, we are going to unintentionally clog the docket and that is a grave concern.”

If signed into law, the bill would go into effect in August.

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