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An Alberta woman is calling for changes to the way pets are dealt with under provincial family law.
Kathy Rolfe doesn’t have access to her three dogs. Divorce courts are currently dividing up property, previously shared with her spouse, including her treasured companions.
“They are actually considered more like a couch or a television set than a living breathing animal with feelings,” said Rolfe. “It’s not just me.
“This happens across Alberta — where there’s just a real sense of helplessness that comes with not being able to see your pets.”
Under Alberta’s current Family Law Act, pets are considered property.
“So the legal doctrine regarding the division of property applies — which doesn’t always jive with social realities of pet ownership,” explained Elizabeth Stewart, a family lawyer for Soby Boyden Lenz in Calgary.
“The judge is simply going to wonder, ‘Who purchased the pet? Whose name the pet is registered under? Who paid the vet bills?’”
Rolfe is calling on the province to follow British Columbia’s lead. Earlier this year, that province made changes to consider pets “companion animals” rather than “property” under family law.
“They’re going to look at children and the children’s views around the pet. They’re going to look at if the pet was ever subject to any family violence,” Stewart said of B.C.’s changes.
Rolfe has also launched a petition on Change.org. As of publishing Tuesday afternoon, it had been signed just over 300 times.
In a statement to Global News, Alberta’s justice ministry said:
“Alberta is aware of recent legislative changes in B.C. to allow courts to consider ownership and possession of pets under a special category during separation proceedings under the Family Law Act. Alberta is not currently considering legislative changes related to pets in the context of family law disputes.”
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