For the love of dog: How Indian couples who split continue to take care of pets

When Bengali actor Arijita Mukhopadhyay and her expartner parted ways in 2014 one worry rose above all others What would happen to their oneyearold Hingting Who would she live with What if she felt sad or confused about why mum and dad were no longer togetherThese are questions all parents struggle with during a separation the only difference was that the oneyearold in this case was a Labrador retriever It mattered not to them whether Hingting was human or canine mdash she deserved the same consideration as a child So they decided to coparent her even after splitting up More than a decade later Hingting mdash now a distinguished 13 years old mdash continues to bask in both her parentsrsquo love thanks to this decisionFigure out expenses schedules and support systems before embarking on coparenting Representational PicistockItrsquos perhaps what TMCrsquos former Parliamentarian Mahua Moitra wants for her beloved pet Henry as well The exMP has moved the Delhi High Court seeking shared custody of the Rottweiler that she and her exhusband advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai had adopted during their marriage Dehadrai has interim custody Moitra hopes to get 10 days a month with HenryWhile this landmark case could well end up setting a precedent in Indian law for pet custody in divorce battles we look at a few families who chose to resolve the issue out of court putting their fur childrsquos interests before egos2637of pet parents in India are couples with double income no kids DINK3737of pet parents consider their furry friend the most important thing in their livesMarsIPSOS Global Pet Parent SurveyMeenakshi Bhanj Deo counselling psychologist and canine behaviouristLegal grey area thinspPets as property A Delhi court last year gave Mahua Moitrarsquos exhusband custody of the dog as he had purchased the dog ldquoMoitrarsquos case may create a distinct identity for pets under lawrdquo says Ankur Borwankar founder of Prenup India ldquoThis does not require new legislation California Family Code Section 2605 is a good baselinerdquo Spite a motive too ldquoIn a case Irsquom familiar with an exwife secured custody of the dog only to put him down for the sole purpose of hurting her exhusband The dog had been adopted by him before they even metrdquo says BorwankarIt doesnrsquot always workTej Malkani with NaezaTej Malkani and her ex tried coparenting Persian punchface cat cat Naeza for a couple of years after their split in 2020 but it didnrsquot work out ldquoI didnrsquot trust his family to take care of the catrdquo she says Instead every now and then ldquohersquod come and meet Naza or take him out for drives or to the vet or groomerrdquoBack then she lived in Bandra and he in Juhu but after she moved to Cuffe Parade distance became a barrier Ultimately it only works if both sides consider practical aspects such as family support and landlordrsquos permission to keep pets she sayslsquoExes must be on good termsrsquoReilly with ZoeReilly a marketing headturnedyoga teacher has the fondest memories of Zoe the black Labrador that he coparented with his ex for six years before she passed on in 2024 ldquoIt helped that we lived just two buildings apartrdquo says Reilly ldquobut most importantly an arrangement like this can only work if you are on good terms with your exrdquoZoe would spend half the week with Reilly then hersquod walk her over to his ex Melissandersquos apartment A few days later shersquod bring Zoe backDid it ever lead to any tussles between the two Only when there were scheduling conflicts says Reilly but those were ironed out quickly ldquoWe had a good divorce lawyer who advised us to treat Zoe like a child and mention our custody arrangement in the court application to prevent future disputesrdquo he recallsDisputes likely to riseAs the number of DINK double income no kids couples with pets rise in the country discussions about pet custody are getting more common says Ankur Borwankar founder of Prenup India an online platform for prenuptial agreementsAccording to the 2024 MarsIPSOS Global Pet Parent Survey DINKs now account for 26 per cent of pet parents in India and more than onethird consider their furry friend the most important thing in their livesldquoIrsquove seen multiple legal disputes over pets when couples split especially in tier1 cities and more commonly in love marriagesrdquo says Borwankar ldquoAbout one in eight of the prenups we draft cover petsrdquolsquoWe put our egos aside and prioritised herrsquoArijita Mukhopadhyay with her beloved dog HingtingWhen Arijita Mukhopadhyay and her former partner split up in 2014 ldquoI was worried about my daughterrdquo the Bengali actor Fatafati Neem Phuler Modhu says in reference to 13yearold black Labrador retriever They decided to try coparentingldquoI proposed that Hingting could live with me for five months and with my ex for the next five months But every time we switched she would be very sad for the first two or three daysrdquo recalls Mukhopadhyay ldquoThen we tried one month at a time but she was still a bit confusedrdquoThere is no onesizefitsall answer to coparenting she emphasises because dogs are complex and sensitive beings ldquoWhen we started very little was known about dogsrsquo mental health and we too were evolving as pet parentsEventually I decided that she would live with me because she needs to feel stable in one home My ex lived alone while I had my family and staff to help out I told my ex he was welcome to visit any time After all Hingting is his daughter toordquo she addsHingting also gets to visit her human ldquodadrdquo for 10 to 15 days every few months or whenever he requests it The pet parents split major expenses such as medical bills ldquoHingting is happy nowrdquo she says ldquoshe knows that while this is her home Daddyrsquos place is her holiday homerdquoIs coparenting not too complicated Mukhopadhyay says ldquoAny child wants both parentsrsquo love Why should we deny her this love for our egordquo