Who Gets The Dog?

Photo from: Free Knuckles

Relationships aren't easy. They take quite a lot of work from both individuals to make them succeed. Even more difficult is when a relationship breaks up. We all react differently.

I was utterly surprised when I heard about the man who is spending $60,000 to get his dog Knuckles back. Knuckles can't be more than a couple of years old. He's a puggle comprised of 3/4 beagle and 1/4 pug. Obviously, both Craig and his girlfriend were both attached to this boy.

While we haven't heard much from the girlfriend's side about the case, by reading the other articles and seeing the video on his fundraising website, it's obvious that this dog is really special to his owner.

We don't know how long this is going on but it's evident that this guy has taken a huge risk by putting his story on the internet. He has paid around $60,000 USD out of pocket and is working three jobs to earn the money to try to bring his "Knux" back home with him.

I don't know what went wrong in the relationship, but taking a dog all the way across the country to California without consulting the other person about it, just doesn't seem right. This guy lives in New York City and seems to be of limited means where he can't jump on a plane at a moment's notice to see his dog. It has been said the girlfriend's reasoning is that this guy didn't want the dog anymore. I think he's shown her 60,000 reasons that he does. I'm inclined to believe this guy, because he's found creative ways to raise money for his cause as opposed to just asking for it.

A Growing Trend

Many times in the past and even in present day, pets are perceived by the courts as being just property. As more and more people are raising their dogs as part of their family and not just a pet, there are going to be more lawsuits like this one. Many lawsuits have arisen out of love, but there is a significant percentage that have resulted from spite and/or retaliation. One thing for sure, there has been a huge increase of pet custody cases since 2001.

Let's Discuss!

What's your take on this? Is it happening because they both love the dog or because the girlfriend is striking back? I don't know the answer to that, but I have to wonder why this man would go to this trouble if his motives weren't true?

Learn More About Knuckles

Here's the fundraising website for more information.

Free Knuckles