Odd News

Court bars man from seeing dog

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-06-03 10:02

A Spanish court has ruled that dogs should not be treated like children with allocated visiting rights when it comes to divorce cases.

A group of golden retrievers are seen in New York, February 15, 2005. A Spanish court has ruled that dogs should not be treated like children with allocated visiting rights when it comes to divorce cases. [Reuters]

A Spanish man was originally given permission by his wife to visit Yako, a golden retriever, when they separated but he appealed to a lower court when she stopped him from seeing the dog. The court ruled in his favor and set up visiting hours.

But the provincial court of Barcelona then overturned that decision, saying it set a precedent for pets to be treated like children in divorce cases.

"This sort of litigation is rare, given that common sense and reason dictate that people should not take such cases to court," said court papers obtained by Reuters Friday.