Couple goes to court over ownership of dog

A man in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, brought his ex-wife to court to fight for the ownership of a corgi dog they raised before they divorced, reported ThePaper.cn, a news outlet based in Shanghai.

After Xu Li and his husband Zhao Ding — both aliases — broke up in March 2022, the two quickly reached a consensus on the distribution of property, but there was a great controversy over the ownership of their pet dog, a Welsh Corgi Pembroke named Mao Dou.

Zhao thought Mao Dou should belong to him he spent a lot of time taking care of it, but Xu believed only she can take good care of the animal, because she claimed Zhao is busy with work.

Unable to reach an agreement, Zhao filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife, demanding ownership of Mao Dou.

The court held the dog and Zhao were closer as they had lived in the house for two years and were more familiar with each other.

After mediation, the two sides agreed the pet dog belongs to Zhao Ding, but Xu can visit it anytime.