For anyone splitting up who shares a dog, a cat, or any animal they both love

Everyone’s arguing about the house. You’re lying awake about the dog.

Married or not. Kids or not. You both love this animal, and “who keeps her” is the question you can’t bring yourself to say out loud.

And even once you answer it, it settles almost nothing. Where she sleeps on a Tuesday. Who pays when she swallows a sock. Who signs the form at the emergency vet at two in the morning. Who decides, years from now, when it’s time.

The arrangements that fall apart usually aren’t the bitter ones. They’re the friendly ones nobody wrote down.

“We’ll share him. We’ll figure it out.” Then a new partner, a move or a $2,000 vet bill, and there’s nothing on paper about what was supposed to happen next. So… Who Gets the Dog? walks you through every decision with 13 worksheets, so a kind arrangement becomes specific enough to handle the first ordinary thing that goes wrong.

Write the friendly version down · $37

Written by a mom of four who learned the family court system the hard way · 40-page PDF · Instant download

What “we’ll figure it out” costs

The vet bill nobody agreed on. Emergency care, surgery, ongoing medication. Unwritten, it lands on whoever answers the phone.
The move. One of you moves somewhere that doesn’t allow dogs, and the sharing plan quietly ends.
The new partner, the new pet, the new schedule. Each one reopens a deal that was never written down.
The hardest decision. Who decides at the end of her life, if you no longer agree on anything else.

The planner puts the animal at the center first, before fairness or scorekeeping, and then makes the details specific.

What you get: So… Who Gets the Dog?

The animal at the centerAn animal profile and an honest look at each home, before anyone keeps score.

The paper trailA records inventory and a “who actually did what” history of the care.

The shapes an arrangement can takeCompared side by side, including the ones nobody likes to say out loud.

The details that break agreementsA shared care sheet, the Money Map for who pays what, a vet and emergency plan, and an exchange plan.

When things changeMoves, new partners, new animals and end-of-life decisions, with review triggers. Plus a question list for your attorney or mediator.

Before you decide

“Does this tell me who should keep the animal?”

No, on purpose. That depends on facts I don’t have and on the law where you live. It makes sure the conversation with your attorney, mediator or ex happens on complete information.

“We were never married. Is this for us?”

Yes. It’s written for married and unmarried couples, and for people who simply lived together. Which legal process applies to you is a question for your attorney.

“Is there a sample agreement in it?”

No, deliberately. Sample clauses get copied into real documents by people who needed a different sentence. The worksheets give your attorney or mediator what they need to write the right one.

“Is this legal or veterinary advice?”

Neither. It’s an educational planning workbook. Questions about your animal’s health go to your vet, and anything you produce here goes to an attorney before you rely on it.

Write the friendly version down · $37

This planner does not tell you who should keep the animal. I’m not an attorney. So… Who Gets the Dog? is an educational planning workbook with 40 pages and 13 worksheets, created by a parent who navigated the family court system, sold by ValuED Sales LLC dba May Divorce Be With You.

⚠ Read before purchase

This is an educational publication, not legal advice. The author is not an attorney. Purchase does not create an attorney-client relationship, and no information shared with the seller is protected by attorney-client privilege. It was written from Utah. Apart from a dated list of statutes in the appendix, it contains no legal standards and no opinion about what any court would do. How animals are treated when a relationship ends depends on where you live and on whether you were married, and an attorney licensed in your state must review anything you produce here before you rely on it or sign anything.

If any of the following applies, the order of operations changes: domestic violence; an active or contemplated protective order; coercive control; stalking; threats to harm, sell, give away or keep an animal to force contact or compliance; any harm to an animal; substance abuse; CPS or DCFS involvement; abuse allegations, substantiated or not; an active mental health crisis; or international abduction risk. In those situations shared care and repeated exchanges may not be safe. Speak with a licensed attorney first, and where there is any safety concern, with a domestic violence advocate.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (text START to 88788), 24/7, free, confidential. In immediate danger: 911, always.

Write the friendly version down

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Reviewed and updated October 2026. By completing purchase, you confirm you have read and agree to the Read Before Purchase scope statement above.