Story Archive

May It Displease the Court

When an unnamed couple in Saskatoon, Sask., Canada, went to court for a divorce, the wife asked Justice Richard Danyliuk of the Court of Queen’s Bench for sole custody ...of their dogs, asking him to treat them as if they were children, including giving the husband 1-1/2 hours per week for visitation. Danyliuk lectured the couple in a written decision that dogs and children are not the same. While “Many dogs are treated as members of the family,” he ruled, “At law it is property” and “enjoys no familial rights.” If he were to rule on the matter, he warned, he would order the dogs sold so the proceeds could be split between them, “something I am sure neither party wants.” He said it would be “absurd” for the court to hear such a case, and that to “consume scarce judicial resources with this matter is wasteful.” Danyliuk’s ruling was issued in a 15-page decision after he “waded” through detailed submissions from the couple, for “an issue unworthy of this expenditure of time, money and public resources.” (RC/CBC) ...Which we know about thanks to his lengthy expenditure of time, money and public resources.