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Melvin's blog
Nshima & Curry
Melvin's Blog
Nshima & Curry
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THE SILENT VICTIMS OF DIVORCE
Divorce can be painful, as a middle-aged Spanish man
discovered recently. After he and his wife split, the man
was devastated, because he had developed a close
relationship, quite naturally, with his wife's dog.
Luckily for him, a divorce court judge in southeast Spain
understood his despair and granted him visitation rights.
The man now gets to spend "quality time" with his beloved
pooch on weekends, which seems a fair arrangement. Divorce
should never come in the way of a good relationship.
Jose Luis Gonzalez, the man's attorney, told the Associated
Press that the verdict is a victory for animal rights. "It
shows that a dog is not just an object," he said. Indeed,
objects are treated quite differently in court.
Man: "Please, your honor, I'm very attached to it. I will
miss it dearly."
Judge: "Sorry, Mr. Davis, I've decided to rule in favor of
your ex-wife. You may not have visitation rights to the
big-screen TV. I don't care if football season is almost
here."
As a man who loves his TV, I can sympathize with men
separated from their Sonys and Panasonics. It can leave a
big void in your life, an immense feeling of emptiness that
makes you regret even thinking about divorce. But dogs are
different, because dogs will love you back, especially if
you are holding something that looks like food. Such as an
old shoe.
The verdict in Spain is not necessarily a victory for animal
rights. After all, the judge heard statements from the
divorced couple, but did not attempt to get the dog's
opinion. What if the dog didn't want to spend weekends with
the man? What if it wanted to spend weekends with the cute
mutt next door?
At a minimum, the judge should have placed the dog between
the man and a fire hydrant and let it show its preference.
It's important to consider the feelings of dogs and other
pets, because they're often the innocent victims of divorce.
One day the dog is lounging on the couch with the husband,
the next day both the husband and the couch have
disappeared. The dog is soon moping about, asking itself,
"Where is the couch? I miss it so much. I bet that crazy man
stole it."
Yes, divorce can be a traumatic experience for a pet.
That's why some couples stay together just for the pets.
(And you thought it was for the children!)
Couples who can't avoid divorce are left with a major
concern: how to stay in touch with the pets. With children,
visitation is usually possible -- and so are phone calls and
email. But most pets, unfortunately, have not received the
proper training to use telephones and computers. Even India,
President Bush's female cat, is rather slow in answering my
emails. (She keeps biting off the darn mouse.)
It shouldn't seem strange, then, that a man would request
visitation rights to his ex-wife's dog. The bond between a
human and a dog can be stronger than that between two
humans. Just ask my wife, who is so attached to a Labrador
named Indy, she can't imagine life without him. And Indy
doesn't even belong to us. (He works as a janitorial
assistant in my wife's office, ensuring that all the floors
are licked clean.)
Dogs like Indy are not just loving, they're also very
forgiving. I can't say that about many humans.
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