Divorce drama over pooches ends in Singapore with ex-husband awarded S$3,500 in court
SINGAPORE, Nov 13 — A woman’s attempt to reclaim two dogs from her former husband — and have him punished for contempt if he refused — has been dismissed by a family court.
According to CNA, the court accepted the dogs as matrimonial assets, but pointed out that the woman had offered no evidence that she was their rightful owner.
“It dawned on me that, like her ex-husband (Mr A), she is merely using them as a pawn to annoy me,” the defendant said in his affidavit.
The couple, married in February 2020 and divorced in February 2024, had earlier agreed to retain assets in their own names under a consent order issued in May 2024.
At the heart of the issue were two dogs, identified only as X and Y, which the court observed were absent from the divorce order.
X was originally bought by the woman’s previous ex-husband, Mr A, while Y had been adopted by the defendant after answering a friend’s rehoming notice.
The judge found that dog licences did not establish ownership and that the woman produced no evidence showing she had purchased or received the animals as gifts.
He concluded that the defendant genuinely believed his ex-wife had no claim to X, given Mr A’s messages allowing him to keep the dog.
Y, meanwhile, had been given directly to the defendant, a fact corroborated by a witness.
The court also noted that neither party had meaningfully addressed the fate of the dogs during the divorce, despite their later starring role in post-marital hostilities.
Under Section 21 of the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act, the judge accepted that any non-compliance stemmed from an honest misunderstanding rather than wilful defiance, CNA reported.
Costs of S$3,500 were awarded to the defendant.
