Watch: Co-Ownerships

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Transcript

Monica DeBosscher [0:01] Another item that might come up is co-ownership. So, co-ownership is when two or more people have their names on a dog’s registration papers. This is a really popular arrangement with breeders who want to retain some control over the showing or the breeding of the puppies they produce. But I would say a lot of people (and even a lot of clubs) sort of shy away from co-ownership because there are a lot of legal disputes that can arise from these types of relationships. We’ve certainly seen and mediated our fair share of co-ownership agreements here at Good Dog. It’s more than just an arrangement between you and your co-owner. It really needs to be a contract that is in writing and signed by both parties. It should really dictate the terms for the entire life of the co-ownership, including when the co-ownership will end. It’s usually advised that the contract be as detailed as possible, so nothing is left to chance and there are no misunderstandings about what you and your co-owner owe each other. You’re really free to decide among you and your co-owner how to divide up the various rights and responsibilities, so things like housing the dog, financing the dog’s healthcare, maybe their show career, choosing breeding partners, placing the litters—all of those things should really be included in the contract. A big thing to keep in mind is dealing with disputes that may arise if one of the co-owners decides they no longer want to comply with the contract. I sort of think of a co-ownership agreement sort of like a prenup. When you get married, you’re like, “Everything is going to be so great, and I’m never going to need this prenup,” and then when things go terribly, you’re like, “Wow, I’m so glad that I had this.” That’s how you should be thinking about a co-ownership agreement. It’s there in case all things go terribly and you need to refer to exactly what the agreement was, in writing, between the two of you. It’s also important to really specify how disputes will be resolved and some kind of mediation mechanism included. At Good Dog, we offer a sort of free mediation services. Like I’ve mentioned, we have mediated a few of these co-ownership agreements, but including some kind of language that shows how you’re going to solve disputes that come up between you two. You should also be really specific about where the dog will live if the co-owners no longer want to retain a relationship or sort of how things like expenses or stud fees—how those things will be split up even after the co-ownership relationship ends. 

Cat Matloub [2:35] Include something about where the dog will live during a dispute. Is that what you were going to say, Monica?

Monica DeBosscher [2:40] Yeah. And also if someone breaches the contract… A dog is a dog, and he can’t be split in two. But maybe money damages are the best-case scenario for if there’s a breach. Again, I think it’s just about being as specific as possible and documenting everything in as much detail as possible, particularly for this kind of relationship.