We’ve been waiting for a pet custody case to be reported.  Finally, one has: https://canlii.ca/t/k41hz.   Sahar Bayat (a nurse) and Omid Mavedati (a veterinary) apparently “invested considerable legal fees and have made multiple court applications” arguing about who gets to have custody of their Golden Retriever, Stella.

The couple lived together from 01 April (how appropriate) 2020 to 09 February 2023.  They got the dog 21 August 2020.   Dr. Mavedati represented himself at court.  Nurse Bayat was represented by lawyer Mandy Kandola.

Associate Judge Scott Nielsen ruled on 13 March 2024 that Nurse Bayat and Dr. Mavedati will share custody of Stella, week on / week off.

Dr. Mavedati argued that only he is on Stella’s “birth certificate”.   I guess he figured that “proves” he is Stella’s “real” daddy. I’ve owned a lot of dogs in my life.  Not one did I claim paternity of. 

Dr. Mavedati complained after the decision that he’d spent “thousands” on medical expenses, food, and treats for Stella.  Really?  Thousands?? In the eight months since separation?  Does Stella have a private chef?  Is it Gordon Setter Ramsay?  Maybe Wolfhound Puck? Mastiff Samuelson?

As Associate Judge Nielsen pointed out: He’s a vet.  Any medical treatment should be free.

Associate Judge Nielsen is a pretty smart and patient guy.  He became a lawyer in 1987, a Supreme Court Registrar in 2014, and an Associate Judge in 2022.  One could sympathize with him wondering if this is what seven years of university and thirty-seven years of legal practice has brought him to.  Still, he used some reasonable sense to order the couple share custody of Stella. Not ideal, but each will have time with their furbaby.

Unfortunately, the Family Law Act, s.97(4.2) expressly forbids courts giving joint ownership or possession of pets.  Why? Because the Eby government is stupid. So, an appeal would instantly overturn Nielsen, AJ’s decision.  More stupid money thrown away.  More stupid waste of judicial resources.

At Clear Legal, we have been making other lawyers roll over and play dead since 1990.