A man, Craig Dershowitz, and his girlfriend, Sarah Brega, broke up the other year. It happens. Normally, when children are involved, custody battles are fought. A custody battle has ensued over Knuckles, a Beagle/Pug mix dog (pictured).
Craig wants his “son” back and has spent $60,000 thus far to win this battle. He lives in New York while his ex lives in California.
Craig won his case in a Manhattan court in January and considered to be the rightful owner of “Knux.” Here’s where it gets tricky. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dep’t won’t “retrieve” him from his ex’s until a ruling is made in a Los Angeles court scheduled for tomorrow. If the Los Angeles court upholds the original ruling, Knuckles will be on his way to New York tomorrow night.
But this is where the case gets tricky. Brega claims while Craig was looking for a new place to live, he never visited Knux for eight months. The ex moves to California. Both claim they paid for him and for day care. Paid for him? Hmm….I do wonder if Knux was bought from a pet store- puppy mill….no say it “ain’t” so!….but I digress.
His ex also claims that Craig is making this fuss over Knux for revenge. She is the one who ended their relationship. She also states that he’s looking for media attention. He did appear on the Today Show this morning with his lawyer. He has also created a youtube video seeking monetary donations to help defray his legal expenses in which he already spent $60,000 to regain custody of his dog. Prior to the Today Show, he did receive $140. He has also created a website for the same purpose.
Whether you believe Craig is flamboyant or an attention-seeker, do you really think someone would spend $60,000, his entire life savings, to have his dog returned to him on the premise of revenge? That feels like a far stretch for me to believe.
Children and now pets are used as pawns in bitter break-ups and it is they who pay the price when these relationships end. How shameful that adults can’t be more mature in the manner in which they handle the innocent victims.
Hypthetical situation…if my husband and I were to split, I would want my dog, Jazz. No doubt about it. But, our “son” doesn’t belong to only me. Jazz also loves both of us. We would make sure we shared custody of him. That is who we are as individuals. That is how we handle important matters. I say that with 100% certainty.
It’s unfortunate that many people travel a different path when it comes to custody matters involving children and pets.
Do you think Craig is seeking revenge by spending his life savings for being dumped?
What would you do if you were in the same predicament?
You can view Craig’s appearance on the Today Show here.