Your pup troubles remind me of my former neighbor when she was going through her divorce. One kid was a junior in high school and the other kid was an 8th grader. They had the most adorable dog - one of those little teeny ones that looks like a dustmop.

Anyway, dad was a total loser - an ambulance chasing lawyer who had developed a very nasty drug habit. Lost everything, and then sort of lost his mind. The parenting plan actually included the dog - yes, the dog was ordered to go with the kids when they went to Dad's crappy apartment.

One day I was out for a walk - as I walked by her house, I saw dad's car sitting outside the house waiting for the girls to come out. Dad was in the car yelling at mom, and I was sort of standing by as a witness. Girls come out. Sans dog. Dad starts screaming about the dog. Mom opens the door and out walks the dog. Dog jumps into the car as Dad and Mom are still barking at each other. I start to walk away, when all of a sudden, I see the dog flying through the air!!

Dad takes off with the girls. Dog runs back to the front door with me closely on her heels. Mom opens the door to see me and Dog standing on her porch. I went inside to make sure everything was okay. It seems that Dog had a vet appointment that Dad was not going to take her to.

Poor puppy had nothing to do with their issues but these two were hell bent on fighting over that damn dog.

I wish people would leave pets out of human drama.