What do you do when you and your ex-spouse can't agree on who keeps the family pet? This may seem like an non-issue, but with pets being treated more like family members, it's one that has come up time and again.

Consider the San Diego woman who spent nearly $150,000 in legal and professional fees attempting to retain custody of her dog Gigi, or the Maryland couple who could only agree to visitation rights after a — probably very frustrated — judge told them that if they couldn't agree, their pet would be sold and he proceeds split between them.

Samantha Louis covered this in "What's Next, Pet Support Payments?" but now the state of Wisconsin has taken it to new levels. Legislation has been introduced that outlines exactly how judges should resolve divorce disputes involving pets. If the judge is unable to decide, the pet is then sent to the Humane Society. This means that the person who can get to the Humane Society office first can then adopt the pet themselves.

Can you imagine it? The judge rules the pet goes to the Humane Society. Each spouse rushes to their car, weaving in and out of traffic desperately trying to be the first one to adopt their own pet. Sounds like a bad car commercial. Not to mention the additional strain on the Humane Society — who's going to pay for all this? What if they don't have the room? What happens then? Do we just let them out onto the streets?

Yes, pets play an important role in family life. Yes, the affection you feel for your pet is often like the affection you would feel for your child. Yes, we need a consistent legal system. However, all Wisconsin has done here is take the court's problem and make it the Humane Society's problem.

It sounds to me like the law-makers in Wisconsin have good intentions, but poor execution. Hopefully, this legislation will see some changes before it is ever enacted.

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