12/03/2008

Associated Press

A dispute over visitation rights to a dog that threatened to be a deal breaker in the breakup of a domestic partnership will have to be settled separately.

The couple, Toni Wolf and Sharon Taylor, had been domestic partners from 1989 until 2005, when they dissolved their partnership with a settlement agreement approved by a Multnomah County judge.

But a month after the settlement, Wolf notified the court she was rescinding the settlement and wanted to take the case to trial, arguing the dog was property and visitation rights apply only to people.

The trial court and the Oregon Court of Appeals have ruled against Wolf, saying the visitation rights are a separate issue that did not justify throwing out the entire agreement.