Breaking up with someone you once loved is not easy, and it becomes all the harder when there’s a pet you love caught in the mix. Staying together for the kids is nothing new, but what about staying together for the dog? A year ago, Adam Klassen, 28, and his boyfriend of five years, Michael Tersigni, 30, decided to get a standard golden poodle, Hudson. They were having some trouble in their relationship and hoped a dog would help bring them together – and it did for a while – but then things went back to the way they were. When Klassen finally decided to bite the bullet and break up with Tersigni four months ago, he was taken aback by his partner’s response.Klassen said Tersigni said that if they were to break up, he’d have to move back in with his parents — who have a big house and yard — so obviously he’ll take the dog since that would be a better fit. He then went on to tell Klassen, “If push comes to shove, nobody is going to take your side anyway because no one wants a full size poodle in a condo downtown, when it can have full time care in a house with a yard, so don’t try to fight this.” When Klassen brought up how often he has taken time off work to take Hudson – who suffers from an autoimmune disease – to the vet, all the extra time he spends with the dog and how he handles most of the dog’s responsibilities, his partner pointed out a cold truth. He said, “You take him to the vet, I get that, but my name is the one on the vet documents, so I have legal standing as well,” Klassen recalls.He was scared he was going to lose the dog, so he stayed in the relationship. “I didn’t want to lose my relationship and my dog so I re-evaluated my break up,” Klassen admits.Tersigni tells the Star that he was blindsided by his partner and in a weak moment, he said what he could to try to avoid the inevitable. “I just didn’t want to lose everythi ...
|
