Yes, as part of a California domestic violence restraining order. If the judge finds good cause, the order can give you exclusive care, possession, or control of an animal and order the other party to stay away from it and not take, hide, harm, threaten, or get rid of it.

What the law allows

On a showing of good cause, the court may include in a protective order a grant to the petitioner of exclusive care, possession, or control of any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by either party, or by a minor child living in either party’s household (Family Code section 6320(b)). The court may also order the restrained person to stay away from the animal and not take, transfer, encumber, conceal, molest, attack, strike, threaten, harm, or otherwise dispose of it (Family Code section 6320(b)).

That reaches more than an animal in your name. An animal the other party owns, one that is leased, or one kept by a minor child in either household can be covered.

How and when to ask

The request form has an item for this. Item 16 of form DV-100 (“Protect Animals”) lets you list your animals, your children’s animals, or the other person’s animals and ask for a stay-away order, an order not to take, sell, hide, harm, get rid of, transfer, or borrow against them, and sole possession, care, and control. It asks for your reasons, with boxes such as that the other person abuses the animals, that you take care of them, or that you bought them. The form’s “Describe Abuse” section also lists “abused a pet or animal” among its examples of abuse (DV-100).

These orders are among the ex parte orders a court can make when you first file, and the court can also make them after notice and a hearing (Family Code section 6340(a)(1)). The temporary restraining order form has a matching item (form DV-110, item 16), so animals can be protected in a temporary order and again in the order after the hearing.

What this provision is, and what it is not

The animal orders are part of a domestic violence protective order, not a separate way to get an order just for a pet; the statute lets the court “include in a protective order” this relief (Family Code section 6320(b)). You still need a basis for the order itself: a relationship the domestic violence law covers, such as a spouse or former spouse, a current or former cohabitant, a current or former dating or engagement partner, the other parent of your child in the situations the statute describes, or a close relative (Family Code section 6211), and, under Family Code section 6300(a), “reasonable proof of a past act or acts of abuse” shown to the court’s satisfaction.

The animal terms then have their own standard, good cause (Family Code section 6320(b)). The statute does not define it, and the court “may” grant this relief, so nothing is automatic.

Evidence that helps this request

  • Proof of your connection to the animal: adoption or purchase records, veterinary records in your name, microchip registration, or photos showing you as the regular caretaker.
  • Any record of the other party threatening, harming, or using the animal to intimidate or control you, such as messages, photos of injuries, or veterinary records of an incident.
  • Anything showing who feeds, houses, and cares for the animal day to day, if that is disputed.

Use the court process rather than self-help to get an animal away from the other party. If you are worried about an animal’s immediate safety, include it in your request for a temporary order.

If you are the person the order is against

  • The order can cover an animal you own. If it is granted, follow its animal terms exactly, including any stay-away distance and the ban on taking, selling, hiding, harming, getting rid of, transferring, or borrowing against the animal (DV-110, item 16).
  • Section 6320(b) speaks of a grant to the petitioner of care, possession, or control; it does not say the order changes who owns the animal.
  • You can respond. The response form, DV-120, item 14, lets you agree or disagree with the animal orders requested and describe a different order you would accept, and once served you may answer the whole petition with a response that “explains or denies” its allegations (Family Code section 243(c)).

If your situation does not fit neatly here

Section 6320(b) is part of the Family Code’s domestic violence law. If your relationship with the other person is not one that law covers, or your case is a criminal one, ask a lawyer which kind of order applies and whether it can address animals.

A pet’s safety can be part of a restraining order request from the start. The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can help you ask for animal protections, or respond to a request that includes them. Call (800) 755-5174 to discuss your situation.