Gary Goldstein

 

​​“I’m not saying I caused the divorce, but I was definitely in the car.” – Betty, the Springer Spaniel

 

Meet Layla and Franklin Bishop. They’re a married Los Angeles pair butting up against forty, whose twelve-year relationship began like a house on fire—but now all that’s left are the dying embers. When a maddening incident involving the couple, a car accident, a gushing Hydro Flask, and their back-seated dog, Betty, becomes the last straw for the teetering husband and wife, they impulsively separate.

 

Money, work matters, and property issues quickly complicate things. But when Layla and Franklin each demand full custody of Betty, the road to divorce gets impossibly bumpy, even with the help of their tough-love mediator, Margo. Parents, friends, and potential new romantic partners are along for the twisty ride, as Layla and Franklin navigate their way apart—all while Betty works, in her mysterious canine way, to keep her humans together. But is she barking up the wrong tree? 

 

Told from the alternating points of view of Layla, Franklin, and Betty, Canine Custody is a funny, candid, sexy, at times bittersweet look at what draws lovers to each other, how those same things can send them packing, and the surprising role our pets can play in life’s major decisions.