Woman in custody battle with her ex over their dog

A US woman has vowed to fight a Maine judge's decision to deny her custody of the dog she shared with her ex-boyfriend, despite her claims the dog is hers.

Jessica Sardina, 25, originally adopted her Labrador retriever-boxer mix pooch, Honey, with her ex-boyfriend, but now wants sole custody of the dog.

The only problem being that her ex, Kelvin Liriano, has his name down on the dog's adoption papers, making him Honey's legal owner.

On Tuesday the Maine Supreme Judicial Court denied Sardina's request to take full custody of the dog, backing up a district court judge who had already denied her on the ground of the adoption papers.

But Sardina insists that the decision fails to take into account Liriano's previous time with Honey.

Claiming that her ex is an unfit pet owner, Sardinia says that Liriano was unable to contribute financially or physically to the dog's care while Sardinia was dating him.

“He kicked me out and left me and our three dogs homeless,” Sardina told the New York Post, adding Liriano made no attempts to take Honey back at the time.

Now she has vowed to continue her fight for full custody of the dog, as she feels she is "her rightful owner", adding that the "fight for Honey is far from over."

As she refuses to have any further contact with her ex, Sardinia will also refuse any joint custody decision that would involve her sharing Honey with Liriano.

However Chief Justice Leigh Saufley seemed unimpressed with the entire case, the Press Herald reporting that she questioned if the case was worth a judge's time during oral arguments earlier this month.

As strange as it seems, almost all US states have laws regarding the custody of pets when married couples divorce – however as Liriano and Sardinia were not married, their situation doesn't fall under these rules.

Neither Liriano nor his lawyer, Jonathan Hunter, have commented on the case.