B.C. provincial court to decide who gets to keep Kali the dog

While their relationship only lasted a year, the passion Ronnie Haywood and Stephanie Carrasco share for their dog Kalistill runs hot.

The couple will have a trial in June, 2016 to determine who gets to keep the border collie/Labrador retriever theyhad together until their relationship ended in the spring of2015, according to court documents.

The latest ruling in the case allowsthe pet to remain with Carrasco, despite Haywood making a claim that he should get to keep Kali until the conclusion of the trial.

Kali's companionship

"While I accept that the loss of Kali's companionship for the weeks leading up to the resolution of this case is a harm to Mr. Haywood that cannot be compensated by common law damages," wrote judge PatriciaJanzen,"the same harm will be suffered by Ms. Carrasco if Kali is returned to Mr. Haywood's custody."

The couple lived together from the late spring of 2014 until their break-up a year later. In August, 2014,Haywood purchasedKali from a breeder as a surprise for Ms. Carrasco.

Now the pairare nolonger romantically involved, it raises an interesting question of who owns and should have custody of the dog since both claim it is theirs and have provided the court with bills and receipts for the cost of her care.

Carrasco and Haywood havealso both posted about the dog on their respective Facebookpages.

Both have filed affidavits in the case in support of their arguments and both allege the other is not the bestcaregiver for the animal.

After their break-up, Haywood textedCarrasco complaining that Kali had damaged one of his rooms and that the dog should be punished. When Carrasco arrived at the residence she found the the dog whining and yelping behind a closed door.

That led to more arguing and Haywoodissuing afinal decree that he would never let Carrasco see Kali again, all of which Carrascoclaimedwas related to Haywood learning she had a new boyfriend.

Running along BarnetHighway

Ultimately, Kali came into Carrasco'scustody after a stranger called her the number was on the dog's tag, along with an out-of-service one for Haywood to say they had found the animal running along the BarnetHighway.

According to the court documents, Haywood had left Kali in his backyard when he left for work, and the dog got out.

"Kalicould have been hit by a car," wrote Janzen. "She could have been kept by a stranger and never returned to either Mr. Haywood or Ms. Carrasco. Similar concerns have not beenraised about Ms. Carrasco's care of Kali."

And it's based on this "evidence of neglect" along with the fact that the dog has been in Carrasco's custody since August, 2015 that Janzenruled that the animal should stay with her until the final decision is made attrial.

The court documents also show Carrasco has agreed to letHaywood visit Kali in her presence.