Pet Ownership Agreement — Word & PDF Template

This pet ownership agreement template records who owns a shared pet and the arrangements two people have agreed for its care, its costs and what happens to it if they separate. It is drafted for use in England and Wales.

Who is this template for?

It suits a couple (living together or apart), friends or other people who share a pet. As the document itself states, it is not a cohabitation or separation agreement, it does not deal with any other property, and it is not for breeding animals.

What does the template include?

The agreement is made up of numbered sections:

• Parties — contact details for Party A and Party B and the date of the agreement.
• The Pet and What This Agreement Does — the pet’s name, breed, markings, microchip number and keeper, insurer, vet, acquisition date and price, with a note that the microchip record does not decide ownership and a schedule option for more than one pet.
• Ownership — tick one: joint ownership in stated shares, or sole ownership by one party who is helped by the other, with a fallback to equal joint shares.
• Costs — a table splitting food, routine and other vet care, insurance, grooming and boarding between the parties, with repayment of shared costs within 14 days.
• Day-to-Day Care and Vet Decisions — where the pet normally lives, a vet spending limit without agreement, emergency treatment and decisions on putting the pet to sleep.
• If the Parties Separate — tick one: one party keeps the pet and pays an optional buy-out sum, the parties share care under set handover arrangements, or the pet is sold or rehomed.
• Death, Incapacity or Moving Away — the parties’ wishes on death with a reminder to deal with the pet in a will, cover during illness, and rules on moving away or taking the pet out of the United Kingdom.
• Disputes — talking first, then optional mediation, without stopping either party going to court.
• General — whole agreement, changes in writing, review on a change of circumstances, and governing law of England and Wales.
• Signatures — signature blocks for both parties.

Easy to customise

The template opens in Microsoft Word, Google Docs and LibreOffice. Fill in the highlighted fields, enter the pet’s details, set the ownership and cost shares, and tick the options and edit any clause to suit your arrangement.

Format and scope

Download instantly as an editable Word (.docx) file and a PDF, formatted to A4. Written in plain British English and drafted for use in England and Wales.