Author Steven May addresses the difficult issue of co-parenting pets after a breakup or divorce in his new book, "What About Wally?" In the book, May and his co-author David T. Pisarra examine the effects of a divorce on a pet, and how pet parents can best handle a co-parenting situation.

May talked with Trends Today to offer insight and tips for veterinarians who may find themselves getting dragged into a battle of the exes.

The right course of action for a veterinarian who finds themselves in the middle of what may be a contentious divorce battle is to remember their role. Their main concern has to be to provide the best care possible to the animal. But since the job of a vet isn’t just what’s learned in a book, emotions often come in to play. Providing a sympathetic ear and manner is an important part of any vets work but caution should be exercised when dealing with divorcing couples. Listening is one thing but choosing sides is another. Remember, anything that you say to one pet parent might be twisted around and shared with the other. So keeping the relationship professional is the best course of action.

A divorcing couple may look to their vet as the expert in all facets of pet care and that includes behavioral. The reality is that pets can suffer emotional trauma from their owners divorce. Their exercise and feeding schedule may be changed, the attention they were used to getting might diminish and if a divorcing couple fights a lot that can certainly impact a pet.

Family law attorneys will counsel their clients with children that it is their responsibility to act in the best interest of their child. Of course, mitigating circumstances do exist such as one parent being physically or verbally abusive in which case they shouldn’t have access to a child…or a pet. I’ve found that by encouraging the co-parenting of a pet, or at least explaining the benefits of doing so, a common ground can be formed which oftentimes leads to a more agreeable divorce.

Unless circumstances present themselves that make it clear that one parent is not acting in the best interests of the pet, the veterinarian should follow the requests of the parent of record. As a vet it’s important to remember that you are not the cause of a couples problems and shouldn’t be a pawn in their game. Some divorcing couples will go to great lengths to hurt each other or shed a bad light on their spouse which can then be used in court. If a vet feels like they are being sucked in to this kind of scenario it’s best to focus solely on the care of the pet and distance themselves from any internal battles.