Ex-Boyfriend Wins Tucker the Goldendoodle in Sealed Bid Auction

A precedent-setting property partition case involving a goldendoodle named Tucker has ended with a private auction between an estranged couple ordered by Delaware’s premier business court, with the ex-boyfriend being the highest bidder.

The amount paid for the dog—whose breed is a mix between a poodle and a golden retriever—wasn’t disclosed in court documents. The terms of the auction required single blind bids from the couple who got the dog while they were dating and have been fighting over his ownership for years. Tucker went home with the highest bidder, while the money went to the party relinquishing their claim to the dog.

An attorney for Karen Callahan, who petitioned the Delaware Chancery Court for partition of Tucker, said she had accepted her loss in the auction and didn’t plan to file any motions to stay the outcome. She “is disappointed that she was not the successful bidder and continues to miss Tucker,” William Larson of Manning Gross & Massenburg LLP said in an email late Thursday. “However, she is pleased that she helped set precedent that will help others in the future resolve dog ownership issues in an orderly fashion that recognizes the rights of both owners, not just the one in possession of the dog.”

Callahan and Joseph Nelson had been unable to agree to joint ownership in litigation that spanned four state courts. As they never married, they couldn’t look to a 2023 Delaware law allowing a family court judge dividing marital property to consider a companion animal’s “well-being” in deciding ownership.


https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/goldendoodle-ownership-fight-ends-with-auction-at-delaware-court