In 2021, when Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law what is now the fifteenth equitable distribution factor in Section 236 of the Domestic Relations Law—requiring matrimonial judges across this state to consider the "best interest" of a "companion animal" when "awarding" its possession to a party—divorce lawyers naturally questioned how on God's green earth a Judge would determine what is in the "best interest" of a dog, cat, or any other "companion" animal.