Dog custody is new divorce sticking point as ‘One Tree Hill’ star slapped with $10K-per-day fine: ‘It’s becoming worse and worse’

We’re entering the dog days of divorce.

Separations have always been ugly when it comes to who gets the house and the kids — but warring couples can also go barking mad over who keeps the dog.

“One Tree Hill” star Shantel VanSanten has reached a wild divorce agreement with her ex-husband Victor Webster over the custody of their canine, Nova.

The actress, 38, will be forced to pay her former spouse a staggering $10,000 per day if she keeps the rescue pooch in her possession for longer than three weeks at a time, court docs obtained by Page Six reveal.

VanSanten — who has also appeared in other hit shows including “The Boys” and “FBI” — must also provide frequent updates about Nova’s whereabouts to Webster, 51, whenever the canine is in her care.

But while the agreement may seem extreme, it’s far from unusual, according to one Big Apple divorce attorney.

“I have had cases where we have fought over who was going to pay for the Bark Mitzvah,” top attorney Susan Moss told The Post, alleging that acrimony over animals is now par for the course in many of her cases.

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Family lawyer Vicky Poumpouridis agrees, telling The Post she was recently involved in a case where a separated couple were so devoted to their dog that their divorce agreement included specifications about what foods and medications each would provide for the animal.

“Pets are huge parts of divorces,” Moss explained. “When there are no kids, the animals take on the role of children. People will fight to the ends of the earth for their dogs and cats.”

Moss said that as more people choose not to have children, “animals become their surrogates.”

“As vicious as a child custody case can be, an animal custody can be, too,” she stated. “It’s becoming worse and worse.”

VanSanten and Webster married in Oct. 2021, and do not have any children together.

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Nova served as a ring bearer in one of the former couple’s three wedding ceremonies, and the pooch appears in many of their social media snaps.

In addition to the dog, the former couple also shared two cats, Finnegan and Phillippa. The felines are now in the custody of Webster’s brother Vince.

In order to avoid any future contention, some experts are urging pet-owning couples to get a “pup-nup” — a prenuptial agreement that outlines what will happen to the animals in the event of a split.

“I definitely wish that I did my research on what happens when couples split up,” Erin Confortin, 24, told The Post in April, saying her ex attempted to sue her for custody of their dog, Bella.

She says she was eventually forced to pay $5,000 to keep her beloved pooch.

And VanSanten isn’t the only celebrity who has faced a doggy dilemma during a separation.

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Last year, Britney Spears reportedly refused to give up any of her five pooches amid a bitter divorce from husband Sam Asghari.

But the singer eventually yielded, and Asghari ended up with the couple’s Doberman, Porsha. Spears maintained custody of their four other dogs.

Elsewhere, “Gossip Girl” star Chace Crawford revealed last month that he shares custody of his rescue dog, Shiner, with an unidentified ex-girlfriend.

Although that arrangement works for him, Moss says she often advises against joint custody of canines.

“We warn our clients, if you don’t have children with somebody, as much as you may love your animal, if you share custody of that animal, you’re going to have to continue a relationship with this person that you don’t want to be with,” she told The Post.

“Unfortunately it ends up creating so much more stress for the parties that it’s just not worth it.”

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