An ex-husband living in the western Turkish city of İzmir filed what was likely the first-ever lawsuit of its kind in Turkey against his ex-wife. M.U. is suing the woman he divorced in March for visitation rights to four Dobermans they shared while the two were married.

His lawyer Ayşe Esra Ünlü Polat told Anadolu Agency (AA) that there wasn't any precedent in the case, but that the courts should make a ruling similar to that of custody and visitation for children of divorced couples.

M.U. was given a seven-month restraining order by a court following the divorce process, a standard procedure in some divorce cases. "I had a hard time and I never wanted a divorce. I personally raised Paşa and Şila [the parents of the two other dogs the couple took care of] and consider them my children. I miss them very much and can't enjoy life while I am separated from them" he said.