We are arguing over the dog because we cannot argue over love anymore

Dear Delyara, My wife and I have agreed on the house, the savings, the furniture, and almost everything else after seventeen years of marriage. We cannot agree on the dog. Milo sleeps on my side of the bed and waits by the window when she works late. We both say he is more attached to us. The lawyers have begun writing formal letters about a twelve-year-old animal with arthritis. Yesterday, my wife suggested alternating weeks. I said moving him would be stressful. She replied, “You mean moving him away from you.” We stopped speaking after that. The truth is, Milo is the last living thing in our home that still treats us like a family. He follows us from room to room while we divide objects and speak in careful legal sentences. When he lies between us on the rug, both of us still reach down to touch him. I think we are fighting over the dog because neither of us knows how to admit we want one part of the old life that will still be happy when we walk through the door.