OS ANIMAIS DE ESTIMAÇÃO NO DIREITO DE FAMÍLIA: ENTRE A COISIFICAÇÃO E A SENCIÊNCIA

This article investigates the significant transformation of the legal treatment of pets within Brazilian Family Law, as a result of the increasingly evident relevance of these beings for today's families. This work originates from the disparity between the traditional classification of the Civil Code, which considers animals as movable property (semoventes), and the social reality that recognizes them as members of the family. We then investigate how jurisprudence, especially the paradigmatic decisions of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), has shaped a third legal alternative for the resolution of conflicts arising from the dissolution of marriages and stable unions. This new perspective goes beyond the mere patrimonialist view, by balancing the principle of affectivity with the recognition of animals as sentient beings, who are constitutionally protected against cruelty. The assumptions that authorize the analogous application of institutes such as shared "custody" and visitation rights, the definition of the maintenance obligation linked to property, and the very harsh civil and criminal consequences of abandonment, which is configured as a crime of mistreatment, will be investigated. The work shows the creation of a hybrid legal regime that, in the absence of specific legislation, aims to safeguard human dignity from the affective bond and ensure the well-being of the animal.