ohmidog!

Custody of a Maltese named Bubkas has been awarded to the male half of a former couple in Manhattan that had been unable to agree on with whom the 2-year-old dog should live.

A Manhattan Civil Court judge granted custody to Adam Le Conte, but pointed out it would be nice if he let the ex, Kyungmi Lee, enjoy some time with he dog now and then.

Le Conte’s parents gave him the dog while the couple was living together in 2009. On Christmas Eve 2010, they broke up. Lee initially cared for the dog while Le Conte sought a new place to live. But after a couple of weeks, he reclaimed Bubkas.

Later, in August, he asked Lee to babysit Bubkas while he went on a trip, after which declined to give him Bubkas. Lee filed filed a lawsuit, saying he never surrendered the dog and he had a legal right to Bubkas.

Le Conte is “entitled to the return of his canine companion,” Justice Andrea Masley found in a November ruling. The ruling was reported Thursday by the New York Law Journal, and subsequently by most other media outlets in the city — because so much fun can be had with the dog’s name.

“A Manhattan man got Bubkas for the holidays — and couldn’t be happier,” reported the New York Post.

Bubkas, more commonly spelled ”Bupkis,” is Yiddish for “nothing.” (But we won’t begin to guess what Le Conte translates into.)

Judge Masley ruled that Le Conte “is entitled to the return of his canine companion,” according to the New York Daily News. “While there is no legal obligation to do so, the court hopes the parties will find a way for Bubkas to continue to spend time with both parties,” she said.

(Photo: SpoiledMaltese.com)