Alanis Morissette’s bitter dog-stealing legal battle continues: The latest twist

The Ironic singer says that the situation has grown graver

Alanis Morissette (Reuters)

Alanis Morissette is currently embroiled in what must presumably be a painful legal dispute over her former housekeeper allegedly stealing her dog, Circus.

And the situation has just worsened – the Ironic singer believes that the attention the case has received might make her beloved pet a target of ransom.

Morissette and husband Mario Treadway filed the original lawsuit earlier this month, but the couple have since filed new documentation, which says that Circus "is not merely a piece of property. He is living and breathing," adding each day he's separated from the dog, "[my] heart suffers more and more," TMZ reports.

The case alleges that the pair’s housekeeper, Maria Garcia, stole the dog after she was fired in January.

She wanted to keep the dog as part of her severance, Morissette said no and the chihuahua/pug mix disappeared.

Garcia maintains that the singer gave her the dog because of Circus’s “behavioural problems” – and has since released a video of herself with the pet arguing her case called Help Save Circus.

Treadway says that this is exactly the sort of publicity that will incite further trouble, adding that the dog is apparently worth around $25,000. The case continues.