Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe stay together for their pets.

In the old days (and probably a few cases here and there now), married couples would stay together for the kids. These days couples are staying together for their pets. Or at least Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe are.

The couple announced their separation last year, but Swank insisted that they were trying to make their marriage work. Looks like all it took to bring them to together again were some parrots, dogs, a cat and a rabbit. Those are the animals Hilary and Chad share.

According to SFGate’s Daily Dish, a source close to the couple said, "Hilary and Chad realized how much they loved each other when they spent time together with their pets...They are one big happy family and don't want to break it up." Too bad Brad and Jennifer didn’t have a few birds, right?

Swank and Lowe aren’t the only couple in Hollywood who have had to contemplate canine custody. When Jake Gyllenhaal and Kirsten Dunst split, they had to decide who would get Atticus, the German Shepherd they adopted together. Jake was the lucky one and can often be seen walking his pup proudly through Runyon Canyon.