The subject of a bitter custody battle between a Playboy model and her husband is their Chihuahua, Bonnie. March 2008 Playmate, Ida Ljungqvist, is being accused by her estranged husband, Joshua R. Lang, of wrongfully taking the pooch when she split on September 11.

“I love Bonnie and miss her tremendously,” Lang stated in a sworn declaration submitted to the court, adding that the dog was like his “child.” He is asking a Santa Monica Superior Court judge to issue an order forcing the voluptuous brunette to return the Chihuahua to him, or allow visitation rights every other week.

Ljungqvist’s attorneys insist that Lang bought the dog as a gift to her, and that she will not be returning it. Born in Tanzania to a Swedish father and Tanzanian mother, Ljungqvist, 27, is the first Playmate to have been born in Africa.

Lang denies that the dog was a gift and claims that he was Bonnie’s primary caretaker: walking her, taking her to the dog park, hiking around Malibu with her, and traveling with her to San Francisco and Arizona. He even got a dog trainer and people who frequent the Barrington Dog Run in Brentwood to sign a petition supporting him.

All eyes are on the court and how it will decide this issue at the hearing on November 24. Many find the case silly, except for the lawyers. They are making a killing in legal fees.

Meanwhile, Bonnie is devastated with having to choose which parent to live with, and will need years of therapy and an endless supply of dog treats to recover from the divorce.