pet stolen and new owners refuse to give back, except for $8,000!!

[jaz5151]

What is the name of your state? michigan
Any help is appreciated, please be patient with the long discription.
our family pet was stolen a little over a year ago. She is a 4yr. old Shih-tzu and has a tatoo. After contacting police and checking shelters for a year we had given up hope (except for my six year old son who continued to pray for her each evening, saying he knew God would give her back). By chance (or Divine intervention) a friend of a friend heard of a "dog ring" at a vet. clinic and knew of one of the ladies who lived on my block! After confronting her at work she took me aside and says she found her late at night, and took her to er vet clinic for 6 weeks, she did not contact the police, she did not ask neighbors (most in the area new our dog), she did not contact any shelters, or the nearby vet clinics. She claims to have posted a sign on the corner, which is imposible (and i have signed statements from neighbors at that corner saying so. During this visit she told me her new owners "just love her" and refused to give the number of her "new owners". With threats of a lawsuit her boss demanded she give the number (a cell number registered to a major corp.). After pleading with the "new owners" and explaining this was my son 2nd birthday present they refused to give back unless i sued or for 8,000. The police will not get involved and we are with limited resources, we only have a name and no address how should we proceed? I have spent $200 on a P.I. and am starting to think I should persue my rights through the police and criminal courts. What are my rights? How should I proceed. I still dont have an address, the police dont think this is important enough, "with bigger things to look after" .... Any help is appreciated P.S. she was clearly stolen with her coller removed and left with the gate left open on a rainy morning, She was only out for seconds before I looked for her (because of the rain). This is our second Shih-tzu stolen!! Thank-you again for your patients with this lenghy post!!

 

[seniorjudge]

Sue the bad people in small claims court.

 

[jaz5151]

Where Should I start, Our neighbor, the Vet. Clinic or the people who have her now and know she is stolen?

 

[justalayman]

Where Should I start, Our neighbor, the Vet. Clinic or the people who have her now and know she is stolen?

the only folks on that list that have damaged you are the folks that have the dog.

If you have a name it shouldn't be that difficult to get an address.

Go get 'em.

 

[jaz5151]

This is where i am at a stand still, they have very commen names, and i only have a cell phone that is listed as a phone to a large corporation. I have spent a few hundred on a P.I. to get the address and they have not had any success. What is the best way to find them, I cannot sue them without an address(?). When they are found can I just take the dog back, she has a tatoo, I have pictures, and proff of purchase, also she was called in as stolen immediatly after the theft. What are my rights to her on another persons property? Can I involve the police in the city she is at (when found)? Can I find the address from the corporation, and if so how do I go about it?

 

[seniorjudge]

Let the friend of the friend who has all this information know you plan to subpoena her into court to testify and give up the names of the thieves.

I would also pursue this with the cops.

 

[jaz5151]

I have the name and address of the person who took the dog and the vet clinics name and address, (this is where i confronted her personally, and she reluctanly gave the phone number of the current person who has the dog.)I dont have an address for the people who currently have possesion of her.

My son and I are devestated to have her ripped out of our lives and not to be able to just get her back, she is stolen property it seems we should have a right to getting her back through criminal not civil courts, as i mentioned i absolutly do not have the money it would take to pay for a laywer. If she were a car or a piece of jewelry the police would handle this matter, again she has a tatoo, and she was called in as stolen immediatly after her disapperace, I was waiting at the door for her, it was raining and when she did not immediatly come back, i went looking for her, the gate was open and her collar was removed. She is six pounds and it is impossible for her to do either of these things.

 

[seniorjudge]

I have the name and address of the person who took the dog and the vet clinics name and address, (this is where i confronted her personally, and she reluctanly gave the phone number of the current person who has the dog.)I dont have an address for the people who currently have possesion of her.

My son and I are devestated to have her ripped out of our lives and not to be able to just get her back, she is stolen property it seems we should have a right to getting her back through criminal not civil courts, as i mentioned i absolutly do not have the money it would take to pay for a laywer. If she were a car or a piece of jewelry the police would handle this matter, again she has a tatoo, and she was called in as stolen immediatly after her disapperace, I was waiting at the door for her, it was raining and when she did not immediatly come back, i went looking for her, the gate was open and her collar was removed. She is six pounds and it is impossible for her to do either of these things.

I can't imagine letting a little dog running loose like this.

But, anyway, what do the cops tell you?

 

[justalayman]

If you have a name and a place of employment and the PI can't find anymore than that, I would ask for my money back.

as the judge posts, what do the cops say when you have the name of the person who took the dog ? and you have the name of the person wha now has the dog?


start with whatever level of police you first encounter and then progress upwards until somebody understands you have all but solved the crime without them but you still need them to act on what is left. It may sound extreme but if the police won;t help, I would call the DA's office.

 

[danno6925]

One Better

I'd go one better. Call this slimeball and setup a meeting. Tell them you agree to only 5,000.00 and that you just can't raise anymore than that. If they won't drop the price, call them back the next day and agree to bring the money in cash (all 20's). Find a bag large enough to accommodate that amount of cash. When they agree to meet, call the cops, fill them in, and request that they surround the location.

Meet somewhere public (a parking lot of a large store would be good) and when the deal goes down, the cops will have everything they need for a conviction, and you get your puppy back. Done deal.

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

I'd go one better. Call this slimeball and setup a meeting. Tell them you agree to only 5,000.00 and that you just can't raise anymore than that. If they won't drop the price, call them back the next day and agree to bring the money in cash (all 20's). Find a bag large enough to accommodate that amount of cash. When they agree to meet, call the cops, fill them in, and request that they surround the location.

Meet somewhere public (a parking lot of a large store would be good) and when the deal goes down, the cops will have everything they need for a conviction, and you get your puppy back. Done deal.

You really are mental.

 

[danno6925]

Help! I'm being cyber stalked

Lessee... Your advice as to relevance rates a zero IMHO.
What's the deal with the childish posting? You made a point in another area of the forum, and I disagreed. Maturity comes with age, so I'm guessing you're posting between between math and history?

FYI:
My suggestion could be not only work in theory, but if properly documented could also net a conviction.

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

Lessee... Your advice as to relevance rates a zero IMHO.
What's the deal with the childish posting? You made a point in another area of the forum, and I disagreed. Maturity comes with age, so I'm guessing you're posting between between math and history?

FYI:
My suggestion could be not only work in theory, but if properly documented could also net a conviction.

In my opinion, I just think you are dumb.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=257682

 

[CdwJava]

I'd go one better. Call this slimeball and setup a meeting. Tell them you agree to only 5,000.00 and that you just can't raise anymore than that. If they won't drop the price, call them back the next day and agree to bring the money in cash (all 20's). Find a bag large enough to accommodate that amount of cash. When they agree to meet, call the cops, fill them in, and request that they surround the location.

Meet somewhere public (a parking lot of a large store would be good) and when the deal goes down, the cops will have everything they need for a conviction, and you get your puppy back. Done deal.

And charge the person with ... what? With bringing the money to fulfill a verbal contract?

Selling a dog does not imply that the person STOLE the dog or knew that it was stolen. They would need more than that to garner a conviction.

Depending on what the police have been told they might not yet see this as a criminal act. To pursue a criminal act of theft they would have to prove that the person discovering the dog KNEW who the owner was and intended to deprive them of the dog, and that the people currently in possession knew or reasonably should have known that the dog did belong to someone else. None of this is automatic because the OP says it is so. Since no one has actually yet seen the dog or the allegedly identifying mark on it, it's premature to say that any kind of conviction could result from this.

I can say with some certainty that the cops are not going to set up in a parking lot for a dog and cash transfer. If they believe there is a crime, they will speak to the involved parties.

Jaz5151, perhaps if you speak to the DA he can tell you whether there is a case or not.

- Carl

 

[jaz5151]

Thank-you for your advice... I have spoken today with 2 police detectives from other cities and both feel i have more than enough for them to pursue this through the police dept., both suggest going to their supervisors and up until i get some legitimate responses. I wanted to be sure I wasnt being irrational before I pursued this route.

The P.I. has'nt gotten an address with a cell phone number first and last names of a married couple with a workplace. I think i will ask for my money back as you suggested.

Please note i didnt let my "little dog run loose". My yard is fenced in and i had every reason to believe the gate was closed early on a sunday morning as it was late on saturday evening, in addition i was waiting at the door for her because she dislikes the rain
and when she didnt immediatly return by calling her i went out in the rain to see if she was all right, again this is how i am POSITIVE she was stolen, she is six pounds and could not open the gate take her collar off and disappear with in minutes!

I found the advice of nabbing her amusing and have entertained the thought of finding where she is located and taking her back, i will cross that bridge if the police are not resposive and i can locate the address. I would still like to know if i have the right to do this. I would not like for it to "bite me in the a** "

what are the opionions of what the outcome might be if i were to retain a lawyer and pursue this legally?

How much can i expect it to cost.

is the fact that the person who took the dog (claiming she was found) works at a vet clinic, removed the dog so i could not find her and did not pursue all the logical and simple ways of finding her owner, in addtion, she did not try to find the owner by means the clinic would of had to trace the tatoo, she was not called in as found by the vet or the tech (who is my neighbor) to the city animal control or police or nearby areas, they did not check with the shelters or human society or area vets., they did not walk the dog down the street and ask any neighbors (my babysitter lives 3 houses from them i live 7!) are any of these factors going to be concidered in court? She claims she posted a sign, which of course i would have seen living just houses from that corner, and i have signed documents from 5 adults living there that there was never a sign ( they know my dog and my family and were immediatly made aware she was missing).

According to the time line the vet tech said she had the dog for 6 weeks at the clinic (which is obsurd, no vet. in there right mind would keep a healthy dog in a small cage for that long!)and the people who have her now said they were contacted in early august, she wasnt gone untill the last weekend of that month!!

Does the new "owners" have any rights to her? Even under these circumstances or does stolen property automatically go back to the original owner?

How long does this process take and can i start it myself?

Is it possible to sue the vet clinic?

Is it legal is i were to place an add in the paper reporting their (the vet clinic's)
envolvement? can i threaten this?

can a lawyer threaten to sue the clinic, trying to get the dog returned, or the were abouts?

I appreciate any legal advice(from lawyers). Thank-you