nikkik8806
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
On 10/6/11 a stray dog came into our animal hospital. We allowed him to stay and all the local shelters and vets were contacted to let everyone know that we had the dog there and gave a description of the dog. Also ads were placed online. On or about the 30th no one ever claimed the dog, so I decided to take him to my home and tried to find him a new home, thinking that I wouldn't want to keep him long term. I continued to place several ads online with the dog's picture stating he was a stray and that I was looking for a new home for him. No one ever came forward to me to claim in, but instead I had a family adopt him on 11/7/11. I have emails to and from this new family to prove that they rehomed him.
Several weeks later (I was notified on 10/19) 'friends' of the original owners showed up at our hospital to claim their dog - at this point I just told the receptionists to let these people know that the dog had found a good home and that he was no longer in the hospital.
At that time I had emailed the 'new' owners to see how the dog was doing, apparently he had become aggressive in their home and they ended up calling 911 and having the dog removed from their home. (I had NO idea that this would have ever happened-he never showed any aggressive tendencies while in the hospital and in my home!) So on the night of the 19th they ended up telling me he was taken to the shelter on the 18th.
The following Monday (11/21) I contacted the shelter where the dog was at and was able to adopt him myself - signing a legal contract to adopt him. Since then we've just embraced him in our home as our own dog. He's a very sweet boy - I've had no problems with aggression.
Since I've had the dog these people are now showing up at our office threatening to sue them for the dog. Someone at the front desk told them that I now have the dog and they apparently were giving people updates on what I was doing with the dog. The office ended up giving these people my own contact information and they called and apparently will be suing me for whatever, rights to the dog or the cost of the dog? (They also are apparently mad that I had their dog neutered).
The proof of ownership these people have that I've been show is a CKC registration for the dog and initial vaccine records. He didn't have a microchip until I had one implanted, and he never came in with tags or anything. He had a shock/training collar and we tried to get information going by the number on the box on the collar but that got us no where initially. He also wasn't wearing a rabies tag, and the people didn't show any proof of rabies vaccination or state license.
I'm just concerned now that they will be "pressing charges" or so they say. What can they do and do they have grounds to sue?
I've kept all the information from everything I've done with the dog, including the contract, medical history, communication with the people who tried adopting, etc.
On 10/6/11 a stray dog came into our animal hospital. We allowed him to stay and all the local shelters and vets were contacted to let everyone know that we had the dog there and gave a description of the dog. Also ads were placed online. On or about the 30th no one ever claimed the dog, so I decided to take him to my home and tried to find him a new home, thinking that I wouldn't want to keep him long term. I continued to place several ads online with the dog's picture stating he was a stray and that I was looking for a new home for him. No one ever came forward to me to claim in, but instead I had a family adopt him on 11/7/11. I have emails to and from this new family to prove that they rehomed him.
Several weeks later (I was notified on 10/19) 'friends' of the original owners showed up at our hospital to claim their dog - at this point I just told the receptionists to let these people know that the dog had found a good home and that he was no longer in the hospital.
At that time I had emailed the 'new' owners to see how the dog was doing, apparently he had become aggressive in their home and they ended up calling 911 and having the dog removed from their home. (I had NO idea that this would have ever happened-he never showed any aggressive tendencies while in the hospital and in my home!) So on the night of the 19th they ended up telling me he was taken to the shelter on the 18th.
The following Monday (11/21) I contacted the shelter where the dog was at and was able to adopt him myself - signing a legal contract to adopt him. Since then we've just embraced him in our home as our own dog. He's a very sweet boy - I've had no problems with aggression.
Since I've had the dog these people are now showing up at our office threatening to sue them for the dog. Someone at the front desk told them that I now have the dog and they apparently were giving people updates on what I was doing with the dog. The office ended up giving these people my own contact information and they called and apparently will be suing me for whatever, rights to the dog or the cost of the dog? (They also are apparently mad that I had their dog neutered).
The proof of ownership these people have that I've been show is a CKC registration for the dog and initial vaccine records. He didn't have a microchip until I had one implanted, and he never came in with tags or anything. He had a shock/training collar and we tried to get information going by the number on the box on the collar but that got us no where initially. He also wasn't wearing a rabies tag, and the people didn't show any proof of rabies vaccination or state license.
I'm just concerned now that they will be "pressing charges" or so they say. What can they do and do they have grounds to sue?
I've kept all the information from everything I've done with the dog, including the contract, medical history, communication with the people who tried adopting, etc.