all4audrey
Junior Member
I live in ILLINOIS.
I'll try to make this as short as possible. Found a dog wearing a red collar at an intersection on Monday, the 5th. The collar was so terribly tight I had to cut it off and she had patches of fur missing under her neck where it had been. Took numerous measures to post ads and hang flyers. The Humane Society told us that the policy is that if the dog isn't claimed within 7 days, it was legally ours. 7 days went by, nobody claimed it- we bonded with it and decided to keep it. On day 8, a man called regarding a newspaper ad. We were previously told to screen anyone who tried to claim the dog, as some people will try to claim it and use them for bait in dog fights. He told us the collar was orange- when it was actually RED. We asked for his name, called the county and they said he did NOT have a dog registered and said it was 'our call' if we wanted to give the dog to him or not. We returned the man's call and explained to him the situation and that we had chosen to keep the dog. Well, he called a sheriff (whom we assume is his friend) who came and took the dog. Literally just showed up on our doorstep and insisted we give him the dog- and he gave it to the man.
We're horribly upset, as we don't even know if he was the rightful owner. According to what we were told we had 7 days- and after speaking with someone at the courthouse he pulled out some huge book and said it was '7 business days,' and since we had her over the weekend it didn't count. Even so, we don't think the officer had any right to just come in and take the dog which obviuosly showed signs of neglect. We were TOLD we had the choice to keep her or not- and we desperately want her back. Looking his records up online he already has an ordinance violation against him for not registering his dogs. The people at the courthouse said that all he'd have to do is provide proof, such as a photo of her as a puppy, proving she belonged to him. Our concern is obviously about the dogs health- and even if he does provide proof that she WAS his, we don't believe that he had any right to just call an officer and have them take the dog when we were TOLD it was our choice after the 7 days were up. AND it was already proven that the dog was NOT registered. We're very frustrated and don't know where to turn- neither of us (my boyfriend I live with and myself) have ever been in a court/civil situation before. All we want is to have our dog back... in a home where she'll be cared for properly and the county animal control isn't helping one bit. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated....
-Katie
I'll try to make this as short as possible. Found a dog wearing a red collar at an intersection on Monday, the 5th. The collar was so terribly tight I had to cut it off and she had patches of fur missing under her neck where it had been. Took numerous measures to post ads and hang flyers. The Humane Society told us that the policy is that if the dog isn't claimed within 7 days, it was legally ours. 7 days went by, nobody claimed it- we bonded with it and decided to keep it. On day 8, a man called regarding a newspaper ad. We were previously told to screen anyone who tried to claim the dog, as some people will try to claim it and use them for bait in dog fights. He told us the collar was orange- when it was actually RED. We asked for his name, called the county and they said he did NOT have a dog registered and said it was 'our call' if we wanted to give the dog to him or not. We returned the man's call and explained to him the situation and that we had chosen to keep the dog. Well, he called a sheriff (whom we assume is his friend) who came and took the dog. Literally just showed up on our doorstep and insisted we give him the dog- and he gave it to the man.
We're horribly upset, as we don't even know if he was the rightful owner. According to what we were told we had 7 days- and after speaking with someone at the courthouse he pulled out some huge book and said it was '7 business days,' and since we had her over the weekend it didn't count. Even so, we don't think the officer had any right to just come in and take the dog which obviuosly showed signs of neglect. We were TOLD we had the choice to keep her or not- and we desperately want her back. Looking his records up online he already has an ordinance violation against him for not registering his dogs. The people at the courthouse said that all he'd have to do is provide proof, such as a photo of her as a puppy, proving she belonged to him. Our concern is obviously about the dogs health- and even if he does provide proof that she WAS his, we don't believe that he had any right to just call an officer and have them take the dog when we were TOLD it was our choice after the 7 days were up. AND it was already proven that the dog was NOT registered. We're very frustrated and don't know where to turn- neither of us (my boyfriend I live with and myself) have ever been in a court/civil situation before. All we want is to have our dog back... in a home where she'll be cared for properly and the county animal control isn't helping one bit. If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated....
-Katie