Dog Ownership Issue..

Pictured above is our beloved Cavalier King Charles.

We were given him on October 2, 2011 some 14 months ago by my partners sister.

Over the last year he has become an integral part of our family and much loved by all of us including our 6 year old son and 9 year old daughter.

My partners sister gave him to us because she was allergic to him and was struggling to cope with a dog.

In the 13 months we have owned him we have always requested his papers only to be told they were packed away somewhere and she would find them.

The dog is chipped to my partners sister.

Everything has been fine with no issues or problems, as a professional photographer i even covered her daughters (my partners Niece) wedding recently in September for free.

So imagine our surprise when we were walking down the street with the dog my partners sister pulled up in the car all smiling, she calmly walked over and stroked the dog whilst secretly unhooking his lead, with that she went to her car and sped off. I presumed she was simply showing the occupants of the car the dog so did not think for one minute she would steal him.

She has refused to return him despite the upset and despair she has caused, everyone is so upset, she simply says I wanted him back so I took him.

So my question is where do we stand in rightful ownership?

My goodness - that is shocking! Is she like 'stable'? It sounds very peculiar indeed. Hope you get it sorted.

What a horrible thing to happen If you have anything like vets/ feed bills/ insurance receipts you could try contacting the police and see if they will call on your sister in law to talk to her. Sadly though if you dont have anything in writing, then it will be difficult to prove as it will be her word againt yours- and the dog is microchipped as hers.

Really hope you get it sorted out- thats is a very sad way to behave, especially when there are children involved. I agree with TTT- she sounds unwell :unsure:

Oh my word - that's shocking!

Does she get on with your wife? Have you tried going to her house and talking to her?

I have to agree, she doesn't sound very stable!

thats a shocker had the same sort of thing 12 yrs back, my ex got a flat and was told no dogs so she was going to find it a home but i said id have it and she not getting it back, she said fine ,i changed the address name down at the vets and got everything i could ito my name then 4yrs later she wanted it back, end story the dog stayed with me, mine was a lurcher so no papers, to me its going to be hard to get the dog back but i hope you do, best of luck and keep us informed ok :thumbsup:

Chips are not proof of ownership. I would contact http://www.doglaw.co.uk/ if i were you.

I suspect it will be a case of he said/she said. I would check out the link above, and also get as much documentation together to prove that the dog has been living with you for the past year and you have been paying all the bills etc. That should help, but my gut says that as much as I believe YOU are in the right, it probably won't go your way

Oh my word...

Contact the police for advice ASAP.

Another thing that you can do, which may not go any way to prove that the dog is 'yours' (and I'm afraid in the eyes of the law animals are still possessions, for the most part) would be to take your partner's sister to small claims court.

If you were looking after the dog for her (and the dog remained hers) then did she pay you for your out of pocket expenses throughout that time? You have a right to bill her for the equivalent upkeep costs to the cost of having the dog in a commercial kennels, which is about £7 per dog per night plus any vet bills, beds that had to be bought etc.

A year of £7 per day kennelling would cost £2555. Now, either you were looking after the dog for her in which case she should be paying you back for all of your outlay in looking after him, or she gave you the dog, in which case she didn't owe you anything but cannot then come back and claim the dog at a later stage.

It's horrible bringing our furry family members down to a cash sum, but it should focus her mind a little being taken to court and you have every right to be paid back for your costs if the dog was indeed being looked after on her behalf (and if she admits that she doesn't want the dog that much then all the better!).

Oh dear. I hope you get it sorted out for the best x