Lost/Found Dog Legal Question - Page 2

I DID tell her I could provide pictures, people who know me & the dog plus my vet and I thought the dog was tattoo'd but that I would have to contact the breeder to get that information. She was very hostile not only to me but also to the police officer that called her after she hung up on me.

I only know her first name, Kathy, and a cell #....I have done a lot of research to try to find her full name so I can do more....I have my local police on my side which is a small plus. I have found the dogs' tattoo information which is another plus in my favor. I own a half-sibling which is DNA'd plus the sire was also DNA'd if needed. The cell phone is thru US Cellular and is registered in Farmville, VA. That's about all the info I have been able to get so far.

Also, she did advertise finding the dog in my local paper 6 weeks AFTER she found her....why did it take 6 weeks? Then when I called she told me she's in Maryland on a business trip and wouldn't be home (VA) for a week...this sounds VERY off/odd to me. She also told the police officer that the local vet she took the dog to took pictures and she left her contact information if someone should report the dog missing. I called all 6 local vets yesterday to ask if anyone saw the dog on the 22nd per her claim....one thought they might have but the only thing they did was bathe a dog and listed it as a black/tan....my dog is a VERY dark black sable....no one called the local animal shelter as I was there with a flyer when they opened....no one called the police as I called every 2 hours to check and they had my information. All vets were notified but the one vet who bathed a blk/tan GSD has 5 people working in the office say that they didn't get my flyer or a phone call which I know is false. I asked them why didn't you call the other vets or the police or even the animal shelter? Their answer....they don't have a protocol to do anything like that!! They couldn't find her information or anything either.

Someone send me this info:
The woman who found the stray has a legal obligation to report finding the dog to the animal shelter closest to where to the dog was found.
When a dog is turned into the shelter as a stray, they have a week to be reclaimed if they are not wearing any sort of ID, collar or do not have a microchip.
If a dog IS wearing a collar, ID or has a microchip, they will be held for 11 days.
If you find a stray and report it to the shelter(s) and no one files a lost report, after 15 days, you can claim ownership of the dog.
But, you are required to file a found report to the local shelter if you take in a stray.
So, if someone found her dog and did not report it to any authorities, she broke the law. Basically it is like stealing a dog.

 

I have been reading posts on this board for years were people have been trying to get their dogs back, I am only sure of 1 person who was able to accomplish this (Drago) by going thru the proper channels. So to my way of thinking, If it was my dog, forget the legal channels, I am stealing hm back and you can tie me up in court for years. Also the poster who stated if the dog has gone thru a shelter or rescue you are at the mercy of the person with the dog, at that point I would be opening my wallet, she has not had the dog long, so there will be a price point where she will sell him back to you. If this dog has any protection training or sch on him, for the sake of the dog, you need to advise this lady. Or maybe if he has just been started on training and not completed, she needs to be advised he is a sweetie, but there is potenial for him to react badly in a given situation and this could be a VERY big LIABILITY to her, or maybe even one of her kids so unless she is prepared to complete the training, she should release him to you so he can be finished.

Out of state, legal means nothing.

I been there.

Your dog wasn't lost , didn't wander off.  Was stolen plain and simple.

If you find out where the dog is just go and get it..   Hire some muscle for the day..!

SSDD.

I have to agree with 2 moons and 1doggie2. Screw the legalities and go take the dog back if you can find the house.

I had 2 GSD's stolen on the same day right outta the city house yard. Both had a tattoo in the ear, both were seen in a truck @ the local Turkey Hill with rescue written on the vehicle. The truck later that day was seen in York. The state police and Mechanicsburg police called me saying someone has been calling with my tattoo numbers asking if they lost their dogs. They told me the call came from the Mechanicsburg ASPCA. I flew like a rocket to get my dogs, when I got there they said they don't know what I'm talking about. They don't have 2 GSD with tats.

At this point I could do nothing. Noone there said they inquired about the tattoos ..

2 years later, one of my dogs was found along a highway in York, dead. I went to pick him up, and brought him home. Dead. I've never heard anything of the other dog.

All my dogs since then are insured for theft. If something like this happens again, my insurance company will do the investigating ...

I hope you get your dog back.

I have found that VA Law states:
§ 3.1-796.96:7. Notification by individuals finding companion animals; penalty

A. Any individual who finds a companion animal and (i) provides care or safekeeping, or (ii) retains a companion animal in such a manner as to control its activities shall, within 48 hours:

1. Make a reasonable attempt to notify the owner of the companion animal, if the owner can be ascertained from any tag, license, collar, tattoo, or other form of identification or markings, or if the owner of the animal is otherwise known to the individual; and

2. Notify the pound that serves the locality where the companion animal was found and provide to the pound contact information including at least a name and a contact telephone number, a description of the animal including information from any tag, license, collar, tattoo, or other identification or markings, and the location where the companion animal was found.

B. If an individual finds a companion animal and (i) provides care or safekeeping, or (ii) retains a companion animal in such a manner as to control its activities, the individual shall comply with the provisions of § 3.1- 796.68.

C. Any individual who violates this section may be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $50 per companion animal.

Added by Acts 2003, c. 1007.

§ 3.1-796.127. Dogs and cats deemed personal property; rights relating thereto

All dogs and cats shall be deemed personal property and may be the subject of larceny and malicious or unlawful trespass. Owners, as defined in § 3.1- 796.66, may maintain any action for the killing of any such animals, or injury thereto, or unlawful detention or use thereof as in the case of other personal property. The owner of any dog or cat which is injured or killed contrary to the provisions of this chapter by any person shall be entitled to recover the value thereof or the damage done thereto in an appropriate action at law from such person.

An animal control officer or other officer finding a stolen dog or cat, or a dog or cat held or detained contrary to law, shall have authority to seize and hold such animal pending action before a general district court or other court. If no such action is instituted within seven days, the animal control officer or other officer shall deliver the dog or cat to its owner.

The presence of a dog or cat on the premises of a person other than its legal owner shall raise no presumption of theft against the owner, and the animal control officer may take such animal in charge and notify its legal owner to remove it. The legal owner of the animal shall pay a reasonable charge as the local governing body by ordinance shall establish for the keep of such animal while in the possession of the animal control officer.

Acts 1984, c. 492, § 29-213.95; Acts 1987, c. 488; Acts 1988, c

I found that KY Law states:

258.215 Seizure, impounding, and destruction of dog lacking rabies tag or other identification; holding period before destruction; notice to owner; reclamation of dog, cat, or ferret; fees; quarantine; exemption of hunting dog

(1) Peace officers or animal control officers shall seize and impound any dog which does not bear a valid rabies tag or other legible identification which is found running at large. Any dog which an officer or animal control officer seizes shall be impounded in the designated animal shelter of the county and confined in a humane manner. If, after a reasonable effort, the seizure of an unrestrained dog cannot be made, or the dog presents a hazard to public safety or property or has an injury or physical condition which causes the dog to suffer, the animal control officer or peace officer may immediately destroy the dog by the most reasonable and humane means then available.

(2) (a) Impounded dogs shall be kept for not less than five (5) days, unless reclaimed by their owners. Dogs not reclaimed and those not placed in suitable new homes may be humanely euthanized after the five (5) day holding period, unless the dog has an injury or physical condition which causes it to suffer. In those cases the animal shelter may immediately euthanize the dog, and if a human being has been bitten by the dog, the dog shall be tested for rabies.

(b) If an owner is identified, the impounding agency shall immediately notify the owner of the impoundment by the most expedient means available.

(c) Any animal shelter, public or private, which takes in stray animals and does not have regular hours for public access, shall post semimonthly either in a local newspaper or the newspaper with the highest circulation in the county, the shelter location, hours of operation, the period that impounded animals shall be held, and a contact number.

(3) Upon reclaiming an impounded dog, cat, or ferret, the owner shall show proof of a valid rabies vaccination. If proof of the vaccination cannot be provided, the owner shall purchase a vaccination voucher from the animal shelter. The voucher shall be valid for ten (10) days from the date of issuance and shall be used in the prescribed time period. The animal shelter shall reimburse the veterinarian for the amount of the voucher upon presentation to the shelter by the administering veterinarian.

(4) The owner of an impounded animal is responsible for all fees associated with the impoundment of the animal. If the owner can be identified, the fees are due even if the owner does not reclaim the animal.

(5) Dogs, cats, or ferrets which have bitten a person shall be maintained in quarantine by the owner for ten (10) days from the date of the bite. Owners who fail to properly quarantine their animals shall be subject to a citation for violation of this subsection and the dog, cat, or ferret shall be removed to the animal shelter for the remainder of the quarantine period. The owner shall be responsible for all associated fees of the quarantine and impoundment.

(6) A hound or other hunting dog which has been released from c

UPDATE! Weds. 01/07/09
I have been in contact with the Animal Control officer & supervisor in her county today. They have been in contact with her and things seem to be progressing. However, I will have to wait until Saturday for them to verify the tattoo and then we will go from there. She apparently called them yesterday to find out what her rights were in finding the dog. My attorney has been contacted just in case but I will wait as agreed until Saturday to see what happens. She contacted my police department claiming harrassment this afternoon b/c I called her ACO's and they called her wanting information and got it from her.

Why would you contact your attorney and wait for anyone..Who are you pleasing ? the dog napper or you..I would have your attorney contact the Animal Control officer/supervisor with a letter that insures they know you are represented..NO matter what he charges, it cant be that much for a letter to Animal control on your behalf. Now who is paying for the dog to be returned..Attorney needs to address animal control with the fact that this woman carried this dog all the way to where it is , and your client is not in a place to pay for it to be returned..Animal Control can collect a due and fair amount for you to pick up from Animal control..I would not go near that woman..Have a third party, as in supervisor of Animal Control take the dog in to his or her control and let your attorney make sure it is understood..You did not lose this dog...it was taken...leave it at that.   so then you can make the trip and the woman will have reciprocated to ac the amount of a trip home...tHAT IS UNLESS SHE WANTS CHARGES OF THIEF ON HER . YOUR ATTORNEY WILL KNOW HOW TO WORD THE LETTER...SPEND A 100.00 BILL ON YOUR ATTORNEYS PUSH....MAKE IT ALL LEGAL AND NONE OF THE HE SAID SHE SAID THING., EITHER...]

jAN

Wait a minute.  Your dog is tattooed and you didn't even know?

Ok, that's really odd.  That does change things.  Not your ownership, because of course that makes things very easy - you give police the tattoo # and if it matches, case closed.  But it does make the finder's actions more comprehensible to me.  If I found a nice GSD, no microchip but yes, tattooed, and then someone wanted to claim it and I asked, is the dog tattooed and the person said "I don't know" well.....I would doubt they were the dog's owner and now I understand why she was putting you off.

If an ear tattoo it means you never clean or rub or look into their ears.  If on the belly it means you never give belly rubs or scritches.  Plus wouldn't the seller have told you when you bought the dog that it was tattooed and given you the number?