Legal question - Page 1

This is not a problem involving dogs, but easily could be: I was layed off from my job on a large ranch over the winter due to having broken my neck in an auto accident.  I left my horse at the ranch over the winter and my boss lost her.  She has no idea if my horse is dead or escaped and is lost somewhere.  At first she told me that she was at fault for not checking on the horses at all over the winter.  But now that I have quit my job with her, she is no longer claiming responsibility.   We had no agreement, verbal or otherwise, as to who was responsible for my horse.  She is now saying that she "just assumed" that I knew she was not responsible for the safety of my horse while she (my horse)  was in her (my former employer's) care.  Who is the responsible party in this case?  I have contacted the small claims advisor for my county but have yet to hear back from them.  I'm not sure if I should pursue this legally as I don't know if I even have a case.  The ranch is located in California.  Any suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Krystin

Does the rancher have other horse's?    One horse could get lost as easily as another.    Call the peoples court, you may just be what they are looking for.    I'm serious.       Anyway without any kind of agreement you dont have a lot to go on.

Depends on how you thought of your horse, was it property, or a friend?    My horse's were like my dogs and I could not have just left one somewhere over winter.

Brent.

Were you paying her to board your horse?

Do you have a record of those payments?

Was it you or she who fed/watered daily?

Who provided and handled for vet and farrier services?

Sorry to say, but I think you are out of luck in this situation.

You left the horse there, without any kind of formal agreement.  It was a ranch, and sounds like the horses were turned out for the winter.  Of course, I can't believe that the rancher did not check on the horses during this whole time.  But, I think the courts would look at it as you abandoning the animal.  Not saying that you did, but there is no proof of any agreement and the horse is gone.  That's the bottom line.

Goodluck.

Marsha Seck

I know the board shows that we posted at the same time, but that's not necessarily true, Marsha.  In California and several other states there are provisions in the law which provide that reasonable care must be provided when one takes possession of the animal, more especially if it's a "paid for" service.     

Having taken "possession" of the horse and if the ranch owner didn't notify the horse owner that the horses would not be checked on or cared for during the winter months, pastured or otherwise, the horse owner may well have a very valid claim whether it was a "paid for" service or not.

It would be interesting to know if there had been any communications between the horse owner and ranch owner about the horse during the winter and during the time that the horse owner was recouperating from her injuries.

Either way, the ranch owner, who had possession of the horse, should and does have a lot of explaining to do.  Again, more especially if it's a "paid" service.

Fiona

 Did the ranch have a fence?

There are different laws everywhere you turn...Here in my county , if you take in a dog off the street and feed it and keep it over 36 hours...it is your dog,,,your responsibility and your monetary responsibility for any law you dont keep or licenses you dont get or shot records updated...by the end of that 36 hours the local pound and animal control will not touch the dog nor can you turn it in without paying a big fee for them to take it...

Luvmidog got into the same issue that you are in with his horses, last year....the lady refused to let him take his three horses out of her property ,,,claiming he owed her mega money for a list of things a mile long....she did not keep her end of their bargain and he found his horses with no water nor feed several weeks on end...so he went to remove them and she wouldnt let him....He called the law and the man he bought the horses from to go reposeess them and she gave them to the previous owners as the were still being paid for....it was for only a way to get the horses out of her possession....

THe lady kept all his riding gear and all his possessions on the property so he lost all those things.....Verbal agreements never seem to hold water but one or the other loses somehow...

Sorry this is late, but I am rarely on here.
No, Katy was not property to me.  She was one of my best friends and a living creature that I let down when I left her at the ranch where I was sure she would be safe.  Two other horses in that bunch are now crippled and my former employer has no idea how or when that happened.  And not one other horse went missing over the winter, either.  Katy was only ten years old and was in fine health when I left her.  I am not going to pursue this legally, I was just hoping for support on my behalf, I guess.  I can't believe my former employer let this happen and has treated the situation this way.  I thought she was a friend.  But no amount of money will bring Katy back, so there is no point in going that route.  My former employer is sure that she is not legally or morally responsible, although that was not the case before I decided I was not coming back to work.  I also left most of my personal property there over the winter and some of that has been stolen, so there is no telling what happened to Katy.  I would be happier if anyone had seen her body or had any idea what happened.

I currently have one of her border collies here that she let me use while I was doing some sheep work last week.  This dog is nothing but bones, is lame on her left hip and is almost blind.  I have known this dog for over a year and, while I was working there, she was not in this condition.  But I can tell you, she's not getting this dog back.  I barely used the poor thing with the sheep; I hated to watch her limp over that rocky country.  I've had her for a week since I was through with the sheep and my former employer has not asked about her or asked for her return.  She has also not paid me for the four and a half days of sheep herding.  When she was wanting me to come and do it, she was desperately concerned about my opinion of her and that she was soooooo sorry for what happened this winter.  And now, she's not returning phone calls.

She also didn't get my W-2 for last year to me until this week and it turns out that I owe several hundred dollers of federal tax that I had no idea I was going to owe, but that's another story.

So, in conclusion, it is my own fault that Katy is gone becuase I know my former employer and the kind of "help" she gets working for her.  People that don't have a clue when it comes to animals or ranch work and are desperate enough for what-ever reason to work 70 hours plus a week for less that minimum wage.  She's had the humane society after her about abusing dogs last winter and the animal control came to the ranch concerning starving cows a month or so ago.  She said that she didn't have the right help when the bad weather hit, so the cows didn't get taken care of.  That place is always under-staffed.  When I started working there, I really thought that she was a struggling rancher that was really trying to turn things around.  But now I see the mistake I made and now Katy has had to pay for it and I have no one to blame but myself.  I am working on her to let me have one of the crippled horses as we had a deal for me to buy her before I got hurt.  We just hadn't decided on a price.  But now she "wants to see if she will straigten out".  The mare is not registered and is crippled, probably for life and I am willing to pay for her as is, but she still has to wait and see if she will be useful on the ranch.  She only has about fifty other horses and only around ten or twelve that can even be handled.  I haven't seen the mare since she has been hurt as the ranch is a long way from where I am now and I just haven't been able to get there.  I really want to get that mare, so I haven't called the animal control ye

Karly, I will be sending you a PM.  Some Info for you to look at in regards to the W-2.