legal advice? How to repossess a dog - Page 1

Story is - I made an agreement with a person, to breed her (very good, titled, Koered) female to my male, whelp the litter, and we would split the litter 50/50.  The owner of the female expressed interest in an older puppy I had, and so I gave her the dog in exchange for 1 more puppy over the 50% of the litter.  I retained ownership (his registration papers are in my name). 

The litter never happened.  I found out the female's owner  had never finished paying for the dog (imported from Germany) and so never received the papers.  Litter couldn't have been registered.  I figured all of this out over the last year or so.  Wasn't too worried about it until after I found out about her not paying for the female/not receiving papers - and she would not return my calls and e-mails, it slowly dawned on me (I tend to trust people and find out the hard way I've been screwed) that she was not going to pay for my dog. 

So, now I would like to get the dog back.  I am in PA and the dog/person who has him is in another state.  Not too far to drive, but would be a "day trip" to do so.  I do not have the correct address as the address I was given turned out to be incorrect (surprise surprise).  I do know what city/area they live and work in, and I do have a cell phone number.  I know the name, however the last name may not be what they are going by now (divoriced), I do know the ex-husbands name (would be the wrong address but at least a name that I know won't change). 

How can I get the correct address, and when I do get it - what would the steps be to get the dog back?  Any information is appreciated, especially from someone familier with this process from personal experience, or police officer, or attorney.

molly

Molly, have you tried contacting your local police?  The local D.A. office?  I am sure your dog is retrievable.  The Birds went through a lot  to retreive Drago von Wymar from Dawn Marie.  But in the end, justice was served and Drago returned home to his rightful family. 

You have two different states going on and that would complicate where to report and file.

Is the divorce final?  If not, how about suing and serving both of them in small claims court.

First, you have to prove that you have attempted resolution on your own.  Send her a letter with address correction requested and that should get her current address.  Send her emails asking for the return of your dog,  Call her on her cell phone.  Keep a log of all your efforts.  Good luck

Should be able to sue in Federal Court (legal matters between people in different states and over the $500 amount if I remember correctly can become a federal case, similiar to small claims in your local court). Once you sue and are awarded a judgement monetary or dog then you could push to claim the dog through the local PD in that persons town.

Off hand, I would suggest that you contract the services of a private investigator. These guys can come up with loads of info. After that, you can attempt resolution on your own--before contacting an attorney or suing the party independently. However, all of this may cost more than the value of the pup.

I trust that you drew up a legally binding, written agreement with the soon-to-be defendant.

All good advice I'm sure. Myself... I have gone the legal "Emergency Writ of Possession" route (in CA) but after all that hassle and expense I reverted back to the dark-clothes-over-the-fence-and-back-on-moonless-night method of dog retrieval. Dangerous, but cheap.

SS

I think your method would be best Shelley, if I only had the correct address.  False address given to me, so I can't even make a trace through that address.  First step is to get the correct address - any ideas on how to do that?

molly

Turn the dog in stolen, but I never had much luck with prosecutors going out of state for anything short of murder.

Check new phone records in their names.  Ask post office if they left a change of address.

Divorce papers can have a lot of info on them, go to records and pay for copies, if you know where they filed.

Contact law enforcement in their new area, again with the stolen dog charge.

Find them and just go take the dog, get Shelley to drive the getaway car.

I'll cover you from a strategic location, possibly a nearby bell tower.

Molly one of the best public records and news database is Lexis Nexis used widely by lawyers and PIs and the FBI. You can now pay for one time access thru the web or ask around and see if you can find someone who knows a law librarian in your area and they might be able to do it on the side for you ( The legal research companies freq give free time to big customers).

If you would like to PM me the particulars I can see what I can find for you with free resources before you go to that expense. If you do this send me as much info as you have. Name Middle initial bogus address and any other location info you may have ( what individual or club she trained with or vet she may have taken the dog to etc etc.). Phone numbers ( tho cells are hard to track - always get a landline as well) and email addresses ( you may want to check with her ISP).  Rack your brain for any small distinguishing bit of info. The biggest problem in searching public record and news database is the commonality of names. You need to have something to distinguish the possibilities from the person you are looking for. Usually I would end up with 3 piles 1. Pretty sure it's the person we're trying to find  2. Likely the person but need additional info 3. Common info/name or address but no way to determine if the person.  Lexis has more documents than the Internet ( and all are from verified sources). I have literally made up names like Heffelbink and searched them and you'd be surprised the number of hits you get.

You can also call the local library in her town/county and ask for a reference librarian.  As them to look up her name in a cross directory and any other local sources they might have ( tax record, birth, marriage, death records).  Many jurisdictions now have there property records available thru the web ( these are also available thru Lexis as is boat and plane ownership) so you can look there also.  The recommendation re a good PI( good being critical and ask re what db they routinely use) may be cheaper in the long run because all of this is very time intensive.  Also collection agencies ( small local) often have resources Lawyers and PIs do not.  Good luck.