Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Texas

What do I do?

In May of 2009 I bought a purebred German Shepherd puppy from a breeder. I spent $800 on him and obviously spent money for food, toys and a few beds (he ate two of them). He lived with my husband, my son and I until July 2010 when my husband who is in the Army had to leave for Texas and I was getting out of the military and also going to have to move to Texas. The move was temporary since he is only in a medic training course.

I set up an arrangement with my mother since she was visiting some friends in the state (California), she was going to pick up the dog and take him to their ranch until I would be able to fly the dog to where we are. Airlines wont fly dogs during the summer and this was July. Also this was a very last minute move and we didnt have an abundance of time to make arrangements.

About a week or so after my mom took the dog (Pancho) to her friend's ranch, I called to ask for the people's number so that I could send them money for dog food/toys. My mom told me that she would just have the guy (Jim) call me. He never called. I called my mom again and I just kept getting the same story that he would call. After a few weeks my step father called me and told me that they have decided to keep the dog. Obviously this was a big deal to me, this was agreed to be a temporary arrangement and this is not only my dog but also my son's. Now Jim wont call me and my parents refuse to give me their number. My husband and I are moving to Fort Lewis, WA in less than two months and want to drive to California on the way to get our dog.

Although over the last month and a half the story from my parents has changed to 'if you come to california, they will give you the dog', I do not want to drive to california without these people's phone number or their address.

I thought I could trust my family, but I obviously couldnt and now I'm sure this is going to end up in court. I have the check stub from when I bought him along with many pictures of him growing up with our family, I can also get statements from all of the people in our neighborhood who saw him with us.

Are there any kind of laws protecting us or anything else that we can do to get our dog back?

Additional Details

The dog is at a ranch, hes not at a pound. My mom even told me yesterday that my dog is helping the woman walk, the woman has parkinsons. I know its horrible, and i feel bad about the situation, but i still want my dog back.

I didn't get any of this in writing because i thought i could trust my mom. I mean, shes my mom, but its obvious shes more concerned with keeping a friendship than helping her daughter.

I have paperwork that shows ownership and i do still have the breeder's info, but i am also afraid that these people will say that i abandoned him and also havent tried to contact them or sent any money.

Would calling the police be in anyway effective? I dont know what good it would be since we're in Texas.

And we had to leave because my husband was on military orders

Jim exists, I've been to the ranch before. They're rich people in northern california. They already have horses and several dogs, which pisses me off even more. Why do they need our family dog?

Also, my husband and I were living in Monterey, CA, the people who now have the dog live there too. My mom was flying in to visit them and picked up the dog while she was visiting. She lives in Georgia, so in what state do I call the police?

I couldnt just drive back, the military moved us to Texas. We have one car and my husband needs it for work. My parents never agreed to watch the dog, only to pick it up and take it to these people's house since they were on their way to visit them. My parents knew that this was a short term thing, the understood that perfectly well and so did the people who got the dog. Now the people have decided to keep him. And I know it looks like abandonment, I have been trying to get the number from my parents, who live in Georgia... but at this point they are just ignoring my calls


Asked on 9/14/10, 3:44 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

You can sue for your dog's return, but you will have to do it in a California court. The appropriate defendants are your parents and Jim, but since you don't know who or where Jim is you will initially have to name him as a Doe defendant and then get his full name and contact information via discovery from your parents.

Even if you lived locally this would cost a lot more than the value of the dog. If you want your dog back then the cost might not be an issue, but you should know going in that this is not going to be cheap. (It will cost even more to get a lawyer, but your chances will improve if you get one.)

The process is also going to take time. By the time the case is over your dog may have lived with Jim longer than he lived with you.

Your best bet may be to have a local lawyer write a demand letter to your parents explaining that the dog is yours and that their actions were illegal. That may motivate them to start cooperating. You might also want to contact the local police, but don't be surprised if they decline to get involved.

Good luck.

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Answered on 9/19/10, 4:08 pm


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