Help please with getting our dog back

UN17ED

A couple of weeks ago due to my seperation with my wife, she took the dog to a rescue home for a week.

Now the person with the dog is refusing to give us the dog back saying that it was badly neglected and other untruths about the dog.

What I want to know is what are my options for getting the dog back.

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

If your wife dropped the dog off at a rescue centre she must of signed a form to "sign" the dog over to the centre so that the dog became their responsibility. No rescue centre I know will hold a dog for a week - its not a kennel.

I'm sorry if this is incorrect but as far as i know - if your wife did this then there is nothing really you can do to demand the dog back.

Sooz00

That's a hard one. What do you mean when you say she took it to a rescue centre for a week? Did anyone legally sign the dog over to them?

Unless a dog is legally signed over, my understanding is they have to serve either 7 days in a pound or 28 days in a 'foster home' before they can be legally rehomed. I'm not sure with regard to a pound, but if in foster, then the fosterer has to make reasonable efforts to locate any owner.

With regard to the accusations the rescue are making, if these are untrue and either you or your ex-partner are capable of keeping your dog and giving it a good quality of life, could you get references to support your case?

Definitely a hard one...

UN17ED

My wife says there were no forms signed for giving it away.
The accusations being made are indeed untrue, we had not cut his hair for a while as it has been cold, it was a bit long but he was given a bath, cleaned etc, forever being taken for walks, he was like another son.
I am told that the dog went to bite the lady, now I know thats not right but the poor thing probably had no idea what was going on.

Sooz00

Is it definitely a rescue centre, rather than just a person who was going to look after it? If so, I've never known one that takes a dog without the owner signing them over.

I don't know what to suggest really, apart from speaking to the police.

Is your boy registered under your name at the vet? If he is and he has a history of being looked after and being well behaved there (e.g. taken for his annual checks, any treatments given etc.) could they write a reference confirming that he is a much loved and well looked after pet and that his bite was out of character? Surely that, along with speaking to the police regarding the rescue not having legal ownership of him might help?

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

UN17ED wrote: »

My wife says there were no forms signed for giving it away.
The accusations being made are indeed untrue, we had not cut his hair for a while as it has been cold, it was a bit long but he was given a bath, cleaned etc, forever being taken for walks, he was like another son.
I am told that the dog went to bite the lady, now I know thats not right but the poor thing probably had no idea what was going on.

Hm . . . are you now back with your wife? Could it be possible she may not be telling the truth? I have never known any rescue to take a dog without papers being signed. If your wife has signed the dog over then in the eyes of the law, the rescue centre has done nothing wrong by rehoming.

On a side note - How do you know where the dog is? Rescue centres generally do not give this information out

UN17ED

mommyme wrote: »

Hm . . . are you now back with your wife? Could it be possible she may not be telling the truth? I have never known any rescue to take a dog without papers being signed. If your wife has signed the dog over then in the eyes of the law, the rescue centre has done nothing wrong by rehoming.

On a side note - How do you know where the dog is? Rescue centres generally do not give this information out

Through reading these replies I am beginning to think that maybe she is not telling the full story.

We got the dog from this person in the first place and this is where my wife told me he had been taken.

I think that I need to contact my wife and see if she is telling the full story.

Sagz_2

So you got the dog from a person? or from a rescue?

Did you sign any papers when you took the dog? Some rescues have clauses stating that they can re-claim the dog at any time (usually to safe-guard the dog in cases of neglect).

If a dog in a rescue had tried to bite anyone I would have thought that they would be glad you wanted him back as he had been happy and non-bitey with you.

I'm not sure you are getting 100% of the story from your wife.

Hope you things sorted soon OP.

CFC

I think you need to speak to the police. If there is no paperwork the person the dog came from has no rights at all if you have evidence that the dog is yours eg pictures and/or vet records. Report it as a theft, you may need to report your ex wife as complicit in it though?

Mimi_Arc_en_ciel

UN17ED wrote: »

Through reading these replies I am beginning to think that maybe she is not telling the full story.

We got the dog from this person in the first place and this is where my wife told me he had been taken.

I think that I need to contact my wife and see if she is telling the full story.

Hang on - there;s a contridiction.

Did your wife take the dog to a rescue - or to a breeder?

IF she took it to a rescue then she MUST of signed paperwork to sign the dog over

IF she took it to a breeder - No paper - Then the breeder has no rights to keep the dog.

By any chance - Did you have the dog microchipped? This would help A LOT if you went to the police

hethmar

Is this another wind-up? If not, then it sounds to me that the dog was from a rescue, said dog has been taken back to rescue and rescue, who have the right to do so, are refusing to release the dog again.