Rehomed a puppy, previous owners demanding her back :(

Froglet

I would also get her microchipped asap with your details in case she changes her mind yet again.

Poor little dog.Luckily it has only been for a short while that she was living like that and will hopefully soon forget now she has such a wonderful life with you.

krlyr

Ideally, a "surrender contract" would have been a good idea (something to bear in mind if in a similar situation in the future) but as you have text and email proof of the "sale", you should be safe, as everyone else had said, dogs are possessions in the eyes of the law and a sale/trade has taken place. Remember, you let her off £100 of charges - you effectively bought the dog for £100. I would remind her of this and I wouldn't even tell her to seek legal advice, I would be straight to the point and say "Sorry, but you surrendered your dog and in leui of payment I dropped your boarding charges, the dog is now mine". If you wanted to be a bit softer you could add "I know it is upsetting to rehome a dog but it is easier to forget how difficult the situation is once you are out of it - please remember that this dog was struggling to fit in with your children and it was for everyone's safety that you rehomed the dog" or something like that - it might reassure her to be reminded that there were several reasons she rehomed the puppy. Then I would just ignore any further texts or calls - if she persisted I would lodge a complaint with my local police for harrassment if it were me, a warning from them may get her to wake up and realise there's no going back on this decision.

Faith177

We were in a similar situation with our Malmute Codey.

He was brought for a discount price by a man who knew NOTHING about the breed. Just decided that because he was cute and fluffy he would be the perfect dog to get his partner over her fear of dogs.

As soon as he brought him home he was made to stay in the shed as the partner wanted to have nothing to do with him.

Our neighbours took him and asked us for help rehoming him as we had another husky already. We wanted him to find a great forever home as he had been through so much already including his mum turning on the litter and pulling his tail off.

After a while he had really bonded with our pup and we decided to keep him all of a sudden he wanted him back. I rang and spoke to him and explained everything I knew about the breed and what a handful they were. He rang 12 that day changing his mind backwards and forwards. In the end he said to keep the bloody thing.

I paid him off got him to sign a declaration transferring ownership and got him microchipped straight away.

A year later he decided he wanted him back I advised him to take a long walk off a short pier and said the only way he might get the dog back was over my dead body or via the courts. His response was ok I was hoping to save a bit of money as my daughter misses the dog as all her friends have one now and I didn't want to have to pay out again. !!!!!!???

Glad she changed her mind Hun you have done the best thing by that pup. I would get her microchipped to your details if you haven't already and I'm glad you have the texts & e-mails still I don't think she'll have much of a leg to stand on with that against her

Sambucus_Nigra

I'd send her an invoice for the boarding and cross it with 'Paid in Dog'.

Froglet

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

I'd send her an invoice for the boarding and cross it with 'Paid in Dog'.

I like your style :rotfl:

peachyprice

I would send her an invoice for the puppy for £100, stamped 'paid in full'. Send it recorded so she can't say she never got it.

Caroline_a

peachyprice wrote: »

I would send her an invoice for the puppy for £100, stamped 'paid in full'. Send it recorded so she can't say she never got it.

I would be wary of this as it could be misconstrued to have been paid in cash with no mention of the dog!

Sambucus_Nigra

Caroline_a wrote: »

I would be wary of this as it could be misconstrued to have been paid in cash with no mention of the dog!

Hence 'Paid in Dog' shows that the deal was done and the payment was received.

laurz

i would also make clear as well as the £100 bill that you waived, you would have to charge her for boarding the dog 24 hrs a day for however long you have had her as well as one to one training costs - if it transpires that you have to hand back the dog!
i worked in a rescue centre and it never failed to shock me how awful people can be - ingorance is not an acceptable excuse

krlyr

Very good point Laurz. I probably wouldn't engage in any kind of conversation that suggests the dog isn't yours, but if it did get to the stage where she implied she had ownership, state that if that's the case you have been dogsitting for x days and therefore will present her with an invoice for that. You've had her for nearly a week already so if the rate is around £15 a night (think that's probably about right or maybe a bit on the cheap side), that's another £100 already.