Dog ownership, divorce and changing microchip from previous owner

Autobot-Ironhide

Hey everyone,
Not sure if anyone can help me here but I'm not too sure where else to ask.
I'm intentionally avoiding names and using terms like 'the dog' as I'm worried about my Dad coming across this thread.
I'll try to keep this brief and to the point but it's very complicated and there's a lot to explain. It's really two seperate questions - one about ownership and one about how to update the microchip on our dog from the previous owner - but they're connected so I thought they should be asked together.

I am in my 20's but still live with my parents (well, my Mum anyway) and younger sibling. My parents are going through a divorce. My Dad lives with his girlfriend at another property and only comes to the marital home very rarely on the occasional weekend, and then only for a few hours as a show of power (an 'I'll come and go as I please' attitude). He is a very controlling person who feels we must all be punished if we don't bow to his every word. He has been physically abusive in the past to my Mum, older brothers and their pets. On more than one occasion early in the marriage he nearly killed my Mum (I did not know any of this until recently) but now sticks to verbal abuse almost entirely. A long, complicated situation but not relevant to this question other than giving you an idea of what he's like as a person. He has recently had an order put onto him to stop him coming into the house without notice due to his abuse.
Back to the point, we have a dog who was bought (I say bought, he was given for free) for me as I had wanted a dog since I was a child - a dream that finally came true. His previous owners adopted him but couldn't manage him so gave him to us. He has been with us for around 3yrs now and I am the one responsible for his care and the one that cares for him financially.
However my Dad has been giving an on-off threat to get rid of him ever since we got him as a way of controlling me and now as a way of punishing me for 'siding with my Mum' (I have done my best through all of this to remain neutral towards my parents, though the abuse from my Dad towards us all is now wearing my patience thin - some of the things he's done are almost unbelievable - he's even threatened to kill friends/family in the past - but again, that's getting off topic)
He has abused my dog in the past - I have seen him hit him, kick him with a steel-capped boot, pick him up and throw him and even hit him with a shovel. Sadly I have no evidence of this so nothing to back it up. Though several family members can back up the fact that he abused the animals my family have had in the past - mostly other dogs.

So as I said, as a way to punish me he has been threatening to get rid of my dog. He knows that's my one weakness as he knows how close I am to him. He has been my support through the breakup of my parents marriage, the one friend I've had, and helped me through the death of my closest friend last year.
He was going to take him a little while ago to a rescue center (or so he told me - I wonder if he'd just dump him) and thankfully the order to stay out of the main part of the house came just in time. He can't get near the dog as when he's here I hide him in my room until he's gone.
My problem is this - when we got the dog all we got to show the change of ownership was a handwritten piece of paper - and the name of the 'new owner' was put down as my Dad. I remember being concerned by this at the time as he was supposed to be my dog but, like a fool, I trusted my Dad.
He told me when we brought him home 'he's your dog - I got him for you' and went on the list my responsibilities to look after him myself - which I have done.
So I am now in a mess trying to understand who really owns him. As I've said, my Dad has shown no interest in him, doesn't care for him in any way and has barely seen him at all for 1-2yrs as he's been living at his girlfriend's. I pay for all his bills and I care for him.
But now he claims he's 'his dog' and that he can therefore do what he likes with him. What on earth do I do? There's no way I can afford a solicitor. I've been in touch with the RSPCA and the CAB. They're not interested, they said I need a solicitor.

On a related note it's been bothering me that his microchip details have not been updated since we got him. I pushed my Dad at the time and after a few months he sent off the slip but refused to pay the £6.00 fee for updating it. I want to get the chip updated myself but I don't know if I can as I can't prove the dog is mine. Will the microchip company ask for proof? I have all his previous paperwork including something which I think has his chip number on it (the paper the slip was torn off of)
But the only document mentioning the change of ownership that we were given was that one piece of paper - and that has my Dad's name alone on it. If it turns out he isn't considered my dog in the eyes of the law, what can I do? Can my Mum update his chip as she is still married to my Dad at the moment?
What on earth can I do to get advice about ownership? I don't know where to turn as I can't afford a solicitor.
Any advice or suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for reading, I am sorry that the post was so long.

bugslet

I was hoping someone with more knowledge than me would answer. I do know that just having a bit of paper saying that your dog was transferred from one person to the other does not necessarily prove ownership. Firstly the dog was a gift, which means that it's yours and secondly you have been the one caring for it, not him. If push came to shove, you would show that you went to the vets, you'd have testimony from friends and relatives. kennels? groomers? Dog walker? Any of those that could establish who took care? I wouldn't worry too much about the dog being yours. A handwritten note, well presumably anyone could write that, I can't see it holding much water either.

As for the microchip, is it in the previous owners from 3 years ago? If so, ring and ask petlog or whoever and just give them the short version, ie, you took over care of the dog 3 years ago, what do you do now?

Mojisola

Autobot-Ironhide wrote: »

Back to the point, we have a dog who was bought (I say bought, he was given for free) for me as I had wanted a dog since I was a child - a dream that finally came true.

His previous owners adopted him but couldn't manage him so gave him to us. He has been with us for around 3yrs now and I am the one responsible for his care and the one that cares for him financially.

On a related note it's been bothering me that his microchip details have not been updated since we got him. I pushed my Dad at the time and after a few months he sent off the slip but refused to pay the £6.00 fee for updating it. I want to get the chip updated myself but I don't know if I can as I can't prove the dog is mine. Will the microchip company ask for proof? I have all his previous paperwork including something which I think has his chip number on it (the paper the slip was torn off of)

But the only document mentioning the change of ownership that we were given was that one piece of paper - and that has my Dad's name alone on it. If it turns out he isn't considered my dog in the eyes of the law, what can I do? Can my Mum update his chip as she is still married to my Dad at the moment?

Who has the bit of paper? If it's you, I'd destroy it. You can show that the dog is yours (evidence from family, friends and vet) and that you have been responsible for all the finances to do with it. Presumably, it's you who takes it to the vet so it's registered there in your name?

Contact the chip company and ask them how to proceed.

ameliarate

I have "inherited" a dog following the death of my sister. I recently contacted the "chip" people and they said I have to write to them as they can't do it over the phone. I am waiting for them to come back to me in case they need more information, but I suspect you will also have to write.
I am sorry you are having such difficulties,

Person_one

For the microchip, the company may contact the old owners whose details are currently registered to confirm that they have passed the dog on to you. If they do that, it should be fine.

Are you still in touch with the original owners?

I assume that you've got all new locks for the house that your dad can't get keys to?

krlyr

Dogs are considered property. If your dad bought a telly in his name and gave it to you, it would be your TV. Ditto with the dog. The fact you have paid all the upkeep is not proof, but would support your argument.

In regards to the microchip, a chip isn't proof of ownership. It makes sense to have it up-to-date, incase he were to get loose, but it's just an admin thing - the microchip company wouldn't likely refer to the piece of paper anyway as it's something that could easily be forged. Usually if someone other than the owner requests a change in details, they write to the owner on file to inform them. If they confirm the change in ownership, or fail to respond within a certain period, the company will change the details over.

Wellyboots6

You can change chip details by must contacting the company. It happens with rescue dogs all the time. If the details never got changed then they wouldn't even need to involve your dad at all. Just contract the company and ask to update the details to new owners.
That doesn't prove ownership, but would show you were being responsible and acting as an owner should anything come of the ownership issue. I don't know you can be named as an official owner in any way, but make sure vets details etc are all in your name to back up your claim should your dad try anything.
Having paperwork from the chip people with your name on might be enough to put your dad off trying anything anyway.

jrtfan

I acquired a dog this year which had undergone 2 changes in ownership since being microchipped, but the chip registration details had never been changed.

As of April next year, it becomes law for all dogs to be chippped and for the registered keeper's details to be up-to-date (notice I said keeper, not owner). The onus will fall on the previous keeper to notify when the animal leaves their care and failure to do so will carry quite a hefty fine (can't remember offhand if it's £1k, £1.5k or £5k- if you google microchip new legislation uk 2016 you should be able to find all of the information, or look up the kennel club).

What I did was to find out the microchip number, which enabled me then to find out which database my dog belonged to. Then I contacted the database to inform them about change of ownership, and paid the relevant fee. THEY then wrote to the registered owner, giving them a deadline by which to respond to the letter, after which time they would proceed with the change of details into my name. They told me that most people don't bother responding - once a dog leaves their care, the majority of owners lose interest and it's only in the case of theft etc they might get a reply.

It's as easy as that. Your father wouldn't even be aware of what was happening, so long as all correspondence came to your address only.

The microchip laws are concerned with who is the keeper of the dog. An owner wouldn't necessarily be one and the same person - think of a racing greyhound, for example.

Hope this helps a bit.

jrtfan

http://www.doglaw.co.uk/custody.php

OP, above is a link to a specialist Law firm dealing with all things Dog. They can answer the type of query you have via phone, it's £1.15 per minute but if you get all of your details together and sort out exactly what you want to ask before calling them then hopefully your call (should you choose to make one) wouldn't be very long.

Their home page: http://www.doglaw.co.uk/index.php

TBagpuss

Do as JRT fan says about the chip.

In terms of the threats to dispose of the dog - have you spoken to the solicitor who dealt with your Mum's injuction? If the order includes provision not to intimidate, harass or pester you or your mum he may be in breach of the order if he is still making threats.

Even if it is not covered in the order (if that relates only to your mum, and the threats are made to you) you can log it with the police as harassment.

I would also contact your vet and ask them to put a note on the dog's file that only you (or you and your mum) are authorised to consent to treatment or other action in relation to the dog, and tell them specifically that you dad has threatened to have the dog put down.

Legally, the dog is property - it was a gift to you so it is yours. If your dad tries to take it, call the police and report it as attempted theft.

sheramber

If you are not sure of the chip number you could ask at your vets if someone would scan him to get it. The chip number should tell them what company the chip is registered with and Google will give you contact details of you do not know them already.

Then, as said above, you write to the chip company and ask for the registration to be changed to your name and address.

They will write to the last registered owner to ask for permission and give them I think 28 days to respond. If they do not reply after the 28 days the registration will be changed to your details.

You will have to pay for the registration to be changed.

Make sure the vet records are in your name as well.