question on law

[steve_r34]

this lady gave me her puppy because she could not have one where she was living . she was planning on moving so when she gave me the puppy I told her if she moves in a week or 2 ill give it back . fast forward 3 months and change later she finds me on face book asking for the puppy back . now the dog was in bad shape when I got her i have the vet papers to show she was filled with worms and was missing a claw witch still hasn't grown back , but my girlfriend was told by someone at the vets office if we had the dog for over 90 days there is nothing she could do about it .. is this true ?? i live in ny im sure the laws are different for every state .. if it is true my vet papers are dated from feb 1 so its over 90 days . i ask this because the lady is actually trying to take me to court i got served today .. my plan is to go to the court tom. morn and see if this 90 day thing is true if so get it thrown out and if not counter sue for 25$ a day boarding plus all medical bills and food since feb 1 in hopes this will scare her away .. also if i counter for animal neglect since the poor pup was loaded with worms as stated on the vets paper work and missing a claw and also bringing a dog into a apt where there were no dogs allowed so the poor pup couldn't even go outside cause she was hiding it ..
please help me out everyone she is part of the fam now and it would crush us to loose her

thanks

[vangarret2000]

Rules like that are most likely bylaw issues. Really asking people here is a bad idea for something with legal issues like that. You could easily get misinformation or information not relating to your area. You best bet is to just contact the courts(like you said you are), contact local by laws, even a lawyer if you really wanted. Places like that. Better to get factual information then stuff from on here. You could even just try looking at your government websites for your area and see if they have sections dealing with laws. It can be hard to find specific laws that way though.

[bcr229]

I'm guessing this will be in small claims court since it'll be well under the NY threshholds ($3k and $5k depending on where you are) unless the prior owner is stating that the dog is some kind of high-$ papered/registered animal, in which case I doubt she'd have been giving it away. So, you can start by reading http://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/faqs/smallclaims.html

Not sure about the whole 90-day-and-it's yours "law", most people are woefully misinformed about the laws. When standing in front of the judge it's all about what you can prove; he-said she-said doesn't cut it. BTDT, got the attorney bills to show for it...

So, what can you prove? You have vet bills, which is good, as they have dates and amounts, so you can ask to be reimbursed for those expenses. The $25/day "boarding fee" is likely a nonstarter as you have no contract for that. How about receipts for dog food?

Do you have texts or emails from when she gave you the dog where she agreed it would be yours if she didn't retrieve it within a week or so?

[steve_r34]

no texts or nothing it was all face to face .. I have witness ..
thanks for the info .. I guess I just gotta do what I can and hope it works out at the end

[CatandDiallo]

I would definitely milk the "neglect" card for sure. I would stand your ground about keeping the dog. You have the vet bills about the puppy being filled with worms, was missing a claw and you can definitely state the fact that she was hiding the dog, not allowing it to go out and therefore not providing it with it's basic needs. Hopefully the courts will be sympathetic to you, instead of idiotic pet neglecters.

[Montypython696]

As Cat said, I would play the neglect card for sure. If you have pictures of what the dog looked like when it first came to you that would help out a lot as well.

You have all the vet bills, and you have all the other expenditures (food, etc..) on paper too.

Any chance you have a written documents from the owner and yourself stating that she is transferring the dog over to you? That would most likely put the nail in her coffin.

In my experience in the Criminal Justice field; having evidence beyond reasonable doubt that a crime (animal neglect) occurred will be enough for you to keep your dog.

Keep us updated though, I'm curious to see how this plays out.

[bcr229]

no texts or nothing it was all face to face .. I have witness ..
thanks for the info .. I guess I just gotta do what I can and hope it works out at the end

Unfortunately that's still he-said she-said.

I would get a copy of the complete case file/notes from the vet on the dog's condition last February. Got any pictures?

Also what did you receive exactly? A summons to court, a demand letter from an attorney, or ?.

[CatandDiallo]

So what's going on with this? Any updates?