Q: I am a dog breeder, I was just informed a puppy that I bred has just been turned over to a Humane Society.
We are located in Pennsylvania. The puppy just turned 11 months old. There is a written contracted that was signed by myself and the new owner stating that the dog must be returned to me if the new owner could no longer keep the dog. Is there any legal rights that I have to get the puppy back from the shelter? And would taking the owner- who agreed to my contract- to court would the contract hold up for them to be penalized for breaching the contract as stated in the contract?
A: It's a contract, you can sue, but it'll cost so you have to run that calculation. You can see what the animal shelter's take is. They should give it to you. Contact any trade organization you belong to. Beyond that, your argument would be that you have a latent right to the dog. That's a little bit out there, an animal/livestock attorney would have a better take. Dogs are pretty much regarded as goods under the law, so I believe a court would say, you sold it, it's no baxies as to a third person (the shelter). Assuming the shelter needs space, I don't know why they'd fight you but I got a call from someone with a similar situation where they were. My advice to them was to speak with the shelter to find out why they would hang on in a situation where there are other pets to serve.
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