Q: I found a dog with no microchip. Checked with local vets and humane society and none reported missing. Can I keep it?
A: At the very least you need to give all the info to the local shelter and have them list you as an in home hold. The only statutory way for ownership of a lost pet to be severed is for it to be processed by the local pound and listed as found for five days that the shelter is open.
A: For abandoned property, it would also be advisable to advertise in the local paper and/or craigslist to announce that you’ve found the dog and your contact info. Abandoned property laws give the true owner 5 years to retrieve the property. That being said, 5 years is a long time in the life of a dog and if you have the dog the whole time, you would certainly have a strong claim to ownership if the owner ever tried to sue to get the dog back. The more you can do on the front end to show you tried to return the dog, but no one claimed it, the better your position will be that the dog was truly abandoned and you assumed ownership based on that information.
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