Q: My dog was adopted from a shelter when I was incarcerated. He is a registered service animal. How can I get him back?
I recently got into some unfortunate legal issues and was incarcerated for several months. My dog that I have had for the past 8 years ended up at a city shelter. Because I could not pick him up he was adopted by someone else. He is a registered service animal to me. I would like to know the legalities of this kind of situation. Was it legal for the shelter to put a service animal up for adoption? How do I go about trying to getting him back?
A: I would estimate that your ownership in the animal has terminated. You should have found temporary housing for the dog during your incarceration. Since the dog ended up at a City shelter, the shelter was within its rights to accept the dog and to place it in another home. Your complaint, if any, is against the person who left your dog at the shelter. If you had paid someone for the service of keeping your animal and they failed to live up to the bargain, you may have a claim for damages.
1 user found this answer helpful
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
