Q: Gaining custody of my ex's dog.
My exgirlfriend left colorado on a trip to Europe for 3 weeks and left her dog with me without planning for his needs while she was gone (food, boarding, etc..). She now extended her trip for at least another month, could be more. I care for the dog and want to gain custody of him since his current owner is leaving him with me without any support. She in a sense abandoned him with me.
Is it possible for me to take custody of him? If so, what are the next steps?
A: You would have to sue her in court in order to get custody of the dog; however, because she has not relinquished ownership to you, she has not abandoned the dog.
A: You are a bailee under Colorado law, this is what is called a bailment of property. I can see no set of circumstances in which any judge or jury would give you ownership of this dog. Your recovery would be limited to reasonable value of services/out of pocket costs for taking care of her dog. However, if you agreed to take care of her dog for her while she was gone at no charge, you become a gratuitous bailee, meaning you are doing it for free. Try to work things out with her, if you really want ownership of her dog, maybe you can get her to sign him/her over to you. Get a consultation with someone who knows what they are doing in this field before you do anything drastic like file a lawsuit.
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