Q: A neighbor has a dog, a mutt, under a year old. Her husband wants to breed it for whatever unknown purpose.
They don’t have money for food for this animal let alone vet bills for the puppies. They have her out at all times of the day in Florida heat and it stays under their porch until they’re home. No chip, no collar, no fence or dog house. I’ve been asked to foster it. My question is.. are there legal actions they can take if I spay this animal to prevent backyard breeding? Or just refuse to give the animal back due to the living conditions of the animal?
A: If they were to sue you, they could only recover their damages. For a mongrel, with little or no monetary value, damages would be next to nothing. And no, you can't just refuse to give the dog back, assuming they had agreed you could keep it for a while but not own it. So your best course of action would be to demand that they sign it over to you in return for your "fostering" it.
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