Q: If I care(vet,food,etc.)for a dog almost its entire life(2 years), can the person who left her in my care take her back?
My "friend" bought a dog shortly before being deployed. I drove him to pick her up and he chose my name idea. I said I would care for her with my roommates while he was gone, he just needs to pay for her bills. He agreed. Before he was deployed, I took care of her, and she lived with me. He'd pop in and see her, and she never lived with him at his residence. After leaving, he visited, and saw her once for a total of 20 minutes. She eventually needed training. He had a fund set aside of $5k for her care, so I asked for some money. And he wanted me to pay him back for some of it(1000). But, he has only paid me back for one small vet bill. I said I will when I can. Her care has added up to over $2400(not including training) as of today. He is now demanding the full 1000 (which I don't have right now due to $5k car repairs) because he spent all of his money, or he claims he is going to take leave and take her away to hurt me because he knows I love her. He even threatened to euthanize her.
A: He would have to sue you in small claims court and win to get her from you. Its possible he could call the police but they likely won’t get involved. You have a strong defense against his claims of Ownership, especially if the dog never lived with him and always lived with you.
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