Petersburg, VA asked in Criminal Law, Animal / Dog Law and Small Claims for Virginia

Q: Found puppy at work no collar, in rough shape. $600 in vet bills, p.o. charged me w/ larceny and refuse reimbursement.

Ultimately want to regain custody of dog due to previous owners neglect, (also found that she has 4 previous unrelated missing dog posts on fb in the last few years) the puppy was not on their property, had no collar or chip, and was in need of medical attention. I had her 5 weeks and then saw that she had people looking for her, I reached out and offered money to keep her, they refused so I asked that they cover the vet expenses upon return of the dog. They refused and filed felony larceny charge against me and the police seized the dog. What are my legal options to combat the false charges, attempt to gain custody, or at least recoup the money I spent at the vet?

1 Lawyer Answer

A: You will want to hire a lawyer for the felony charges. Usually those should play out first and then if you are successful in getting those dismissed you may or may not want to talk to a civil lawyer about potential remedies.

Shemeka C Hankins and Brian S Szmak agree with this answer

1 user found this answer helpful

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