Dallas, TX asked in Animal / Dog Law for Texas

Q: the lady that was watching our dog won’t give him back. text messages show she agreed to watch him & now she blocked us

a friend of ours agreed to watch our dog while we were relocating. unfortunately we had a falling out and now she won’t give us our dog back and has blocked our numbers. he is not chipped or registered but the text messages between us show that she agreed to watch him and prove he is ours. there’s even messages of her asking for money for his food and we have those transaction receipts. we tried a civil standby with a police officer and she refused to give the dog back and made us leave the property since the officer didn’t have a warrant. is she allowed to literally hold our dog hostage? what can be done? we know taking her to court on a civil case would be very expensive.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Teri A. Walter
Teri A. Walter
Answered
  • Houston, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: You could try a small claims case to have the court declare ownership of the dog. Gather your evidence and talk to the clerk of the Justice of the Peace court in the precinct where your ex-friend lives.

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