Q: Ex brother in laws dogs were left at property for extended amounts of time he wont get them
So my ex brother in law has left his dogs on my property for a year I have tried to contact him about getting them, he wont answer, I can no longer take care of them due to scheduling with jobs and it cost too much to have them surrendered. What legal action can i take to have him get his dogs? Or to legally get them into a better household without him coming for me
A: Send him a letter with proof of delivery confirming that he no longer wants the dogs. Give him a certain amount of time to respond to you in writing (such as 7 days), and state you will assume the failure to respond in writing means he no longer wants them. Then you have court-ready proof on where he stands on ownership. If he responds that he still wants to own the dogs, but also wants you to continue to care for them, then demand he pay you for boarding the dogs from day one. Check out professional dog boarders in your area for their daily rates and demand the same for your services. (Here in South Fla., rates are in the range of about $25-50/day.) If he refuses to pay, sue him, and that could trigger some good results. If, however, he responds that he is giving up ownership, then the dogs are yours, and you'd need to talk to shelters and dog adoption groups about taking them in, and/or put an ad in the paper or on-line for free dogs. I've never heard of having to pay a shelter or a dog adoption group to take your dogs. Whatever you do, do not abandon the dogs.
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