Q: Can my nieces CAA court order my dog to be taken away from me based on a lie of saying he is her emotional support dog?
My brother is going through a custody battle in which temporary orders were given for my nieces to live with their mom. A CAA was brought in and my niece told her that she misses her dog and that she uses her dog as an emotional support animal. The dog in questions was a Christmas gift for the while family 3 years ago and has since been mostly cared for by myself and my mother. I have been in therapy as well but lost my insurance so in reality he is really my emotional support animal. Also her mother has many other animals (cats,dog, gerbils and a pig) which my dog doesn't do well around. He also has anxiety of change and has never lived in a different house and has only ever had my room as his room. Any time we would try to change him sleeping in my nieces room from mine he would whine all night and pee all over her room. He is also registered in my name and not in my brothers. My brother is saying he is taking the dog on Sunday. Is there anything I can do to stop this?
A:
I am probably too late on this ...
Most likely, the family court does not have jurisdiction over your dog.
The family court only has jurisdiction over dogs in divorces and only when the dog was acquired during the marriage and is the property of one or both of the spouses. In that situation, the Court decides which of the spouses gets the dog.
That does not sound like your situation. The family court does not have the jurisdiction to decide who gets the dog as between you and your brother. The CAA should not opine on what happens with the dog, as the Court cannot make an order regarding the dog.
In a non-divorce custody case, the family court can decide only what happens with the child.
Further, if you can prove you have ownership of the dog, your brother has no right to take the dog from you.
Presuming your brother followed through, you likely to need to sue your brother (and possibly the mother of his child) in small claims court and ask the Court to order that they return the dog to you. But then you'll need to be ready to prove the dog is yours. That should include that he is registered in your name, that you have taken him to the vet and paid his vet bills, etc.
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