Animal Legal Questions

Just because your dog lost the battle and you have biills does NOT inherently mean the other dogs owner is liable. There are a number of considerations that go into such a determination. If the bills are substuantial, it may justify hiring a lawyer to initiate a claim with the home owners insurance, which unfortunately may have an exclusion, and to see if the home owner can be persuaded to agree to at least contribute to the bills. ... Read More

First - you will do well NOT to refer to your pet as a "furbaby" as it conjure up radicallized hyper sensitive animal rights activist social justice warrior conotations that will not only NOT help you find a lawyer but will likely drive them away. That stated, you will need to ge ta complete copy of the vet records for all vets involved and have them reviewed by a vet, as an expert and at some expense, to see what the record show happened. As it appears that your pet may have had a complicated medical history this wil lneed to be addressed directly by the expert. IF the expert finds some fault on the part of a vet, then you would have a potential claim to pursue. Be prepared to pay out of pocket for such a lawyer as 99% of vet malpractice cases are not cost effective simply due the status of pets as personal property. ... Read More

Asking silly questions gets silly answers. Of course one cannot delcare a cat "feral" simply because its scared. HOWEVER that is NOT likely the scenario according to animal control. Moreover if your cats are being "trapped" that means they are strays and AC owes you no obligation to guess who the cat belongs to. It is the owners responsility to ensure they stay on your property. ... Read More

Possibly - bBecause Jeffery Dahmer's mother would argue he was a kind soul that wouldn't hurt a fly and was simply misunderstood dog owners are not the arbiters of their animals propensities to be dangerous. Unless you want to spend tens of thousands of dollars on lawyers fighting over an ordinance - best bet is to comply. ... Read More

This is ALL your fault not the elderly neighbors. This is solved by YOU controlling your cat, not expecting an elderly neighbor with dementia to abide by your directions. "It is not an option to keep her in my house because of another pet.".....again, this is YOUR responisbility no one elses. If this remains an issue you may have to choose between pets or make some other accomodations or inconveniniences. ... Read More

Yes, if there is no lease, and you are month to month 15 days is all thats needed. That you have no where to go is of no consqeunce asyou can't stay there. DO NOT make the LL evict you as this would make a permanent public record of the eviction and may prevent you from renting elsewhere. ... Read More

This is really a political issue intertwined with a legal one. You will want to hire a lawyer to attend the commission meeting and work with you to prevent any adverse ordinance changes or actions. This unfortunately, is not an inexpensive legal issue so you may want to get others to contribute. ... Read More

The answer is yes- but it's not clear she will win. Courts treat animal custody cases seriously, and will look at all the factors- who spent the most time with the dogs, walked and fed them, as well as veterinary and grooming expenses. A court might award shared custody, or custody to one of you with visitation to the other. The standard the court uses to make the decision is "the best interests of everyone involved."... Read More

You have a lot more to address than just evidence of former ownership. If the dog means that much to you, to file a lawsuit, it means that much to spend money and hire a lawyer to address it properly. Otherwise, what you are REALLY saying is that the dog means little compared to your ego and the need to fight with the other party. Other than the other party just caving in due to the lawsuit - its likely that you will run into heavily controverted issue, especially if you expect to prove the dog wasn't either abandoned or given away. ... Read More

The doggie daycare facility is mistaken. If you can prove that your dog acquired the illness at the facility and it was not a pre-existing condition, to which you will need a veterinarian to testify, the facility should be liable for the full veterinary bill for breach of contract for failure to take your dog to the veterinarian. You may also be able to make a complaint to a district attorney under the NY AML (Agriculture & Markets Law) section 353 for allowing an animal be unjustifiably tortured or injured by failure to take your dog to a veterinarian, and under AML 356 for failure to provide your dog with adequate water for nearly two weeks, leading to your dog's dehydration and illness, both of which are misdemeanors. You can also make a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. ... Read More

Its possible but a risky porposition for the LL. Equally, if youare showing up with your ESA pitbull and a bogus online rent-a-doc plopping out a letter of need for $500.00 you equally could run into some issues. If you have a legitimnate disability an ESA is not a pet and pet rules dont apply. ... Read More