Animal Legal Questions

You left your pet with a petsitter for months- and now the sitter wants compensation. That's reasonable. Check out the going rate in your town for petsitting, and you may find that $1500 is more than fair. Try to make a deal for a payout. If you sue for your pet back, you'll likely get countersued for the cost of petsitting (dog food isn't free),, and you may not get your pet back if the judge concludes you gave your precious dog away. ... Read More

Until recently, pets were considered property, and their distribution in a divorce or break up situation was treated accordingly. The law has evolved , and courts now consider many factors in making a determination of who gets the pet. The standard is the best interests of everyone involved.  You don't say whether the family court order was on consent- if it was, it will be difficult to challenge. If a decision was ordered by a judge after a hearing or submission of papers, there are strict deadlines for appeal- but it can be appealed if the deadline hasn't expired. If circumstances have changed since the order, you might have grounds for bringing a new action to get the dog back. If you provide more information I'd be happy to give you a better answer. ... Read More

I can't tell you how many calls I get from people whose dogs bit someone, but they never bit anyone before, "except those two other times, but it wasn't his fault!". You are very lucky Pickles didn't bite the man with the "small mean dog" in the second encounter. Your "harmless" 2 year old Pickles now has a history of a biting a person severely enough to require an ER visit for the man, confinement for Pickles, and of going after the same smaller dog twice. Pickles now has a known "vicious propensity". And the person in your leasing office knows it. Even if the second bite didn't happen, there was a second encounter that justifiably terrified your neighbor- and you can be sure he told the leasing office about being bitten the first time. That means you will be liable if sued next time your dog bites and injures someone- or that person's pet. Even if the person walking your dog was your daughter- because she's a minor. Depending on the language in your lease, Pickles' bad behavior could even jeopardize your tenancy if it happens again. You obviously received a written order from a local authority requiring a mandatory 10-day at home quarantine for Pickles- so clearly there was a real bite, or there would be no confinement. Since it was at home, Pickles was current on his rabies vaccine. Without proof of rabies vaccine, he could have been confined at a vet or other facility- at your expense.  It doesn't sound like you were the person walking Pickles when he bit your neighbor. Whomever was walking him can't control him if the small dog owner had to break up the fight. Few things are more liable to get you a bad dog bite than putting your hand  inside a dog fight.  If it was your 13 year old walking Pickles, that's a problem. If Pickles can drag your 13 year old even a few feet, she can't control Pickles- and shouldn't be walking him alone. What if she and Pickles encounter a BIG mean dog- what would you expect her to do then? Pickles should get professional dog training. A 2 year old dog (especially one with a history of biting- which Pickles now has) should not be pulling so hard on a leash that it drags its owner.  Until Pickles is well trained- or your daughter puts on 10 pounds of muscle- get another dog walker.  My ultimate advice to you: send your neighbor a get-well card with a sincere apology (not an admission of fault. An apology.), and some chocolate. You frame these dog bite/attack scenarios as though they were somehow your neighbor's fault- but they were not. The person with the bigger dog needs to be more vigilant about controlling their animal. And if they are too small to do so, they should NOT be responsible for walking your dog! The chocolate and card might not prevent a lawsuit (but it might!), but it will likely restore a little peace to your neighborhood. ... Read More

General civil trial lawyer is what you are looking for. This will be the classic Hatfield v. McCoys battle over you and your dogs conduct vs. the neighbors response - video or not. As you can already see - there will be serious issues with your claim the dogs are only outside with with you present to "do the thier business" so this would either bizzarely mean the neighbor is throwing fire crackers at your dogs to stop them barking while you are present as opposed to you not being accurate about the dogs alwats being inside and not barking. Either way- this will be expensive litigation so you will need to be prepared to get out your wallet. ... Read More

Sooooo you surendered your dog - and THEN expected that you would still have rights to the animal? Did you even READ the paperwork and the signs, etc etc? Surrendering your pet at a shelter of any type is YOU gving the pet away and giving up all rights to the pet once that occurs. This is the equivalent of giving up a child for adoption - you never see them again and have no rights to know about them or where they are placed etc. They are NOT depositories where you drop off a pet and they feed them and care for them for free and you can have them back at your pleasure if you change your mind. That stated, even "no kill" shelters typically have policies for euthanizing .....they are just more discriminiating or as private entities are simply more selective in animals they take since they are not required to accept strays etc. You will need to review the shelters "kill policy" and then figure out if they violated it somehow or are claiming to be "no kill for space" and are lying about it to pet donors. IF you find that to be true you can call the State Attorney General and if you have the money to spend - retain a lawyer to file suit to address the issue. ... Read More

These are very sticky issues and really need to be dealt with with a lawyer's direct involvement. Technically, you are able to ask if its a service animinal  required for a disability and what services does the animal provides. Thats it. If you start asking for proof of the service aspect of the animinal you run a high risk oif gettng involved in expensive litigation under HUD/FHA andthe ADA and you better be right that it was a sham or you will pay dearly. This is why these sham doctors issue letters for people on the internet claiming thier pit bull is a service animinal or ESA.... Read More

This is a difficult issue to address but the starting point is you will likley struggle to support multiple animals as ESA especially when you have a service dog added to the mix. You will need to speak to legal aid to address ths if the LL attempts to evict you for a lease violation. ... Read More