QUESTION
What do I do if my girlfriend won't let me see my dog?
Asked on Jan 27th, 2014 on Estate Planning - Nebraska
More details to this question:
A friend of mine who had 12 puppies put all of them in a room and I snapped my fingers and he came to me so I named him snap then at 5 months old. He broke his leg and I took him to the vet and they amputated his leg then I had to work so I couldn't give a dog a medicine during the day so I asked my girlfriend to take care of him and she said no. I kept asking her and finally she said yes and I would bring him home after I was done working but then some days I would work too long and it was easier to leave him there but we had a verbal agreement that she was to give snap back when he was healed and we would go camping every other weekend or more and I was able to be with snap and I paid for everything for the dog food vet bills toys etc. Now, it's been 7 years and she won't give him back or let me see him. She told me to talk her to court for visitation and the whole time we were together she never had a job or paid for anything.
4 ANSWERS
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Tough case. Given that your girlfriend has had "custody" of the dog all this time, I am not sure what a judge would do. The fact that you have allowed her to keep him all this time and not done anything about getting him back may cause a judge to consider her the owner. If you can prove that you have paid all his expenses, and have receipts for everything, that might matter. Otherwise, it is going to be your word against her word. If you can work this out between you, that would eliminate the costs and uncertainty of court.
Answered on Jan 30th, 2014 at 11:52 PM
A dog is considered property. There is no notion of visitations right. You would have to sue for conversion in Superior Court [$300 filing fee] and might not win since she has had him for seven years. I assume you have split up with your girlfriend and she is keeping him because she is bot attached to the dog and because she wants to get back at you.
Answered on Jan 30th, 2014 at 11:52 PM
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After 7 years, you are not likely going to get the dog back as it seems clear the dog has been primarily with her for that time. At James Law Group we make every effort to respond to you quickly and efficiently. This means we may be responding to you from a mobile device. As you know, responding on these devices can result in typographical errors that my otherwise not occur. In order to provide this extra service, please be aware of this and excuse any errors that may be caused by responding in this forum.
Answered on Jan 30th, 2014 at 9:54 PM
I think you have to acknowledge that after seven years of caring for the dog, your girlfriend considers Snap to be hers. You chose to get a puppy even though you didn't have enough free time to take care of him. I commend you for recognizing this and making arrangements for Snap to stay with your girlfriend while you were at work. But it sounds like Snap ended up spending more time with her than with you. You may have paid for his food and vet bills but she provided the day to day care, even though initially she didn't want the responsibility of a dog. If you believe that she's refusing to give you access to the dog as a way to get back at you, then file a petition in small claims court to have him returned to you. If you suspect that she's doing it because she thinks that Snap is a permanent part of her family, discuss that with her and offer to continue paying for some of Snap's expenses in exchange for getting custody of him on weekends.
Answered on Jan 30th, 2014 at 9:51 PM