Custody of a Dog

A

Arianna Nicholson

New Member
Jurisdiction
Idaho
Iam trying to get legal custody of my ex boyfriend's dog

Incident:
On Monday, May 6th of this year my boyfriend and I at the time drove over to Spokane, WA to pick out and purchased a 7 week old Miniature Australian Shepherd puppy, from a backyard breeder. After getting the puppy from the backyard breeder, we didnt get any information on how to care for, nor were we given papers for authenticity of the puppy.
After returning back to our apartment in Sandpoint, ID, I paid attention to the puppy and its needs, but since the puppy wasnt fully house trained and continued to have a few accidents in the house, and my ex would become forceful when rubbing his nose in the accident(s), and my ex would only feed the pup once a day, but beg me to fill up his bowl, soon my ex would retaliate again my will for trying feed the dog. As the days progressed I had noticed a lack of interest in the dog coming from my ex, while I ended up bonding more with and looking out more for the dog.
On the day of the break up, my ex wanted me out but I wanted to still have time with the puppy, but he claims the puppy is his but it occured to me that he doesnt have papers or any proof that he bought the puppy nor registered the puppy in Idaho.

Now since I had registered my puppy in my name in the state of Idaho, and he didnt, does that make any difference, or will i have to go to a small claims court to get official custody of the dog
 
Dogs are property.
As property, dogs are equated with shoes, furniture, automobiles, etc...
Children of human beings aren't property.
Children must be loved, nurtured, protected.
No one obtains custody of property.
Many human beings do obtain custody of children.
 
Arianna Nicholson said:
will i have to go to a small claims court to get official custody of the dog
Click to expand...

Can't imagine how else you are going to resolve this if he won't voluntarily give up the dog.

Here are some life lessons for you to pay heed to:

Live with a boyfriend.
Get financially involved with a boyfriend (car, house, rent, etc).
Get a dog with a boyfriend.
Have a baby with a boyfriend.

All of those are recipes for disaster. Be thankful it's only a dog and not a baby.
 
Arianna Nicholson said:
Now since I had registered my puppy in my name in the state of Idaho, and he didnt, does that make any differenc
Click to expand...

Yes. Dogs are property. If you can show documentation that this dog belongs to you then you should prevail. You may have to go to court to make it happen, but your documentation will make your argument stronger than his.
In fact, with your registration papers you might try to collect the dog with the assistance of local law enforcement.
They won't get involved with what belongs to who, but will ensure the two of you don't come to blows. Show the police your papers and explain your intent to retrieve your dog from the ex. Their presence may make him more compliant with your attempt.
If he still doesn't comply, off to court you go.
 
Arianna Nicholson said:
Iam trying to get legal custody of my ex boyfriend's dog

Incident:
On Monday, May 6th of this year my boyfriend and I at the time drove over to Spokane, WA to pick out and purchased a 7 week old Miniature Australian Shepherd puppy, from a backyard breeder. After getting the puppy from the backyard breeder, we didnt get any information on how to care for, nor were we given papers for authenticity of the puppy.
After returning back to our apartment in Sandpoint, ID, I paid attention to the puppy and its needs, but since the puppy wasnt fully house trained and continued to have a few accidents in the house, and my ex would become forceful when rubbing his nose in the accident(s), and my ex would only feed the pup once a day, but beg me to fill up his bowl, soon my ex would retaliate again my will for trying feed the dog. As the days progressed I had noticed a lack of interest in the dog coming from my ex, while I ended up bonding more with and looking out more for the dog.
On the day of the break up, my ex wanted me out but I wanted to still have time with the puppy, but he claims the puppy is his but it occured to me that he doesnt have papers or any proof that he bought the puppy nor registered the puppy in Idaho.

Now since I had registered my puppy in my name in the state of Idaho, and he didnt, does that make any difference, or will i have to go to a small claims court to get official custody of the dog
Click to expand...
You want the courts to grant you an order to steal your ex's dog?
 
mightymoose said:
Yes. Dogs are property. If you can show documentation that this dog belongs to you then you should prevail. You may have to go to court to make it happen, but your documentation will make your argument stronger than his.
In fact, with your registration papers you might try to collect the dog with the assistance of local law enforcement.
They won't get involved with what belongs to who, but will ensure the two of you don't come to blows. Show the police your papers and explain your intent to retrieve your dog from the ex. Their presence may make him more compliant with your attempt.
If he still doesn't comply, off to court you go.
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The dog is the BF's. OP wants to take it.
 
mightymoose said:
That you bought the dog together is irrelevant.
If the dog is registered to you alone it is YOUR dog. He may have a financial interest to try recover, but the dog is yours and is supported by your documentation-- assuming you actually have it.
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That's not even close to true. Registration for a dog isn't the same thing as registration for a car.
 
Zigner said:
That's not even close to true. Registration for a dog isn't the same thing as registration for a car.
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Nobody is talking about cars here. Try to focus.

This is a simple matching task.
One person has paid licensing/registration fees and has a document with a license number on it that shows that person as the owner of the dog wearing the tag with the matching number.

Whether the dog is wearing the tag or is otherwise verifiable is a separate issue, but the registered/licensed owner certainly has more of a claim to the dog over someone who isn't.

That is the whole purpose of licensing- to keep track of who is responsible for each dog. Well... That and to collect a bunch of cash.
 
mightymoose said:
Nobody is talking about cars here. Try to focus.

This is a simple matching task.
One person has paid licensing/registration fees and has a document with a license number on it that shows that person as the owner of the dog wearing the tag with the matching number.

Whether the dog is wearing the tag or is otherwise verifiable is a separate issue, but the registered/licensed owner certainly has more of a claim to the dog over someone who isn't.

That is the whole purpose of licensing- to keep track of who is responsible for each dog. Well... That and to collect a bunch of cash.
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Why do you equate registration with licensing?

I disagree that the "registered owner" of the dog has any more of a claim than the acknowledged (by the OP) co-owner of the dog.
Think about how it will go in court - the OP will testify that she submitted the registration with her name alone, but the dog belongs to both of them. How do you think the court will rule.

Of course, you're not suggesting that the OP perjure herself in court, are you?
 
Arianna Nicholson said:
Iam trying to get legal custody of my ex boyfriend's dog
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There's no such thing as "custody of a dog."

A dog is a piece of property, much like a car, a toaster or a television.

Arianna Nicholson said:
Now since I had registered my puppy in my name in the state of Idaho, and he didnt, does that make any difference, or will i have to go to a small claims court to get official custody of the dog
Click to expand...

Will it "make any difference"? What does that mean? If you sue, your registration of the dog might be persuasive evidence that the dog is your property, but you didn't say with whom you registered the dog or why you registered it in your name, as opposed to both of your names.

Arianna Nicholson said:
we co owned the puppy
Click to expand...

Then why, in the first sentence of your original post, did you refer to it as "my boyfriend's dog"?
 

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