Help! Ownership dispute, where do i stand?

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vodkas_mum

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Hi- so here is the situation. A guy i know goes shooting regularly and has 8-10 dogs offered to get me a puppy when i moved in to a house on my own in exchange for him taking the dog shooting with him once he was old enough. He said he would train him etc and just take him for the day every now and then. He bought the puppy but i chose him and signed the papers and i am on his docments and microchip.

There was never any dicsussion on paying for his up keep. As far as i was concerned i would be responsible for him in every way. I Registered him with vets, wormed him and have had a few vets bills so far for silly injuries- he poked something in his eye at 12 weeks old!!

He also went through 2 lots of laminate flooring and has damaged a lot of furniature, but as a puppy i was expecting it.

The guy didnt pay any interest to the dog and a month later i moved about 20 miles away due to work. I told the guy, and he said if he needed him he could just drive and get him and return him but did not hear from him for months.

3 months later i recieve a message via facebook from this guy saying when can he come and get the dog, he needs him for work (permanantly)

i asked if he was joking and he replied no he isnt joking at all and if he cant have the dog i owe him £400 to buy the dog off him. I am aware that recently this guy got a new girlfriend, and have a feeling he wants to give her my dog :(

I'm not entirely sure how to go about it, as far as i am concerned he has no rights to the dog, he bought him for me and i have been soley responsible for him. Should i seek legal advice, or just tell the guy no. If we are talking money and he thinks he belongs to him, he would owe me at least 400 for the vets bills, food, up keep and damage to my property....but i really dont want to get in to that.

HELP!!!
 
If you are on all the dog's documents as named owner and there is no contract regarding any conditions of ownership, then surely this dog was legally a gift from this person to you?
 
Sounds like a pretty bizarre arrangement from the beginning! Does this guy know where you live? Do you have mutual friends etc? If no, delete him from facebook and hope you don't bump into him in the future! If yes, I think you need to pay him for the dog.
 
Rather a silly agreement in the first place but having a dog available for odd days work is not the same as taking the dog on permanently.

Either the dog is yours or he owes you for it's keep & expenses to date - more than £400?
 
I'm sure the dog would be classed as a gift and even if the he sort after legal help he wouldnt get anywhere a you have proof that you have been paying to look after the dog (im sure I read this somewhere on here about a divorce)
 
Thank you for the replies! Yes i agree now that the arrangement was not the best idea. At the time it seemed more like a friend giving me a gift, with some perks for him self! No we dont have mutual friends, he know which village i live in but thats it.

He says he is not being un reasonable, and now says if i give him half of the money he will be happy... I get the feeling he must be strapped for cash and is clutching at straws. But I think S4Sugar has a good point that either the dog is mine or he owes you for it's keep & expenses to date totalling more than the £250 he now wants.
 
I'd call Citizens Advise tomorrow, but pretty sure the dog would be classed as a gift. He hasn't got a key to your house has he? He can't just take the dog while you're out?

Have to say I have no idea why he bought you the dog in the first place.... Sounds very very odd!!!!
 
It is not his dog and you owe him bog all, I would cease contract. If he is desperate he would go down a solicitor route (this would cost a hell of alot of money) and if he is desperate for a few hundred quid I doubt he would go so far as to get a solicitor and not many would even take a case on. He has no right or claim over this dog at all.
I would as already suggested have no more contact at all, keep the dog safe and insight for the near future atleast and don't give out your contact details.
The only way he can get this dog of you is to steal it, otherwise he has no rights what so ever.
 
Another thing that has struck me as odd is that the shooting season is just about to finish! 1st of Feb to be precise - why does he want the dog now at the end of the season? Grouse will start in August, Partridge in September and so on, if he is short of cash surely he wouldn't want the cost of keeping it until the new season starts again - all sounds terribly fishy to me :confused:
 
Balance the cost of the dog versus chip, jabs, cost for his injuries, laminate floor etc and send him the bill. Tell him once he's paid that, you'll return the dog (obviously not, but I reckon that'll make him shut up).
 
Hhmmm... If i was in that specific situation and it had my name on everything including his papers, id sent the guy an itemised bill and charge for board and keep. Everything from feed to toys. Say that if its his dog, he has to pay the boarding fees from its time with you. its only fair... ;)
plus, You had a verbal agreement, you kept to your side of the deal, he didnt. therefore in my eyes, its void anyway.

When he gets that i doubt very much he will ask you to give him your dog again.

Good luck in sorting it all out!
 
Do you have anything written? To be totally honest- I would say he probably is moraly entitled to the money for the dog if you are unwilling to allow him free access to it (I know thats not what he wants) but he did shell out a few hundred for the dog. Its unfair to say that now there is a dispute you automatically get off without some loss. Maybe offer him £200 to take into account your raising the dog or send him a bill for the food costs over the last few years.
 
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