Help!!

[JoshN]

Hi there i need some advice urgently!! my step sister gave my mother and her dad a 3 year old french bulldog. My mother and her husband had her for roughly 2 months and due to him working 6 days away and my mother working 5 days a week they asked if we would like to have her as we would have the time for her and give her the attention she needs.. Fast forward 2 weeks my step sister found out and went crazy demanding the dog back, showed up at my door and said im here to take the dog(obviosly we didn't give her the dog) me my wife and kids adore the dog to bits and she loves us and has settled in really well. I can't change the details on petlog as they chenged her name after they registered her chip. I don't know what to do next as we need the chip in our name so we can register her with our vets and sort out her insurance. Please help!! any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Side note i have only met my step sister a couple of times my mother and her dad only got married earlier this year.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Who, legally, owns the dog at this moment in time? As you cannot legally prove ownership, by the sounds of it. You should probably speak to a solicitor.

 

[JoshN]

according to uk personal property and gifting laws we do as we can prove the dog was given to my mother and her husband and then to us.. Yeah i think maybe a solicitor would be a good call

 

[CorvusCorax]

Is any of that written down anywhere, though? If I handed over my dog to my mother, for example, and she gave him to someone else, verbally, yes, I gave her a dog and she gave the dog to someone else, but legally, he is registered and microchipped and with a vet in my name and I have the written documents to prove it, neither my mother or the third person do, so therefore he is still legally my dog. With my young female, I really dragged my feet getting her registered in my name with a kennel club. Until that time, her breeder, who had registered the litter, still legally owned her, on paper.

 

[JoshN]

we have messages between her and my mother and my mother and us.. when my step sister first got they used a different name for the dog on the chip and never changed it in the 3 years she had her.. she doesn't have and of the papers from the breeder and this is where it gets weird... it was her mans sister who originally had the dog and was paying her up.. then my step sister got the dog and took over the payments and they have never recieved any sort of paperwork for her from the breeder. I just want this dog to finally have her forever home as its not fair on her atall

 

[CorvusCorax]

Are you saying the dog was bought in instalments? Paid by more than one person?! It is very unfortunate for the dog. It's also a good reminder for anyone thinking of buying a puppy to go through all the correct channels (which isn't your fault).
I guess your step sister is raging that her latest accessory isn't available for Facebook and Insta posts whenever she fancies it?!

 

[FinnishLapphund]

we have messages between her and my mother and my mother and us.. when my step sister first got they used a different name for the dog on the chip and never changed it in the 3 years she had her.. she doesn't have and of the papers from the breeder and this is where it gets weird... it was her mans sister who originally had the dog and was paying her up.. then my step sister got the dog and took over the payments and they have never recieved any sort of paperwork for her from the breeder. I just want this dog to finally have her forever home as its not fair on her atall

This just gets more, and more complicated, so actually, she's not legally your stepsister's dog either? To me it sounds like you might not just need a lawyer, without a lawyer specialised on animal cases.

 

[JoshN]

yes bought in instalments over two of them... i don't know i do know she has a few dogs & gave up another dog at the same time as that one had behavioural issues

 

[Karran]

https://doglaw.co.uk/

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

I changed ownership on my chips last week (just bought 2 pups) and I had the microchip numbers so apparently passed enough questions to do it over the phone. I think I was asked for the breeder’s name and the dam’s microchip too, so you might have an issue there. Can your mum ask her stepdaughter to confirm that she handed over the dog? Are there enough texts saying this very clearly? I suggest you use the website posted by Karran. It’s not a clear cut issue.