Question
Dog park goers accused me of abandonment when I briefly left to grab dog items at home. They hid my dogs from the shelter, ignored my pawboost alerts, and later advertised and adopted my dogs away. What steps can I take to bring my dogs back home?
Answer
People who believe that their animal is being wrongfully withheld can commence a civil lawsuit, such as a replevin action, to try to get the animal returned, and can contact the police, although the police do not usually intervene in animal custody disputes. I cannot predict the outcome of any given case. In the future, don’t leave your dog alone at a park. It is not the responsible thing to do and can have very unfortunate results for the dog and for the person who left the dog (who might lose custody and be criminally charged with abandonment).
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