Pet Legal Q&A

Elinor D. Molbegott, is an attorney who maintains a law practice devoted to animal law. Elinor donates her time to answer questions from North Shore Animal League America supporters who would like to learn more about animal law.

Is rescue adoption agreement clause legal?

Many rescue groups in the Midwest include a clause in the agreement that they claim is legally binding. The clause prohibits an adopter from giving the dog to anyone else and indicates that one must return him/her to the rescue group if one must relinquish the dog. Is this legal?

By |2021-06-02T11:39:46-04:00April 15th, 2021|

My ex wants to keep my dog.

My ex and I split, and she and I had an agreement for sharing custody of my dog I acquired. Now she is trying to stop me from having my dog at all.

By |2021-06-02T11:11:05-04:00April 15th, 2021|

Watching a friend’s dog during the pandemic turned into a rehoming, we thought.

At the beginning of the pandemic, a jobless, homeless (couch surfing) friend asked us to look after his dog. We happily did it because the dog was suffering from neglect and loneliness. The owner made it clear he just needed this until he got back on his feet. We expected it to only be for a few months, but the pandemic carried on. In the meantime, we medically cared for the sweet little pup, as he came to us with an abscess and unvaccinated. And of course we fell in love with the little guy. At the 6 month mark, the friend disappeared entirely (changed his number and email and left no contact info), so by the 1 year mark we assumed the dog was ours. Now it has been 15 months and the owner is back and demanding his dog.

By |2021-05-10T09:09:35-04:00April 15th, 2021|

Owner Abandoned Puppy

My fiance and I were contacted to pick up a puppy or it would have been homeless. We were told the puppy was left outside of the owner's home in a kennel and the owner was not returning. We took the puppy home, bathed him, fed him, made him comfortable. Three days later, the owner contacts us asking for the puppy back. He stated he was gone for two days and came back to find his puppy was gone. He demanded to have us return the puppy or else. We were frightened and didn't know what else to do, therefore we returned the puppy. We are concerned with the well-being of the puppy staying with this owner. Is or was there anything else we should have done?

By |2021-03-25T15:29:41-04:00March 25th, 2021|

Can I adopt a dog I found and surrendered?

I found a dog in the grass near the road at night and was worried about her. She had a collar on but no identifying information, and she was very scared. I brought her home so she’d be safe, and the next morning I brought her to our local Humane Society. They scanned for a microchip, and finding none, had me sign a surrender form so they could take her for a five day hold to find the owner or see if she is a candidate for adoption. I can’t stop thinking about her, and if possible I’d like to adopt her. Will I be able to do so after signing a surrender form— considering she wasn’t my dog when I surrendered her?

By |2021-03-25T15:04:42-04:00March 25th, 2021|
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