# Rightful Ownership - Shelters and Rescues



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Finally! This is the third case I've heard where a rescue refused to return a dog to an owner. Finally, the owner rights are protected and a precedent is set. Rescues need to re-evaluate their purpose. It's not to keep animals from good owners.

Texas Supreme Court Rules on Who Owns Dog | The Texas Tribune


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## yuriy (Dec 23, 2012)

> The private rescue agency said the Lira siblings had lost their right to recover Monte Carlo because they did not come to claim him in his first three days at the pound.


I can't believe some POS actually claimed that. Are these people who want to help animals, or clowns running some donation/money laundering scam? Suddenly I'm not so sure.

Also glad to see a common-sense resolution and precedent. Shocked it took Supreme Court to get here, though.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I'm infuriated. They lost three years of time with their dog. This proves microchipping is important. With a chip, the owner could have been contacted and the dog returned immediately.


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## angelas (Aug 23, 2003)

And this decision will hopefully keep Piper the Sheltie home for good.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

There is a high kill shelter in a neighboring state that adopts dogs out after a couple of days. 

Every year, after the Fourth of July, local shelter volunteers go there about three days after the holiday and bring back many of the dogs who got spooked by fireworks and ran before the owners can find them to put up for adoption in my area as there is a shortage of adoptable dogs here. They do not look for the owners.

Cat owners also have to be careful with organizations who manage cat colonies as they will take a friendly cat that shows up which could very well have an owner and take them to distant satellite adoption centers to find homes for cats that already might have a home. They do not look for the owners.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Third case???? Wow what are with some of these rescue people. It made no sense. It is a good thing these people had patience and got a lawyer. I hope I would be so patient if someone had my dog and would not give him back. Hopefully it sets up some kind common sense for some of these people who will not return dogs to their owner. Get off the high and mighty - things happen. 
As for dog pounds ,yes I have heard many stories in the past -do not call the dog pound and find if they have your dog, they don't even check and can't be bothered. You do have to go down to the pound and check in person.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

The scarier part is how many are destroyed? Years ago we rehomed a dog, the new owner called us and said he ran away. Of course we looked for him and called the shelters with no luck. Finally we decided to go to the shelter. I had to be about 9 or 10 and I remember it clearly. We searched the whole shelter, but my mom was persistent, finally they told us there was one more room. I remember walking down looking in every cage for Benji. I got to the very end and there he was. I started screaming that I found him and everyone came running. We took him home and he lived with us happily for the next 10 yrs. He passed away when I was almost due with my son and I was an emotional mess. He was like 17 yrs old and we bonded heavily over the years.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

This is how we found by husbands grandmothers dog. My husbands grandma was an emotional mess because her dog got out and became missing. she could not drive and called the animal shelter with a description of the dog. They told her no dog fits that description. I went down myself that same day -she called-after work and sure enough he - King - was there brought in two days prior. He was a shepherd mix looked like a long coated black German shepherd -even back then the shelter was filled with pit bull mixes and King did stand out like a sore thumb. I went back to pick up his grandma to claim her dog back- needless to say she was incredibly happy.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Why this would go this far is ridiculous. No reason this couldn't have been sorted out between the rescue and the owner. 3 years lost, hopefully they can sue for court costs.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

I was always afraid this would happen with Max, our rescued GSD. 

He was picked up by ACO who had tried to catch him for over a month. They finally were able to catch him because he was so weak from hunger. We adopted him after he had been at the shelter for 10 days. He was to be PTS if another dog came in as they were full. We said no way and took him home. He lived with us until his death in 2011. 

It was very clear he had been well cared for. He was stunning and had some training. He loved little kids. He was drawn to young boys in the 5 to 8 or so age range. I was certain he had a little boy looking for him. We tried for a few years (until we moved from Kentucky) to find his family, at least to let them know he was okay. I always wondered what would happen if we did find them and they wanted him back. I even went so far as to ask the shelter what would happen if we found his people? They said he was legally ours as he had been legally adopted and the family had not claimed him within the specified time. 

I would have felt ethically obligated to return him to his family if we ever found them but I am happy in the long run that we did not. 

I can see where this ruling is good and bad, depending on the circumstances.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Glad they got their dog back. I am surprised they didn't go to wherever animal control brings dogs from their area immediately. 

What we all need to realize is that the people at shelters are often volunteers, and most are not shepherd enthusiasts. They may be able to tell a shih tsu from a beagle, but they may not be able to tell a GSD from a lab mix, or a husky, Mal, Terv, or any number of breeds. 

When I lost Arwen a dozen years ago or so. I went to shelter every other day and looked over all the dogs that came in. I asked, did you get any shepherds in? They often said "no." and then I would walk back there and see a new one, or two, or even three. They either didn't know, or couldn't be bothered. 

I got Arwen back by a lot of good luck, posting flyers, putting ads in the paper, and checking vets and that shelter. And I learned not to take anyone's word for it when they say they don't have any GSDs.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I think people are missing the point. It's not about how to search a pound for a dog. Or how many are being euthanized.

It's about animal rights activists not returning animals to rightful owners when said owners finally do find their dog. That policy alone needs to change. 

Dogs are property. So I lose my car. A week later I find it. It's still legally mine. I did not relinquish ownership or sign over the title.

This happened at our local shelter. Owners came forward after the adoption time. Who knows the story why. The point is the dogs were already adopted out at the time. New adopters had spent a good sum on medical. The owners got their dogs back. Only in this case, they probably shouldn't have. So as Kathy says, there is good and bad to this ruling. However, the good are going to far outweigh the bad. IMO, bad owners won't usually go to the extent of hunting down their dogs.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Actually, it seemed like a good time to remind people that shelter workers do not always get it right, and you need to go there and look at the dogs. It is not off topic at all.

The thing is, 3 days or 10 days, yes people should give the dog right back, and no one should be suffering over that. That rescue ought to be seriously fined for creating this situation.

But what happens if that shelter sends your dog to another shelter, and that shelter or rescue adopts your dog to someone? If the dog was obtained properly and in good faith, how is it six to twelve months later, when you find your dog in the custody of other people? How is it when they have to tell their six year old child that you are coming to take the dog back? We cannot just run a search on the internet for our dog, we need to go to the shelter and look at the dogs. 

I think some rescue people are a little self-righteous, they are coming at it from the viewpoint that you are irresponsible. Your dog got lost -- how??? It was picked up 10 days ago, why haven't you even looked for it??? Do you even care about your dog? 

I am not saying this is right. I am saying that it is amazing these people found their dog at all. 

As for chips, they are good, but lots of shelters do not own the scanner that can scan for all types, and some just do not scan. A guy where I worked had the family dog go missing. It was wearing a collar and tag. The tag had his name and phone number on it. The neighbor told him the dog warden picked up the dog. So, he expected them to call. They did not. He went to the shelter and found and claimed his dog. He asked why they did not call the collar and tag were right there. They said they ONLY call if it is a license. They then fined him for not having a license for the dog. But he got his dog back.

My dogs are licensed, but don't wear them unless I am taking them somewhere. Half are chipped. But I don't trust people to scan them. If I have a dog go missing, I will not leave any stone unturned. Definitely, run searches on the internet -- the more people who know your looking for a dog, the better, but go to the shelter and look at the dogs.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

We got a dog after a rescue pulled him from a home when they found him running in the street. They claimed they talked to the owner who refused to sign papers. The rescue didn't actually take him in, they were full, so we said we would foster until they sorted it out. No one ever came back for him and we ended up keeping him so long, he ended up as our dog. I always worried someone would say, What are you doing with my dog?, but I asked our rescue contact several times and they assured me the original owner wanted to relinquish the dog. 

I agree, you need to visit every room of every shelter. I used to evaluate dogs for a rescue (not German Shepherds) and they often got the breeds wrong. Invariably the dogs they identified as something else were pure pitt bull. Another time, a chihuahua said German Shepherd on the pen. I asked if they were serious and the volunteer said they had an easier time placing GSDs than chihuahuas, but I still think that was a mistake or someone forgot to change the card when they placed a previous dog. My point is that often dogs were mis-identified. I don't know every breed, but I know enough to tell if a dog is identified wrong.


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

I agree that I'd be going to the local shelters and looking at the dogs. I'd be dropping off color photos of her at each and every one of them. I'd GO there as often as I could and I'd call multiple times daily. They would hate to hear that phone ring or see me coming. I'd be contacting my local breed rescues asking them to pull her for me if they were notified before I was and I'd pay whatever their expenses were (I know and can trust them, so I'd feel okay with that).


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