One of the dogs in our family came after my wife found him on the street. Apparently abandoned, sick and injured. We nursed him back to health and he has been with us for almost two years now, healthy and happy, but sometimes I still have this apprehension in my head: what if his former owners suddenly show up and demand him back?
Well, for the user u/Sweaty_Employer4290, the narrator of our today’s story, this situation once turned into a frightening reality. After adopting a dog from a shelter, she and her husband were suddenly confronted by his former owners, who, with an ultimatum and in a rude manner demanded that they “give him back”.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post and her husband once adopted a dog from the shelter
Image credits: senivpetro / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The dog had anxiety and the shelter staff told them the previous owners tried to keep him in the crate while going to work every day
Image credits: Sweaty_Employer4290
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The couple did their best to cure the dog emotionally – but then the story had another unexpected twist
Image credits: Sweaty_Employer4290
Image credits: autorius / agency (not the actual photo)
One day, some lady called the author, told them she was the dog’s former owner, and demanded him back
Image credits: Sweaty_Employer4290
Image credits: Getty Images / Freepik (not the actual photo)
After the author’s flat-out refusal, the woman started threatening her, and got blocked immediately
Image credits: Sweaty_Employer4290
However, one day, some guy tried to barge into the author’s house, claiming that the woman had stolen his mom’s dog – but she simply got the police involved
So this story happened a few years ago, when the Original Poster (OP) and her husband adopted a dog with severe anxiety from a shelter. According to the shelter staff, the previous owners put him in the crate, leaving for work every day, but he broke out and started to destroy their apartment. After that, the dog ended up in the shelter.
Our heroes did everything to make the doggo feel as good as possible in the new place. They walked him regularly, played with him, and sent him to training – but one incident actually changed everything. Apparently, the author told the story of her new dog on social media and the post went viral – and one day, the woman received a phone call.
It turned out that it was the dog’s previous owner, who said that she and her spouse had now returned to remote work and could allegedly devote more time to the dog. So now, they demanded they “give him back.” To our heroine’s reasonable objection that it was now her pet, the lady responded with shouts, insults and threats. The OP blocked her – but it turned out that was just the beginning…
One day, when the author was home alone, some guy literally started pounding on the door, shouting that she had stolen his mother’s dog and demanding that she give him the animal. It all ended with our heroine, being seriously scared (she was also pregnant), simply calling the police, and they detained the attacker. And so, the woman decided to tell this story online, seeking support.
Image credits: nomadsoul1 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Usually, former owners don’t have the right to demand the animal back – especially if it has already been re-homed after being sent to the shelter. As this article on the North Shore Animal League’s website notes, if the animal was taken from its previous owners, they could go to court – but with dubious prospects of winning the case. Here, the animal was given away by the owners themselves – so the issue was obviously closed.
Of course, if the new owner and the shelter signed a full contract for the transfer of the animal to a new home, then the dog would be considered the property of the new owner, this post at Cuteness claims. “When it comes to dogs, judges may look at registration, microchipping, vet bills, and other documentation to determine who is the legal owner of the pet,” the post also says.
Well, in the comments, the original poster noted that her partner actually handled the adoption process, so she’d need to clarify with him all questions regarding the proper paperwork. Be that as it may, commenters noted that the very fact of attempting to invade someone else’s home is clearly an aggravating circumstance for the dog’s former owners.
Be that as it may, most responders are confident that the truth and the law are on the author’s side, and do hope that in the future, she and her husband will no longer meet that lady or her aggressive son. “I sincerely hope for you they won’t be coming back,” one of the netizens added. So what’s your opinion regarding the story described? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Most commenters sided with the author, urging her to check all the papers with the shelter as well
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