Help with unusual problem
Discussion
I'll try to keep this as brief and to the point as possible.
My mum died a couple of years ago leaving my stepdad to look after their 2 dogs which they had had joint ownership of for the previous 10 years.
Stepdad had always had mental health problems which declined this year to the point where he had to go into hospital at Christmas for about ten weeks.
Obviously, the dogs needed temporary care so my auntie (mum's sister) asked stepdad's sister to look after them. She agreed, but about 3 weeks in, decided they were a bit much for her and wanted to arrange foster care for them, to which my auntie agreed.
Fast forward to two weeks ago - stepdad is out of hospital and doing fine, completely independent again so starts to enquire about getting the dogs back,
His sister then casually mentions that one has been euthanised and the other is in permanent foster care and not coming back,
She initially refuses to give any details of where they went but eventually comes clean and tells my auntie the name of the shelter she organised it through - a limited company rather than a charity. My auntie was then able to get in touch with the foster carer, but it was then explained that she had been told my stepdad is dangerous, should not have any contact with the remaining dog and essentially had zero chance of ever seeing her again.
It appears that the sister has acted vindictively - we think, from off-the-cuff remarks she has made, that this is due to the problems her brother's mental health caused for them as a family when they were much younger.
Anyway, my question is, is there any hope of getting the remaining dog back?
I'm completely gobsmacked by the way the sister has acted, having a pet dog euthanised without even consulting with the owner of the past 10 years, and with no opportunity to say goodbye. Then following up with signing away the remaining dog into permanent foster with the instruction, based around a blatant lies, that the dog should never be returned.
She had no legal right to either dog as far as I can see, she was just asked as a favour to look after them for a few weeks. Is this dog theft, will the police be interested?
My mum died a couple of years ago leaving my stepdad to look after their 2 dogs which they had had joint ownership of for the previous 10 years.
Stepdad had always had mental health problems which declined this year to the point where he had to go into hospital at Christmas for about ten weeks.
Obviously, the dogs needed temporary care so my auntie (mum's sister) asked stepdad's sister to look after them. She agreed, but about 3 weeks in, decided they were a bit much for her and wanted to arrange foster care for them, to which my auntie agreed.
Fast forward to two weeks ago - stepdad is out of hospital and doing fine, completely independent again so starts to enquire about getting the dogs back,
His sister then casually mentions that one has been euthanised and the other is in permanent foster care and not coming back,
She initially refuses to give any details of where they went but eventually comes clean and tells my auntie the name of the shelter she organised it through - a limited company rather than a charity. My auntie was then able to get in touch with the foster carer, but it was then explained that she had been told my stepdad is dangerous, should not have any contact with the remaining dog and essentially had zero chance of ever seeing her again.
It appears that the sister has acted vindictively - we think, from off-the-cuff remarks she has made, that this is due to the problems her brother's mental health caused for them as a family when they were much younger.
Anyway, my question is, is there any hope of getting the remaining dog back?
I'm completely gobsmacked by the way the sister has acted, having a pet dog euthanised without even consulting with the owner of the past 10 years, and with no opportunity to say goodbye. Then following up with signing away the remaining dog into permanent foster with the instruction, based around a blatant lies, that the dog should never be returned.
She had no legal right to either dog as far as I can see, she was just asked as a favour to look after them for a few weeks. Is this dog theft, will the police be interested?
tty thing to do.What a horrible thing to do - I'd happily smack her one on his behalf!
I honestly don't know about the legalities, but there is a specialist dog law firm:
https://doglaw.co.uk/civil/ownership-custody-dispu...
I honestly don't know about the legalities, but there is a specialist dog law firm:
https://doglaw.co.uk/civil/ownership-custody-dispu...
Thanks all. I have now found out that the shelter that has taken the dogs and put them into foster is the same shelter that originally adopted them to my mum and stepdad. It seems they have invoked the clause in the adoption contract that states the dogs can be reclaimed if they believe the owner is not able to provide proper care.
The euthanised dog, as far as I can tell, was just due to old age and being generally a bit senile. Possibly justified, but not with the urgency it was done and certainly not without allowing my stepdad or even anyone else in the family the opportunity to see the dog or even be part of the decision.
Due to the age of the other dog (13) they will not be looking for another adopter, she will see out her final days in the foster home.
I think this may be winnable legally, but given the dogs age, that might actually take longer than we have and if I look at it pragmatically, may not actually be in the best interest of the dog now.
It's just all a bit sad really and I think there is a definite case of discriminating against mental health issues - I think everyone involved would have a different attitude if this was someone coming out of hospital having recovered from any kind of physical health problem.
My stepdad's sister didn't go to see him in hospital a single time over the 10 weeks. If she had done, she would have seen that he was getting better and would have hugely benefitted from having his dog back. Instead, she went out of her way to make the dog shelter believe he was uncapable of looking after his dog.
The euthanised dog, as far as I can tell, was just due to old age and being generally a bit senile. Possibly justified, but not with the urgency it was done and certainly not without allowing my stepdad or even anyone else in the family the opportunity to see the dog or even be part of the decision.
Due to the age of the other dog (13) they will not be looking for another adopter, she will see out her final days in the foster home.
I think this may be winnable legally, but given the dogs age, that might actually take longer than we have and if I look at it pragmatically, may not actually be in the best interest of the dog now.
It's just all a bit sad really and I think there is a definite case of discriminating against mental health issues - I think everyone involved would have a different attitude if this was someone coming out of hospital having recovered from any kind of physical health problem.
My stepdad's sister didn't go to see him in hospital a single time over the 10 weeks. If she had done, she would have seen that he was getting better and would have hugely benefitted from having his dog back. Instead, she went out of her way to make the dog shelter believe he was uncapable of looking after his dog.
Edited by billbring on Friday 25th March 19:05
billbring said:
I think this may be winnable legally, but given the dogs age, that might actually take longer than we have and if I look at it pragmatically, may not actually be in the best interest of the dog now.
You have to do what's best for the dog.I suppose you could threaten/bluff legal action and point out that costs will wipe out their reserves... but it's a bit Putin-esque. Sometimes the prize isn't worth the fight; only you can decide that.
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