Dog Napping! Going to court

[Dlehster]

I was working with this girl that bought a pug puppy (I have 1 also & love the breed). Well about 2 months after she got her I got a text message one day asking if I want to buy the dog, if not she was going to get rid of her. So I thought about it and my boyfriend and I made a verbal agreement to pay $375 in small payments to her. We got the dog the same night & fell in love with her. Everything was fine and then she got hurt, we took her to the vet and paid the bill of 350. We continued making payments (in cash unfortunately) to her and all that was left was $100. My boyfriend and I broke up and I was the one keeping the dog & I told her I would make the last payment as soon as I could. She text me one day and said she wanted to see her and bring her paperwork, I agreed. She pulled up and through the dog in her car & said she was taking her. I was hysterical! Then she texted me saying that she could now take care of the dog now & would send a check. It's been 2 months and no check. My ex will testify to the payments and I have the vet bills. I called the police about an hour after it happened, they wrote a report and told me I had 3 options:

1. Wait and see what happens
2. Take her to small claims court
3. Let it go.

Well It has been almost 2 months and nothing has happened and I cannot just let it go. I want my dog back. If I cannot get my dog then I believe I should be paid for the following:

The money I paid her (275)
The vet bill
Food for 3 months
Boarding for 3 months

Since apparentally I was just taking care of the dog until she could take care of her!

 

[Duranie]

you can call the police and see if they will take a report. She stole your dog.

You had an agreement to buy the dog and it sounds like a sale took place.

You can also sue her in small claims court but I would call the police to see if they will do anything.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

you can call the police and see if they will take a report. She stole your dog.

You had an agreement to buy the dog and it sounds like a sale took place.

You can also sue her in small claims court but I would call the police to see if they will do anything.

Exactly correct. You had a contract and this person had no "repossess" to take your dog based upon the agreement. Think of it this way - what if some stranger took your dog? The fact that it was a person familiar makes no difference. The police always tell you to sue and many times don't want to enter a report but do so. You can sue her in small claims. I'm sorry to hear about your dog and what amounts to a reprehensible act (and it seems that with the Michael Vick case we are all more sensitive to how important our pets are to us.)