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Originally Posted by Rhetts_mama  There are actually a lot of good reasons for caring if it's legal or not. First and foremost is your own physical safety. In this case, it worked out that the owner (I use that word loosely) didn't care. But this isn't always the case and you could just as likely end up with the type of person who thinks retaliation is best. The next reason is that you could be charged with a crime, even though you were acting in the best interest of the dog. Legal fees aren't cheap. The last reason, is that by doing it this way, there is no record on file of their neglect and abuse, and therefore, no consequences for them.
I think that in most cases, it would be a much better idea to call either animal control or the local police and tell them that there is an animal in peril. Let them come and take their pictures, file their reports and possibly press charges.
While I think most of us would react in a manner similiar to the OP and we believe that the judicial system would look the other way, theft and rescue are not the same thing in the eyes of the law. |
You are so right with this, I've read of other stories when the good Samaritan got into a lot of serious trouble for doing this. It's much better if there is some record of abuse, and you let authorities handle it, however, in this case, due to the bad weather; time was of the essence. When you break the law, you have to accept the consequences, and sometimes it's worth it.