legal responsibility when finding a dog
 

There has been a lot of discussion on here recently (sometimes heated) about what to do when finding a lost dog with no tags/microchip. It got me interested in looking at the legal responsibilities when finding or taking in a dog. Someone on another post said something about you are legally responsibly to seek out the owners. When I looked online the only thing I saw was you are legally responsible to contact animal control within a certain amount of time (I think 48 hours). Not sure if this is different from state to state. It is then the responsibility of the owner to seek out their dog. That being said, many would say there is a moral responsibility to seek out the owners. If someone was to take the dog to an animal shelter, I know they would not put up fliers, canvas neighborhoods, or go on craigslist to find the owner. They will wait for the owner to contact them, and if not, adopt the dog out (or euthanize).


Just wanted to see if anyone else has information about legal rights and responsibilities regarding lost dogs in their state to share with the forum.

Good post :)!

I honestly don't know of any laws in AZ, but perhaps there are some. I totally agree with you in saying that it is a moral and ethical responsibility to find the owner UNLESS there is some clear irrefutable evidence that the dog was abused and/or was used as a fighting dog. And there are some cases in which you could have irrefutable evidence.

I believe in fully trying to find the owner in almost all cases by notifying certain agencies, posting on Craigs and checking Craig's Lost ads, and by putting up posters in the area. After that and after a certain amount of time has passed, decisions have to be made in my mind. At that point, I usually contact rescues to see if they'll help me find a home for the pup, even if the pup is still fostered/living with me. I hesitate to surrender most pups to our pound bc of our very high euthanasia rate (Phoenix metro kills 66,000+ animals a year). :(

And while I have been posting about the lost dog I've found, I've had all kinds of issues with people trying to false claim her. So far, three different people have tried to claim her. None have pictures. One couldn't tell me the breed. The other said it was a boy (it's a girl). I spoke with local law enforcement and they said the burden of proof lies with the owner. If it's truly missed the owner will post and will look for the lost dog.
So now...I wait and see. I just want her taken care of.

I think I would want to see a picture for proof unless there is some very specific feature on the dog they can describe. Like on my pup, she has two white nails on her back foot all the rest are black. I would think any dog owner would have at least one recent picture of their dog. I know it must be frustrating with people claiming a dog is theirs when it's not. Too many untrustworthy people out there.

I've had a couple of issues with the lost and found pets in my area lately. Granted the found dogs usually don't have ID tags and they aren't chipped. I've seen where the finder will give the dog to a relative just because the relative comments that they would like to have it. I don't think that flyers have been posted or that anything else has been done to locate the owner. The only thing that I'm aware of is that the finder has posted on a lost and found page on FB. The owner might not see that FB page, flyers weren't posted at the local vets, etc. To give the dog away without trying to find the owner, in my opinion, is wrong. Especially giving the dog to a relative.

This site has some good information on what to do if you find a stray/lost pet.




What to Do If You Find a Stray Pet : The Humane Society of the United States

You are LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE for looking for an owner. It is call Finder Law of Lost Chatties which isn't necessarily law on the books and could be a common law principle of finders of lost chattles (money or goods).

Let's say you have a boat and it gets away from your slip and ends up over in the neighbors slip. That does not mean that the boat is now your property. It belongs to someone and needs to be returned. A found dog is the exact same thing since animals are considered PROPERTY! So a reasonable effort needs to be made to find the owners. Here's another example: I found a bag of money on the side of the road and took it home and said it was mine.....finders keeper losers weepers......

You do not need to turn a lost dog into animal control but you do need to notify them if an owner is looking they will know where to find the dog.

As I said above, Finders Chatties is a very broad area and include property that would include lost animals as well.

Thanks for the info. Do you have a link you can share about the Finder Law of Lost Chatties? I couldn't find anything when I googled it. Thanks.

[QUOTE=tassibo;4446344]And while I have been posting about the lost dog I've found, I've had all kinds of issues with people trying to false claim her. So far, three different people have tried to claim her. None have pictures. One couldn't tell me the breed. The other said it was a boy (it's a girl). I spoke with local law enforcement and they said the burden of proof lies with the owner. If it's truly missed the owner will post and will look for the lost dog.
So now...I wait and see. I just want her taken care of.[/QUOTE]

And what if you found out she wasn't being taken care of? Legally, she still belongs to that owner and if you chose to keep her because you didn't approve of the circumstances that she was being kept in, you could be charged with a crime.

I understand that you want what is best for the dog and I appreciate that you are taking care of her, but you have to go about this the right way.

Laws vary by state. Just look up lost chattels law on google. It's old common law "chattles justly possessed cannot be lost" which means if I own it, it's NOT yours.

Here you go:
Wisconsin Strays and Lost Chattels

According to some people if you pick up a lost dog, deem it neglected you get to pass judgment and keep it for yourself. Ya know that Finders Keepers Losers Weeps rule

I just want to make sure people read the laws for their state when finding a lost pup.... and do the right thing morally. They could be charged with a crime if they don't, at the very least, report the missing dog to the proper authority. Yes, you may be taking great care of the dog, but it's still not yours. Some loving family may be out there missing their dog. (This is not directed at anyone, just info for anyone who finds a dog to keep in mind). Also, to keep in mind, if you put money into caring for the dog like food, vet, etc, I'm pretty sure if the owner claims the dog they are not required to reimburse those fees.

You are exactly correct! A lost dog does not have the capability to tell you their address and phone number do they are reunited with their owners. If you take a dog off the street to remove it from harms way you are also taking away their ability to be found by their rightful owners. So you need to take appropriate steps to let that owner know that you have their pet.

A few years ago, there was a woman that posted here about a yorkie she had found by a creek behind her home. She CAPTURED it with a TRAP and then refused to look for the owners or to give her phone number out. I offered to place CL ads in her area and used my email and phone number as a contact which she agreed to doing. She kept it in her barn on a leash for a day or so and then within 2 days she rehomed it to a family that lived 25 miles away! :eek:That is just so wrong and I was so upset at the time. She made no effort and kept the poor dog a prisoner in her barn unable to be seen by anyone looking for the poor little guy. She was too far away from me so it wasn't like I was able to go and get him myself and make a real effort and because she wouldn't even give me her phone number I could only reach her through email. It was just a horrible experience that still bothers me to this day.

If by chance my dogs get out, please make every effort to find me...they are not yours to keep...you will never know how grateful I am, but again, they are my dogs. I love them more than anything, be assured that they love me. They can both look neglected and uncared for after a short time on their own. But they are not yours, this is not a losers, weepers, finders, keepers game. They live, they breath...they are mine.

Who could say it better? I wholeheartedly agree! And if a dog looks seriously neglected, take pictures/video, have it vet-examined and treated and file a claim with the local authority where it lives once you find the owner but spend all your time trying to find that dog's owner. And then take them to court or whatever but don't judge that because the dog is thin, limping or matted that it's been neglected! You never know what that dog had to go through to try to survive on its own. You can't just take a car you find disabled on the roadside and neither should you assume a found dog is yours to keep.

:thumbup: Animals are considered property and it's stealing......end of story!

. If you want to keep the stray pet, you have a few options and duties. You could simply take it into your home and start taking care of it. If you do this, you should at least put up some notices in your local newspaper, courthouse, and community to give the owner a chance to reclaim the pet. Your failure to give notice is likely to give the owner legal ammunition if the issue ever goes to court. As mentioned earlier, giving notice to the community may actually be required in some states.

Taking a pet directly off the street and taking care of it in your home has some risk. The owner of a lost pet can come forward several months or even years after you start taking care of the pet and reclaim it. (The exact timing depends on the state and city where you live). This can be painful for you if you've formed a bond with the pet, and harmful to the pet as well since a change in lifestyle may be upsetting for it.

Because it may take so long for an owner's rights to be extinguished if you just start taking care of a stray pet, the most efficient approach may be to take the pet to an animal shelter and adopt it after the holding period. The shelter will hold the pet for a few days and give the owner a chance to claim it. If the pet is not claimed, it will usually be placed for adoption.

Be sure to ask whether the animal will be put up for adoption and how long it has to hold the animal. Inform the shelter that you will be back to adopt it. There is a small risk to the animal that the shelter will decide it's not fit for adoption or will euthanize it before you come back to claim it. However, if everything goes as planned you will acquire ownership rights in the pet in as little as a few days instead of a few years.

At least once state (North Carolina) allows you to look after the pet as an agent of the shelter and adopt it after the holding period expires. This eliminates the risk that something bad will happen to the animal while waiting in the shelter.

I completely agree with this! My two look completely unkempt if I miss a day of brushing them. I cannot imagine what they would look like if they were missing for a week!

I have found probably 20 stray dogs and have never considered keeping them. I took them in knowing I would get them better for the time being, but would look for their owners.

legal rights and responsibilities regarding lost dogs
 

Monroe county, Pa.

b. Any person who finds and harbors a dog without knowing the identity of
its owner shall notify the Animal Control Division and furnish a
description of the animal.

c. The finder shall surrender the dog to an Animal Control Officer within 48
hours after such person comes into possession of said dog. VIOLATING
THIS SECTION IS A MISDEMEANOR.

d. If the owner of the dog has not reclaimed the surrendered dog within
seven (7) business days, the finder may adopt the animal in accordance
with Article IV (E) (2).

Since we're talking about lost and found, a quick reminder to my YT peeps, please make sure your info is updated on your dog's tags and readable (if you use tags on a collar) and microchips!! I found a dog a few months ago, romping in my yard. I caught him and couldn't make heads or tails of his tag. I took him with me on my afternoon walk (I was heading out for our walk when I found him) and stopped every person I saw to see if someone recognized him. A few hours later, I found his home 2 doors down from my house. Would have been faster if I could just read his tags!

Last summer 3 dogs (at different times) were wondering around my house, this makes me nervous because behind my house is heavily wooded, I always fear if a dog gets into those woods he will be lost forever. I keep slip leashes at front and back decks. I coax them to me, they have been friendly, I then walk my community, I go house to house, ask if it's their dog, if not I ask have they ever seen this dog. I have been very lucky, through my searching I was told where the dogs lived. One was a pit, when I found where he lived a car was just pulling into the driveway, a young woman got out of the car, I asked if this was her dog, with an annoyed look on her face she said it was, she said he ran out of the house that morning. Instead of her looking for this pit, she went shopping. She seemed very annoyed the dog was being returned to her. If I had a 6 foot high fenced in yard I would have told her, if she didn't want the dog I would take him. I don't want to live a prison type home, I purchased my home because of the wooded area behind it, I will not put up a 6 foot high fence. I hated to leave the dog with her fearing she will let it roam loose when it gets out again, that was the 2nd time it got out last year and ended up by my house, the first time a friend that was baby sitting came to look for it because it was her fault it got out of the house. She told me what street her friend (the owner of the dog) lived on, but not the address, so the next time I went door to door till I found where that dog lived. Seems all dogs end up by my house, so I am always ready with the slip leashes. Some ppl do not want their dogs, they do not want to surrender either because they don't want the dog to be put down, they feel if they let it loose, someone will find the dog and keep it. I have heard to many stories about ppl doing this. Just sickens me. I will see how many end up at my house this summer.

Here is another resource Animal Legal & Historical Center - Michigan State University College of Law
But it is scary some states can euthanize three days after surrender of a found dog.

I agree with DvlshAngel985. Having readable tags and microchipping the dog is important when it's separated from the owner, as the dog can't speak for itself. The owner bears responsibility here.

They play fast and loose with the law in my town. Either that, or the law doesn't care about cats. I found a stray cat in the countryside with no ID on it, but she was obviously healthy, except for a few fleas. I took her to the humane society so they could look for the owner, and told them I wanted to adopt her if the owner didn't come forward. That was on a Friday. They told me to come pick her up the following Monday, and on Monday they told me they had already euthanized her. I was so angry. They told me that they had more than enough healthy adoptable cats at the shelter, and basically that the cost of vaccinating her, deworming her, and making sure that she didn't have any pre-existing conditions made her undesirable as a shelter pet. I told them when I dropped her off that I was planning on taking care of all of that, and they told me well, it's too late now. So yes, there are chattel laws on the books, but evidently they are only for the "desirable" animals and to protect the owners if they actually look for their pets. In most instances, though, I seriously doubt that those laws are enforced, and even animal control is willing to look the other way and make their own determination on how the law should be enforced. Now you've got me interested in reading up on the Illinois law...

Sorry, this post isn't explicitly about Yorkies. I'm still bitter about that cat. But you can be sure that I take no chances with Bella. She has an ID collar and is microchipped, and I do not let her out of my reach when I take her outdoors--she is always on a leash or in her stroller.

I'm so sorry this happened to you with the cat that you found. The problem with shelters is that they do not look for owners. They expect the owners to come to the shelter to physically look at the strays. I believe the laws in IL are that if you are willing to actively search for an owner you can hold the lost pet. Small towns have a horrible reputation of euthanizing. The cat and dog overpopulation is very sad.

As for chipping, collars and never letting her out of your site there is always the possibility of an accident of a loved pet getting away. You just never know. I'm also very careful with all three of mine too. Last year the ComED meter reader left 2 gates open in our yard and THANK GOD a very kind man picked my Bogey up and returned him to my front door. Mine are all chipped and tags as well, but those only work when the person that finds your lost dog is willing to return the pet. Sadly, it's been proved many times that is just not always the case. :(

I checked Phoenix's laws, and couldn't find much, other than it says something like "if you find a stray dog, you are required to surrender it to Maricopa County pound".

You might be able to check ordinances as well. It's kind of like the locked dogs in cars.

I think the euthanization rate of cats is greater than dogs overall. Some reason there always seem to be way more cats in shelters than dogs, at least in my experience. I live in a pretty small town and I saw on my local humane society website when I was looking for a pet, that they were not accepting any cats because they already had too many. It's sad, but seems to be the reality.

Thanks! I'll have to look into that end of the law. Once the animal is turned over to animal control, though, things are quite dire, at least here in Champaign County:

Section 7. Impoundment and redemption

When dogs or cats are apprehended and impounded by the Administrator or Animal Control Warden, they must be scanned for the presence of a microchip. The Administrator or Animal Control Warden shall make every reasonable attempt to contact the owner as soon as possible. The Administrator or Animal Control Warden shall give notice of not less than 7 business days to the owner prior to the disposal of the animal. Such notice shall be mailed or delivered to the last known address of the owner. Testimony of the Administrator, or his or her authorized agent, who mails such notice shall be evidence of the receipt of such notice by the owner of the animal. In case the owner of any impounded dog or cat desires to make redemption thereof, he or she may do so on the following conditions:

1. Present proof of current rabies inoculation, and registration if applicable, or

2. Pay for the rabies inoculation of the dog or cat, and registration, if applicable, and

3. Pay the animal services facility for the board of the animal for the period it was impounded,

4. Pay into the Animal Control Fund an additional impoundment fee.

5. Pay for microchipping and registration if not already done.
510 ILCS 5/10.

There are some good things about that law, like forcing the rabies vaccination of unvaccinated animals, and forcing microchipping of animals that are lost and then reclaimed by their owner, but my goodness, if you find a dog and turn it over to animal control, they basically have the right to dispose of it within 7 days! And they will, unless it is a "desirable" animal that they think can be adopted out. (In Champaign County, Animal Control and the humane society work hand in hand--their buildings are right next to each other.) So far, I have found and returned 3 or 4 animals directly to their owners because they had ID tags with names and address. I found a big dog caught by a loose chain in the bushes in my back yard and called animal control because it had no tags. It obviously had an owner, since it had a chain attached to its collar. No signs of abuse (other than it obviously having been chained outside and unsupervised.) Animal control said that the owner would probably contact them when they found their dog missing, but now I wonder how hard they tried to find the owner. It's a cautionary tale to hold on to your babies!