How do you evict a dog?

[badgerhill]

I own a dog boarding kennel. We have a pair of dogs that have been boarded here for 11 months. One of the two is a behavior problem and has caused us many headaches. We decided we need the owner to come and get the dogs. Over the last 11 months the owners have not once visited the dogs nor have we talked to them in person. All correspondence has been done by bills being sent in the mail, payment being received by mail, and us leaving voicemail messages. The norm is for the owners to pay the boarding bill, although they have been a month behind the entire 11 months. Now that we need them to come and get the dogs we cannot get them to reply to our voicemail messages or written correspondence requesting they pick the dogs up. It has been about 3 weeks since our request and no reply from them. Their bill is now nearing $2,000 and growing by the day. How can we legally 'evict' these dogs without recourse from the owner? We will still need them to pay their bill as well, but we need this dog gone without a lawsuit. Can we give it away, take it to the humane shelter, or what? What steps must we go through to prove they've abandoned the dogs?

Send them written notice and give 30 days and you may take them to the pound. You may inform the police what you are doing as well. Frankly it seems a shame that they are there without an owner to care for them for so long.