Dog ownership

[westoncampbell]

Personal Information
Name: Weston Campbell
Age: 19
Location: Scottsville, KY, USA
Problem: Dog Ownership

Almost one year ago I was given a dog by my grandmother. My grandmother had been given the dog by her neighbor who was moving into an apartment that didn't allow pets.

When I saw the dog, I absolutely fell in love with it. Since I didn't have any pets and my grandmother already had 3 other dogs, she felt that it would be great for me to have a little companion of my own, so she gave the dog to me. At this time, there was no legal papers showing that the dog belonged to either myself or my grandmother. The dog was simply given away as someone might give away a piece of propery that they no longer had use for, such as an old shirt or jeans that no longer fit them.

For months, the dog and I had bonded and became best friends. By the way, he's a small 4lb black pomeranian, 4 years old. Even though my grandmother had told me that the dog was all mine, she still tryed to stay close to it because she loves animals. One time a few months after the dog had been given to me, my grandmother offered to take the dog to the Veterinarian to get his rabie shot and other shots that were needed. I agreed to let her take him. She even offered to pay for the bill, and I couldn't talk her out of it, so she did pay for it. I found out a week later that she secretly had the dog registered under her name without my permission. I didn't think much of it since she was family but that did make me a little angry. Keep in mind that this was when the dog was first given to me, almost one year ago.

Well, recently I had an argument with my father and grandmother because we didn't see eye to eye on a personal matter. Out of anger or spite, my grandmother had the dog kidnapped from my own backyard while I was not at home. She claimed that there was absolutely noting that I could do about it because the dog was legally hers (remember that she was being sneaky and had it registered in her name without permission).

This just doesn't seem right to me. It's needless to say that I have lost all respect for her and never want to see her again. Please, someone, tell me that there's something I can do to get my little buddy back.

Note: I don't have any papers (bills, receipts, etc.) showing any proof that the dog was mine. The ONLY thing I have is many witnesses that know how long I have had the dog and know that one morning he vanished from my backyard. I don't know if that's enough to get my dog back, but I hope that there's some little thing that I've missed that can get him back.

Thanks for any advice that you can give!

A gift remains yours; you may sue in small claims and/or even file a police report. Small claims is supposed to just set money wawards but we often see them order pets to be returned in disputes like this.