I raised that point already did I not ?


In any event I hope she gets a better life than the one she has now ^_^

:o I just stumbled upon this thread and am shocked. I am hoping this will eventually come to a happy conclusion. And for me that can mean only 1 thing: the dog is no longer at your brother's place.

How this happens - well, obviously the best case is you get Nikki legally and take ownership. If she ends up going to the pound - I still say it's a win for you. Just about anywhere will be better than now and to me that's the important part.

Sounds like to me your relationship is already strained. Sorry for sounding uncaring, but right now I think it's secondary - the damage over this has already been done.

Huggles :heart:

Lot of shits been going on with this...might post it all later, too tired now. But wanted to mention Nikki is now tagged and microchipped in my name. That, plus recites for vet bills and food, not to mention dozens of people at the dog park willing to testify that I've been bringing Nikki there for months and she's mine...I might have a case.

This shit is making my head hurt... :(

Well, this sounds like progress. I hope this all turns out well for the two of you. I am glad to hear you have plenty of support in the dog park folks. I can vouche for the fact that knowing people at dog park, is a good thing :) Usually very good people to know. One of the coolest things about taking my dog there is meeting like-minded people.

I can tell there is a lot more to the recent developments, and will anxiously look forward to hearing more. All I can say is, I really hope you and her end up together, permanently. It sounds like this is what both of you need. I'm pulling for ya!

Well since you've taken over primary care of her, I'm pretty sure you've got decent odds of being given the dog.

Look at all the animal cop shows on Animal Planet and now that Rescue Ink, concerned citizens doing the right thing on animals behalf seems to be growing.

You had very valid concerns and are doing your part to ensure the health and well being of her.

Your brother should have chosen a dog that fit his life...and developed the ability to actually tend to the needs of a pet.

Ok, the complicated part:

Animal control showed up at my brothers house while my brother was out, his girlfriend, and two roommates were home. My brothers 11 month old and the roommates twin two year olds were in the living room, and the roommates and my brothers girlfriend were all smoking weed feet from the kids. I'm not sure exactly what was said about the dog, all I know is she is still there, but they were reported to child services and I assume the police by animal control.

The funny thing is, he doesn't know I did it..because our grandma has been yelling at him for the last week or so since she learned about the situation about how pets are family and need to be taken care of...and she should be given to me. She even actually threatened to call the SPCA. The bad part, however, is he got a lot more defensive about the situation. He has a friend who took his last dog up into the mountains near Kaweah Lake and abandoned her because she was 'too hard to train' and he threatened me if he couldn't have her, that's where she'd go.

Soooo...if I call his landlord Nikki will end up in a worse home, so I'm trying a more subtle approach. He never registered, tagged, or chipped her. He never walks her either. So very few none family know she's his dog. I just registered her, chipped her, and am waiting for her new tags in the mail. People see me walk her daily, the dog park people are behind me, ect.

Again, this shit makes my head hurt.. :(

I'm no lawyer, but given what you have said, I think you might have a good court case here if it goes that far. If he is threatening to take her into the mountains and abandon her (particularly if you have witnesses to that statement), you clearly have good reason to take ownership of her. Particularly since you have now registered and micro-chipped her. In court of course, it would all have to be legal. I'm not sure, but you being her primary care giver and having her registered to you (and not having ever been registered to your brother), should legally establish you as her owner. I know it can be a bit expensive, but you might consider at least consulting with a lawyer and seeing if you could feasibly take your brother to small-claims court if all else fails. You've got a lot of people who could back you up in court, the dog park folks and your grandmother.

This post has been edited by guthwulf on Oct 19 2009, 06:25 PM

I worded part of my last post poorly, what he actually said was if he couldn't have her he would give her to his friend who abandoned his dog. Not that he would abandon her himself. But yeah, my idea is to establish a looooong paper trail connected her as my dog. Will it work? I don't know...but the only other option I see is stealing her. Which I still might do. ;)

If I am not mistaken it is illegal to abandon a dog on national parks land or anywhere else for that matter. With all that has been going on and the record that is clearly being established, your brother could get into some serious trouble if he were to try that approach now. For a dog to all of a sudden turn up missing would be way to coincidental in the eyes of authority.

Remember to keep your focus. Sounds like other people are coming into the picture who are helping. Let them help and say what they want to, but you need to stay as objective and impersonal as you possibly can. It's not easy, but it is necessary.

You made very good points, Faunak8. A 10 for you. Maybe going to the landlord isn't such a good idea after all.
LTD

Had today off, and when I went by my brother's today to see the dog...she was inside. I was surprised, normally she is locked outside. Took her for her walk, took her home and ran errands. Friend called and told me to meet her at the dog park at 4:30. When I went to pick Nikki up again...she was inside, again.

Maybe recent events scared him into taking slightly better care of his dog?

I truly admire you Octavian85 :) Good luck with anything you might have to do, whatever happens!

Hearing this pulled my heart strings.
As far as i can see in a legal case (like was earlier said) she is yours now. (though im not lawyer!).

But i have come up with a way you can get her without stealing her....

As she is now registered to you, if she were to go missing and then be found, she will be returned to you, because as far as registration goes, you are her owner.
So do you know anyone out of state (or quite away away) who your friends with and trust, but who doesnt know your brother?
If so take her for a walk (a good idea is to some forests, so that there are no witnesses) , "lose" her, Say you let her off the lead for a run, and she chased something and didnt come back. (will need to pad that out a little).
But in reality you will drive her to your friends, where they will look after her for say 2 or 3 weeks.
You then go back to your brother and explain what has happened. And ask him to help you search for her (appear frantic) as you can cover more ground between you.
When you dont find her you can put a call out for a missing dog.

Now after say 3 weeks your friend takes her to the vets/missing animal shelter and say that they found this dog, shes lovely and friendly, and that if she isnt tagged they will happily keep her (to eliminate the risk of her being put down), but they want to make sure she isnt someone elses that can be found.
When she is scanned, they will find the microchip that it addressed to you.
She will be returned to you as your dog, because on there records she is yours.....

This was you dont "steal" her (though it is really), she doesnt turn up at your place immediatly to arrouse you brothers suspision. But in the end the authoritys give her to you.

Its an idea anyway.
But what ever happens i hope you end up with her.

Well the way I see it you are technically stealing her, but in a very subtle way. It's quite unfortunate that the girlfriend and roomies got caught smoking pot, because now their children might be taken away. :( If your brother ever finds out you were the cause (and the truth will eventually come out, I am sure), he'll have a much harder time forgiving you than if you just took his dog.
Things are getting more and more serious and I'm not advising you in any particular direction, I just ask that you be careful and think things through logically before you think with your heart.

I'm curious to know how does your brother's girlfriend feel about Nikki. The times you mention her she didn't seem very fond of her. :( She might be influencing your brother negatively about Nikki.