I wondered if anyone could advise me who has been in a similar situation. The pick of my last litter I gave to a friend & it was agreed (no contract) that he would live with her, be registered in both our names & be enjoyed & shown by us both. At 13 months old he developed entropian & had corrective surgery. There was a disagreement about his necessity for surgery. I was very much for surgery & would have preferred he was relieved of his discomfort before he was. At this time, unbeknown to me, my friend did an online transfer without my consent & registered this dog in her sole name. After a long period of time & much correspondence, the KC have reversed this transfer. I now would like to have some kind of visiting right to this dog who I care a great deal about. I would especially like a solicitor to act on my behalf but it is knowing of one who has experience in situations like these. Any advice gratefully received & thank you in advance.

Unfortunately I think you will find the law is not in your favour. KC registration has no bearing on who owns a dog legally, the one who owns it is the person who has the dog in their physical possession, can show vets bills for it in their name and similar. The one solicitor who knows the most about dogs is Trevor Cooper, http://www.doglaw.co.uk

Ditto Goldmali, sorry - its most likely that a court would find in favour of the person who has paid all the bills, fed him, housed him etc etc...

IF you could prove that the only reason this person has done all the above, is because they have cut you out of a written contract stating the dog is to be owned jointly you might have a chance but as you say the agreement was verbal, I think you won't have a leg to stand on!

Your only option is with the kennel club, there needs to be a document signed by those who own a dog to be transfered.

If it was done on-line I expect as in litter registrations, it says something like you must keep the signed transfer form in case of any dispute.

if you can prove you did not sign or give permission for a transfer to sole ownership the KC may well change it.

it won't help you with access to the dog though, that's a civil matter, and the owners as others have told you is likely to be considered the person who has care of the dog regardless of any documentation.

When I split from my first husband he abducted my dog, which had always been in my name, unfortunately he could not be done for theft as it was considered communal property.

Anyway to be honest what would be the point, if you really only want to have contact with the dog, over time you will have to allow bridges to mend with your friendship in order to have any hope of this, so taking any action would be counterproductive.

if you can prove you did not sign or give permission for a transfer to sole ownership the KC may well change it.

Brainless the OP said the KC did reverse it back to joint.

Thank you all. I have spoken with Trevor Cooper & had some advice from him but I really would like an experienced solicitor who is closer to me. I find this persons conduct very under hand. What a great way to get a free dog! At least the KC are aware of his surgery & flagged his registration but that still doesn't mean anything underhand won't occur. This person has already proved they cannot be trusted & I have my kennel to protect.

Chizarira2007,

It was very wrong of your friend to transfer ownership into her name alone without your permission, infact downright sneaky. Quite rightly the KC reversed that as you did not sign the transfer of ownership form. Alas this is not proof of ownership as others have said.

In every way the dog belongs to your friend and you have no visiting rights without that contract.

You obviously had a fall out with regards to the surgery and your friend has thought that's it! Although I agree you were spot on in not wanting this dog to suffer, good call.

However, as the dog has had entropian it surely can not be part of a breeding programme now? Which along with any show accalaids a dog may get is the main purpose of shared ownership to continue lines. So IMO the best thing you can do is allow your friend to buy the dog, sign the transfer of ownership and make it a clean slate...... Without a contract you have no rights here.

If you keep on good terms with your friend she no doubt will allow you to visit and still see and hear about the dog, if you go for all out war chances are you will not see this dog again. I would strongly urge that you cut your loses here.

Swallow your pride and make peace and if ever again you go into joint ownership you must have a contract, you learn in life that you can't trust anyone. (Well my husband says except for your wife :-D but....... plenty of people would disagree with that too.)

The trouble with joint ownership is it sounds great but when it actually happens very often the full time 'carer' because extremely attached, in a way far greater than even the breeder and sharing their dog becomes unbearable. You have to have like minded people who are striving for the same things or this can go very wrong.

I hope that you won't go down the solicitor route and will do what is best for the dog here, you can have contact I'm sure as the dogs visiting breeder, if you play your cards right and make things right with your friend. :-)

Think hard before your next step.........

Tara can I ask if you have paid half of all the food and vet bills for the dog as I think that will be a major factor in who is the owner of the dog.

I asked that this dog was insured & was happy to pay half the insurance premium but was told that wouldn't be necessary. Neither have I paid for food. My "partner" wanted to pay all the cost as she had the benefit of the dog in her family. Up until his surgery & so the end of his short show career, I paid half of costs of entries.

Is there anyone who is friends with this person who could get to see the dog and report back if they aren't willing to have any contact with yourself?

I do wonder why they want the dog soley in their name as its not like they can now attend any shows with him..it also won't mean anything regarding ownership as like others have said the person who owns it would be where the dog lives, who pays all bills and upkeep of the dog... I went to a TC seminar and to be frank he wasn't at all for any shared ownership due to the amount of issues it causes... You live and learn eh? At least he's had the surgery for the entropion!

Hello Tara. This is very distressing for you but I'm afraid that you will not find the law on your side. It is considered that who houses and feeds the dog  etc is its rightful owner. I'm not even sure if a written agreement or contract would be upheld in law. Holding the KC papers and registration, microchip details etc do not confer any rights to ownership,except, I suppose, in cases of theft. I learned the hard way in the case of a dog a few years ago. I shed many tears and felt very angry indeed  at the time but as it happens, the boy is much loved and could not be in a better family.