Firstly I am sorry if this is not the correct forum to ask this question but am at my wits end..........
An aquaintance (friend of friend) was looking for a new home for 6 year old Border Terrier (as the owner stated he was in poor health and could not look after him) and I took him on just over 5 weeks ago
The dog was the sweetest lovable well behaved (indoors) and for a while it seemed that we were going to get along fine. I have mobility problems and walks were short (around the village) but very often 5-6 times a day.
The previous owner had said only that he did not like children or strangers and that he would take the dog back if I was not able to look after him for any reason.
One morning out walking (the dog, Barney, on an extended lead) he did indeed attack a little girl biting her enough for paramedics to be called and her to be taken to hospital. I called the Police to report this and to get advice on what I should do. It transpired that the dog had form. He had previously bitten two other people (one a child). The previous owner had said nothing of this to me. I worried that he would have to be pts but police advised me to muzzle him when in public and keep on a short lead.
He continued to be the most perfect dog indoors and most of the time when we were out with friends. He met lots of strangers and was not aggressive towards them. I had a friends daughter and her puppy come to stay with us for a few days and there were no problems.
Last week whilst out on a walk he managed to get away from me (totally my fault as I was not able to keep hold of his lead) and seriously attacked another small elderly dog. Even muzzled it was a ferocious attack and not a "passing bite". he managed to get the muzzle half off in his frenzy and although there was no actual damage the dog and elderly owner were very frightened. I live alone and, rightly or wrongly,  took the decision to have the dog pts as I felt he had definite aggression issues. I was absolutely devasted by having to do this as I had come to love this little chap but I felt I had no other choice.  I did not want to return him as I believe that the prev owner would simply have rehomed him without passing on any of his history and was worried that he might attack again.................
My problem is this. The previous owner took the news very badly and is now threatening to involve Solicitors as he says I should have returned Barney to them. Whats done is done and though it was a really difficult decision which I agonised over, I cannot undo it. I did not do it lightly and am very upset as thought we would be together for our twilight years. Can anyone offer me any advice please?? Apologies for the long post but it is playing on my mind constantly

Don't worry, the previous owner has no rights whatsoever to the dog, the dog was owned by you and you were able to do with the dog as you wanted once purchased or given away the previous owner relinquishes all rights and you were free to do as you wanted, whether that be re-homed, sent to a rescue or pts as you did. He might have wanted the dog back but legally he had no rights to him, let him bleet as much as he likes, the dog was yours and yours alone.

If things had gone bad, knowing his past or not the person who would have ended up in court and being sued would be you, being the dogs owner, the buck would have stopped with you, (in turn you could then have sued the previous owner for with-holding the facts) but you have avoided the continuation of this and of returning the dog and it happening again.

Don't worry, legally you are fine. I think you did the right thing also. :-)

Just to add, even if at the time when you took Barney, you said that if it didn't work out you would return the dog to them, you are entitled to change your mind, it's your dog. :-) Many of us who breed can not even enforce this. :-( And once ownership has changed the rights are gone. Even written contracts like this do not stand up in court so a verbal one has no chance whatsoever, please do not worry, everyone can change their mind especially in this case if the dog had aggression problems, they may or may not have been able to have been worked on, but it was down to you, being disabled and living alone I fully understand your decision, the constant worry of what may happen is hard to live with, you saw the aggression first hand, no-one with a conscience would wish to pass that on.

It is very sad, but sad is all you can all feel....... there is no legal hold on the dog.

Ditto what Carrington has written.

In addition, any 'contract' was based on falsehood and would therefore be unenforceable.   As I understand it, a contract cannot be enforced unless BOTH parties have all the information needed to agree or disagree to the terms.   In this case the previous owner witheld important facts about the dog, otherwise it's unlikely that you would have taken the dog. 

What happened was very distressing for you and for those the dog attacked and you did the responsible thing - if the dog could have been retrained, why didn't the previous owner achieve this?.   Even if it were to go to court, it would be difficult to see how any judge would find against you since the dog had already attacked and done damage to people and you now have proof that he had done so previously (I am assuming the police have this on record).

IMO the previous owner should be worried that you will send him the bill for PTS as this is something they should have done instead of passing the dog and the problems on to you to deal with.

Try not to let the worry of this add to your grief over having the dog PTS. 

Just to back up Carrington - last year I attended a seminar on dog law and we were told then that even if we as breeders get puppy buyers to sign a contract stating they agree to return the dog to us should they no longer wish to keep it or be able to, there is no WAY this is enforceable within the law. We all say it and put it in writing and often it is all it takes, the buyer who cannot keep their dog will then return it. But not always, and when it doesn't happen, there is nothing that can be done about it. It's no different from buying a TV and deciding to throw it away or give it away rather than to give it back to the shop you bought it from, harsh as it sounds. And for what it is worth I very much agree that you did the right thing -you had absolutely no choice. This dog could so easily have had you prosecuted under the Dangerous Dogs Act as it had bitten and more than once. Very sad story and I understand how upset you must be, but you did the right thing.

thanks so much for your advice. I am feeling much better now as I do respect your opinions. I hope it will come to nothing but I am no longer worried about repercussions. I have slept badly since this all happened but feel some peace now  xx

I agree with the others, ownership does not really come into it you had the legal responsibility for the dog and you did what you considered correct. Think you have had more than enough upset as it is some people are just not able to put themselves in others shoes. Ignore these people and get on with your life.