Afternoon guys

Now this is a long tricky one but I'll try and explain the best I can

5 weeks ago I got a call from a so called friend who was desperate for somebody to look after his dog as he was moving house and allegedly couldn't take this dog.
I collected her and I kid you not she was in an undescribable state!! She had dermodex mites and you could see her ribs/hips as well as her being covered in sores all over her legs and belly!!!

I took her to the vet who treated her and I've been getting her in good health whilst having her

This "friend" said he had rescued her from someone he knew.... All lies as I chip checked her and found out she wasn't the dog he said she was. He said she had a different name and also a different age to what her chip details are.... I called the registered owner on the microchip and he told me he gave the dog away 2 years ago and not to the person I got her off.


I've asked this person when they will be collecting the dog to take to their new home and he then asked me if I'd buy her....
For £500!!!!!

I said no! I don't want to buy the dog although I feel so sorry for her and don't want him to have her back as I know what condition she was in but I can't really keep her due to already having plenty of dogs.
She's not worth £500 but I did offer £100 just to stop her going back to this person but he wouldn't except the offer.

So I asked him to collect the dog.... Said he would yesterday..... Nothing.
Asked again today... Nothing again!!

What do I do?? I've paid to look after her for 5 weeks including vet treatment and this guy is a complete a**hole

Any advice kindly appreciated

Ok, the money side first- would it be an option for you to agree to pay £500 for her, less your expenses (board, food, vets etc) which probably add up to around £400?

On a more human note- please don't let him have this poor dog back. If cost is a real issue, could you do a crowd funding type appeal to cover your costs and then rehome her to someone you would trust to look after her properly?
Please don't put her back in that situation

He's only seeing the dog as a money making thing which is why he's not budging on price but I can offer him £400 and see what he says...

Did you or the Vet take photographic evidence of the dogs condition? I am no fan of the RSPCA but there are laws in place about the treatment of animals and your 'friend' has clearly failed in his duty of care to this dog. I know who I would be contacting and it would not be your 'friend'.

First calculate all the vet fees you have paid for & then add on £15 a day for home boarding(£525 for 5 weeks) & send them an invoice for the lien(a right to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.)you have on the dog. In other words he owes you more money that he is asking for so you can keep the dog legally until he coughs up what he owes you & of course his debt is growing daily !!.

In other words legally he doesn't have a leg to stand on re getting the dog back or making you pay him money. He has also broken the law in not transferring the chip registration to his name. If you can message me I will explain more & how to comply with the law regarding chip registration & transfer)

I have photos of her from the day I received her as I had a funny feeling about all of this and I did think I could use this as evidence against him! The more I'm learning about this person the more I'm convinced he's just a dog dealer... Certainly won't regard him as a friend any more

Talk to DogLaw UK and get legal advice.  At the very least you should be able to charge this guy for boarding and the vets fees, which after 5 weeks with you will be more than £500 - just boarding at £10 a day (which is cheap) would be £350 and I'm willing to bet you've paid more than £150 to get her healthy again!  So if he wants to charge that much, you've already paid it.  Dog in lieu of payment.

As for everything else... is there any proof that he owned her?  Is she registered under his name at a vet?  If not then he may have no leg to stand no at all, as she'll be registered under your name so everything will point to her now being your dog.

I would prioritise not sending the dog back to him under any circumstances.  I would take the dog to a rescue kennel and hand her over there, explaining what has happened.  I would then refuse to tell him where she was, and would have evidence of his lack of response or interest in her - should this become a legal issue. 

I'm afraid I wouldn't be thinking about the money or profit, but only about what is best for the dog.