My ex husband is suing for the cost of our puppy.

Question

My ex husband and I briefly got back together. While we were at the mall, I saw him in the pet store. He got a puppy that he knew I would want. I always wanted this breed. He got the dog in his name and vet in his name. We broke up less than a month later. I offered to take the dog and payments via text, but he never gave me the dog or drew up a agreement. Now two months later, he is taking me to small claims court for the cost of the dog.

Answer

Although generally when a person gives an animal away such person has no further rights to that animal, proving an animal was gifted is not always so easy when the person who allegedly received the gift has no proof of ownership (such as veterinary records, microchip registration, etc.). If you want the dog (and are concerned that you won’t be able to prove the dog was gifted to you) and your ex is willing to sell the dog to you, purchasing the dog may be the most expedient way to obtain the dog. Consider that you don’t have to wait until your ex draws up the agreement. You can do so (and better yet, have an attorney draft the agreement for you). Alternatively, cases can be settled in Small Claims Court (for example, one party agrees to pay the other for the dog and gets full rights to the dog). I hope this works out for the dog.