Theft Of A Pet By A Friend

I was trying to get some advice from others on a current issue surrounding stolen property. This case is set in Indianapolis, IN and the subject stolen property is a dog. If anyone might be able to chime in and suggest any plans of attach, I would greatly appreciate it.

Background: I purchased a English Bulldog with value of approximately $3,000. Pure bred and have all the papers. I signed a contract with the breeder at the time of purchase. I exchanged cash for this purchase. I was on the road quite a bit with the federal government and thus, I let a friend of mine take the dog to Virginia to care for him while I was away. And since I’m in Virginia quite a bit I was able to still spend a lot of time with my dog.

About 6 months ago, the friend of mine moved to Indianapolis in a house I bought for the both of us, thus the pup was living in the house with us. Due to job relocation and other domestic issues, my friend moved back to Virginia and took my dog with them.

They claim that the dog was a gift to them per our relationship. However, it was never my intent to give my $3,000 dog away as a gift. Why would I pay that much for him and not want him?

So, the dog has been back out in Virginia for about a month and it seems no one-on-one communication is going to help get my dog back. I consider the dog stolen property only in the aspect that I have proof of payment and a copy of a signed contract by me and feel the dog was taken against my will. I could be wrong here given the above info and that’s what I’m trying to seek advice from others on.

Is there any legal way to get my dog back through the legal system given the above information? I don’t have much patience over this as it was a pretty significant investment on my part, both financially and personally. I’m sure there will be some questions due to the limited info I’ve posted and I will try my best to answer them.

Thanks.

The dog is in Virginia, so it is unlikely that law enforcement in Indiana will do you much good. If you hire a lawyer to sue her, it will likely be an expensive proposition. You can try to sue her yourself, although if your goal is to recover the dog (not just money) you would probably want to sue in Virginia as the dog is no longer in Indiana and you would have to bring an other action in Virginia to have that state honor an Indiana court judgment. I suggest consulting a lawyer in Virginia, and seeing what it will take to recover the dog.