Theft of a Dog

[keebler]

ive had my dog stolen from a lady down my street. she says this dog is a male but if you look at it and realy know what a male and female yorkie look like you would know its a female like the one that was stolen from me. her kids told my son they found the dog 2 to 3 days ago. now the mother said she bought it out of state at a shelter. ive called the cops and they came out saying it was a male. its not its a female.what can i do to get my dog back? how can i get the dog taken to a vet or the shelter here in town to prove its a female? what options do i have besides stealing her back because i dont want to do that and get into trouble. they are also hurting the dog by putting her on a collar. yorkies have weak windpipes and can becrushed easy. her kids yank on the dog often. please help what can i do?

missing my dog in terre haute in.

[aaron]

You can take her to court.

[Litigator]

If the police are not going to be able to help out as far as the criminal law arena is concerned, it appears you would have to institute a civil action against her for the return of the dog--this is generally known as replevin. Depending on your jurisdiction you may be able to bring the suit in small claims court. You also have the option of retaining an attorney to draft a demand letter to her asking the dog to be returned to you in lieu of her being formally sued--that can be pretty effective at times. But you need to be sure you are able to identify that the dog she has is in fact your dog or there is no case.