3 months ago found a stray dog, adopted him but now this lady showed up claiming to be the owner? PLEASE ANSWER I NEED HELP ASAP!?

Did this woman tell you where she lived? If you found the dog in your neighborhood, chances are he didn't wander for miles and miles from home. So if this woman owned him, then she too must have lived in your neighborhood, or not to far away. That being the case she would have seen your posters long before 3 months had passed, and the dog should have been seen by some vet in the area at some point - although all you checked with were not familiar with him.

While he story may be true, I would find it highly suspect. Check with the rescue first on how to proceed IF you should decide the dog is hers. But I would do a lot more research and have a lot more questions before I would return the dog to her.

Just a side story: Some good friends lost their Pom when someone was dog sitting for them. Dog wandered a couple streets away, was found and turned into the shelter. It DID have a microchip, but a women showed up claiming it was her lost dog, & the shelter couldn't get hold of the owners because they were on vacation. This other woman made up some story & had photos of a Pom resembling this one and eventually the shelter gave her the dog. But because a vet (in another state where the new owner took the dog) got suspicious about the woman's lack of knowledge about the dog, scanned the chip, & called the real owners. They eventually got their dog back after an 8 month legal battle! Dog breeds can appear very similar in photos. Look for some other kind of identifying mark or proof.

No, the dog is now yours. If she didn't find you in those 30 days, and you DID give her all the opportunity possible, the dog is now considered 'abandoned'. You did everything you were supposed to.

If the dog was registered at all then that would have been enough for animal control, the vet or the shelter to find the previous owner. The dog was not microchipped.

It's been 3 months, the dog is no longer hers. Don't let her guilt you into giving it over, a lot of people try scams like this to get purebred dogs and resell them, claiming ownership. We've seen it too much in our area, they even had a news warning about it. If I was you I'd get the dog microchipped at the vets with your name and info - in case this person tries stealing it.

Honesty is the best policy. Just be honest with the woman and explain much like you did here what happened and that you adopted the dog fair and square. Let her know you went through the proper channels and the dog now belongs to you. If she only had the dog a short time before it ran away, she and her son obviously didn't have time to become attached. It doesn't sound like she had the dog properly contained or it wouldn't have gotten away from her so easily. She should have at least had some form of ID on the dog. At any rate, the dog is yours now and that is all that matters. Tell her if she has any questions, she should contact the rescue group, where the adoption process went through. They can verify that the dog now belongs to you, esp if she has problem with it. If she can truly provide a responsible home, may be she can find another dog with the rescue folks.

You legally adopted this dog from the rescue - so you are now the legal owner of the dog.

End of Story. This is your dog now. IF you want to give this dog back to the "owners", then the very least you should ask them to pay is all the expenses you incurred in vetting, adopting, feeding and caring for this dog for the past several months. If it is their dog, they'll be happy to cover these things to get their dog back.

She can not prove this is her dog - most shelties have similar markings, and just because she has one photo with a dog that looks like this one - it means nothing. I have photos with my friend's dogs, that doesn't mean that I own them.

Tell her to call the shelter if she wants to argue or complain about the animal control laws in your area. If she did lose this dog, she made no effort what so ever to find it until now .....

How sad, all round. However, legally as you did the right thing and handed the dog into your local Shelter and then adopted him with all the paperwork, unfortunately for the original owner, IF she is!, that's it really unless you feel the dog does know her, reacts to her and you think the dog might be better off back with his original owner.

Otherwise I m pretty sure the law is on your side - call the Shelter and ask them how best to proceed. They (most Shelters!) DO have the right to put a stray up for rehoming, provided they do this after the normal time allowed for the owner to come forward and claim the dog.

The dog is all yours now. She can't just take the dog back because it's not her dog. You shouldn't have guilt because the dog was waiting for a month, and the lady never showed up, and don't you think during those 30 days that she would've seen the posters before you adopted the dog? If she was really worried she would be putting posters on her own. The dog is legally yours. Might be a scam so just ignore her.

"I mean, I WOULD give the lady the dog if he legit belongs to her,"

Why would you do that? Let's say for argument's sake that the woman did get this dog from her friend. Why did she wait THREE MONTHS to look for him? Why wasn't SHE checking with the shelters and vets when he went missing? Why wasn't SHE putting up posters everywhere? It sounds as if she did little or nothing to find the dog, then came across one of your posters and thought "oh, yeah, there's that dog I was given. I guess I'll go claim him now."

Do you really want to give YOUR dog back to someone so callous?

And no, a photo is NOT proof enough unless the dog has some identifiable marking or scar. For all you know, she is a scammer who intends to flip the dog (sell him for whatever she can get).

He is YOUR dog legally. Just watch that he doesn't get stolen.

Legally it is yours now. As you left plenty of time, then adopted so she can't have it unless you want to give it to her. But if you feel you could provide for the dog better then keep it. I feel that if she really cared she would have out stuff up and found it sooner... so i'm a little sceptical of her story. My friends pet went missing and they weren't able to get it back as the 7 days vets give was up, and it had been rehomed. I would take posters down, make sure she doesn't know where you live, and just keep a low profile. Not that you have anything to hide as it is your dog now. But yeah sad all round, but you tried your best to find the owner not your fault, and you obviously have the dedication to properly care and look after it. I wouldn't go just on a photo at all, she should have vet records, friends and family could say, and more than just one photo, and like dog toys in home ect..So it all seems a little off.

Legally the dog is yours now,

you went to different animal shelters to have the chip scanned posted flyers ect did everything legal why did it take 3 months for this ''supposedly owner to respond to your ad?

you adopted the dog you are his rightful owner the paperwork is finalized obviously she was an irresponsible owner that allowed her dog to roam free without a collar. Do not give her back the dog!

If you give back the dog it will get loose again and possibly hit and killed next time use your brain.

Good Luck

sources

(experienced pet owner for over 20 plus years)

If you really feel that you would give the dog back you should go through the rescue first of all anyway as they now have first claims to the dog.

Apart from that, this person turning up out of the blue must be able to provide something of proof even if it is a vets that treated the dog when young via the friend. There has to be some proof or forget it. But do check the contract of the shelter as I doubt whether it is your rights to hand the dog back to this person now anyway.