![]() “All reasonable efforts” could include, but may not be limited to, the following: I am by no means a lawyer, nor am I giving legal advice (property laws fall outside of animal control/pound services’ jurisdiction), but what I’ve seen and read regarding who gets to keep Fido, when it comes to civil court rulings, depends on if all reasonable efforts were made to locate the owner. There are no laws to support any exceptions to this rule, and there is the potential for “your new pet” to end up with its rightful owner if the person demands it, and is willing to go to court. The only legal way to take ownership of a stray domestic animal (thus preventing the original owner from reclaiming their pet, or claiming you stole it) is by adopting from an animal control agency or rescue organization that has taken the stray animal from an animal control agency after it has served a mandated stray holding period. The same goes for stray domestic animals. If you’re out walking and find a bag full of money, it doesn’t become yours after a certain period of time. Your TV, your car, your clothes, your wallet, and everything else you own that is movable, is personal property. Pets that can be legally owned are considered personal property. Here’s how pet ownership works in the state of California: I explain the same thing in different words until the person I am speaking to comes to the realization that whatever “they” told them about pet ownership is not how it actually works. What follows is always a repetitive discussion. The amount is always in constants of three: 3 days, 3 weeks, 30 days, etc. It’s always “they.” Throughout the last couple of decades, I have yet to uncover the members of this secretive group that started the rumor – that finding a stray animal becomes your property, as long as you’ve had it for an increment of time. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn storm clouds were, in that moment, filling the horizon behind me. “Who told you that the dog becomes yours if you keep it for more than 30 days?” I already know the answer before I ask the question, but I ask anyway. I’ve had her for over 30 days,” the gentleman says after I identify the actual dog owner via an implanted microchip. “I’m not giving her up, she’s my dog now. By Jesse Boyce, Field Operations Manager/Humane Officer
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