You Belong to Me: Proving Your Dog is Yours is Harder Than You Think

How would you prove that your dog is your dog? photo: AdobeStock

Proving ownership of your dog may seem simple, but it actually isn’t. It’s the kind of thing you don’t think about until you have a problem and by then it may be too late. Here’s how you can be prepared to show your dog is yours - before the unthinkable happens. 

Why Would I Need to Prove Dog Ownership?

Dog ownership and custody disputes come up more often than you might imagine. All too common is a divorce or separation between romantic partners. Both parties are attached to the dog and neither wants to give up custody to the other. Sometimes these situations end up in court.

Lost pets are sometimes taken in by finders who may mean well but assume the pet is abandoned and keep it, never bothering to look for the owner. When the original owner discovers the dog weeks, months, or even years later, they may have a fight on their hands trying to regain custody.

Lost pets who wind up in shelters can often be adopted out after a very short hold period — in California it’s just 72 hours! In many cases, the original owner may have lost all rights to get them back.

Individuals may leave a dog with a friend or relative temporarily because they can’t keep them. Examples of these situations include a person going into the military, traveling for an extended period of time, or being incarcerated. Sadly, sometimes when the person returns they find that the caregiver has become tired of the responsibility and given the dog away.

Who Decides?

Who gets to decide the rightful owner when pet ownership is disputed? Who has the authority to make that determination? It depends. Many law enforcement agencies won’t get involved at all (and really, can you blame them?). Instead, they’ll say it’s a civil matter and up to the parties to sue each other for ownership rights.

In a shelter, the customer service staff or management typically have protocols in place to make an ownership determination. Although it’s rare, things can get tricky when two or more owners show up claiming a pet, especially if it’s a small or new shelter that hasn’t adopted protocols for these situations. 

Historically, courts have handled pet custody cases as disputes over property, with the judge making the decision. Recognizing that pets should be handled differently from cars or televisions, some states, including California, have recently adopted new laws instructing the judge to consider the pet’s best interest in deciding such cases.

How Can I Prove Ownership?

Unfortunately, no one item is considered definitive legal proof of dog ownership. But to make the best case you can, be prepared to provide as many of the following items as possible.

1. Microchip

A registered microchip can help to establish ownership, but it isn’t considered definitive legal proof since anyone who has the chip number can register it.

As noted above, sometimes more than one owner will come to a shelter to claim a pet. This may happen because the chip is registered to multiple parties, whether in the same registry at different times or in different registries.

Thanks to microchips, we are seeing an unprecedented number of reclaims many years after the pet went missing. However, these situations can also lead to disputes, as a second owner has been caring for the animal for months or even years.

All dogs should be microchipped and registered in any case. If they go missing and end up in a shelter, a quick scan will provide your information and give them a fast ticket back home.

2. Breed registration papers

Registration documents can help to establish ownership but, like microchips, aren’t definitive legal proof. Most registries, such as the American Kennel Club (AKC), will say that they are not policing organizations and will not get involved in ownership disputes.

Proof can get extra complicated with registered purebreds, as some may involve co-owners, show handlers, breeding leases, etc. When your dog is not in your custody, strange things can happen, so these arrangements are best avoided unless you implicitly trust the other person and have a clear written agreement.

Even though registries typically won’t get involved, having registration paperwork in your name is one more point in your favor, especially when combined with other forms of identification like a registered microchip. 

3. Shelter or rescue adoption papers

If you adopted your dog from a shelter or rescue, make sure to save those papers in a safe place. Some shelters have a waiting period of up to 30 days to give an original owner a chance to reclaim a lost pet before s/he goes up for adoption, although many other shelters operate under much shorter timelines. Understandably, many shelters can’t keep animals for a full 30 days or don’t want to be stuck in the middle of a dispute. Still, imagine if you went out of town or were in the hospital and then returned home to find your beloved dog in someone else’s home. Wouldn't you want a fair chance to get them back? 

Like breed registration documents, adoption paperwork isn’t a 100% guarantee of ownership, but it can certainly help. Keep copies of these papers along with your dog’s vet records and other important items.

4. Collar with ID tags or license

In my opinion, every dog should wear a collar with ID at all times. It’s often the quickest ticket home should s/he go missing and doesn’t require a microchip scanner to be read.

While a good low-tech method of identification, collars and tags can, of course, fall off or be removed. However, having such collars and tags in your possession can help prove you are the person responsible for the pet. Even better is a license tag as this shows that you are paying the fees to your local agency responsible for rabies control. Since that agency may be the police or local animal control, they will be more likely to consider you the rightful owner rather than someone else who shows no proof. You may want to make a copy of your dog’s license tag and keep it with your other papers. 

5. Possession

You’ve no doubt heard that possession is nine-tenths of the law. This can prove true in many cases, as long as the property or animals in your possession were obtained legally.

If you have been caring for a pet for a long period of time, many animal control agencies will consider it yours. This will only come into question if someone else comes forward and claims to be the owner. 

Unfortunately, the laws for individuals who find a stray dog may be frustratingly vague. For example, California law states: "Any person ... that finds or takes possession of any personal property or saves any domestic animal from harm ... shall, within a reasonable amount of time, inform the owner, if known."

The law doesn’t specify what a “reasonable” amount of time is, but many have interpreted it as 30 days. If you’ve found a dog but have no proof you looked for the original owner (no found report to shelters, found dog signs, internet posts, etc.), that person may have a case to take their dog back. 

6. Vet records

Vet records, especially recent ones, don’t prove ownership per se, but do show that you are the person taking responsibility for the dog’s care.

Veterinarians generally don’t like to get involved in ownership disputes, which is why they typically won’t scan for a microchip unless you ask, and often won’t check a registration for you. Vets are compelled by law and by good conscience to treat medical emergencies in stray animals, but as soon as the animal is stable they will transfer it to the local shelter so the shelter staff can deal with the determination of ownership.

7. Photos

In today’s world, almost everyone has a phone that can take pictures. My phone and social media feeds are filled with pictures of my animal family. If someone comes forward to claim a pet and they don’t have any photos, they are probably not telling the truth.

I have seen shelter staff use photos as a means of identifying an impounded pet’s owner, or identify an owner after a Facebook search showed pictures of the pet going back years. Keeping photos of your dogs in a folder on your phone is a good idea for this reason. Also, if your pup does go missing, you’ll need current photos to make signs and internet lost dog posts.

We’ve all heard the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But too often we put things off when they don’t seem important in our immediate busy lives. 

While none of these seven things are 100% proof of ownership, several in combination will go a long way toward showing that you are your dog’s rightful owner. So take a minute and be prepared with a plan. With luck, you’ll never need it, but if you should, your dog will thank you.