pets not being looked after

[wilkesneil]

split with my ex a few months ago and hasn't been looking after the pets i left with her and the kids as she said she would look after them.
i left a rabbit and a shar-pei dog.
the rabbit has died after being left without food and water in the heatwave last week and the dog is looked after in the week but on weekends she is either in the garden or in the house all weekend from friday afternoon till sunday evening.

i have rang the rspca who wants to know when the dog is suffering more but now the rabbit has died and the body has been disposed of they say they can't prove neglect even though i've jumped the garden fence and there were inches of rabbit poo littered all over the hutch (if this isn't neglect i don't know what is).

I've notified the rspca that i will not be calling them back regarding the dog as i'm going to take her back into my care and she will be once again looked after correctly. what legal rights do i have to do this and where do i stand as possession is 9/10 of the law isn't it???

what would other AB'ers do or would i be right in just taking the dog back.

[stokemaveric]

so how are the kids being looked after???

[wilkesneil]

i have them all weekend and her mom and her grandad look after them in the week when they're at home

[joko]

not sure you are grasping what that means... you cannot just take something from someone else then claim ownership just because it is in your posession!

however, the dogs appears to belong to both of you, so no reason why you cannot take it... it doesnt sound like shed fight you

[supersuezy24]

If she isn't looking after the dog properly she should be glad you're taking the dog off her hands. In all honesty, if she cannot look after a rabbit properly she does not deserve to have the dog!

[karenmac60]

If the dog is being looked after during the week and you take the kids at weekends - why not ask if you can take the dog when you have the kids?

[Eve]

Would she give you the dog willing (and quickly) or could you get the kids to bring the dog with them for the weekend then just keep it with you? Sounds like she doesn't want to care for the dog so might be an option. Do you think she would be difficult or put up a fight if you took the dog?

How long has the dog been suffering? If you take him I'd get anything visible documented as proof she is uncapable of looking after the dog should she make thing difficult. A vet visit would be a wise move generally to check the dog over as well as providing evidence of any mistreatment.

Whatever the "sensible" answer, if it were my pet suffering I doubt I'd see things quite so sensibly.

[wilkesneil]

she wont give me the dog as she knows if the dog suffers it'll hurt me seeing it suffer. the kids wont bring the dog as she uses her grandad to drop the kids off to me and pick them up.
i have spoken to neighbours who'd put a statement in to say what was going on to the rspca but they still dow wanna know.

she would fight me for the dog just to stop me having her cus thats the type of person she is (plus who leaves any animal without water, especially in the heat we've just had).

not sure how long the dog has been suffering for as my old neighbours advised me of this when i saw them and i have been making surprise calls to keep an eye on the dog without my ex knowing. plus i feel like when i see her in the garden i should just take her to make me feel better and to give her back the care and attention she requires. i just feel that i'd be hurting the kids if i took their dog as they're to young to understand the reasons why their dog would be at mine.

[brenda]

can you not just abduct the dog and have it at your place when the children come

[wilkesneil]

brenda thats what i'm intending on doing, usually the dog is in the house for the whole weekend but every now and then she is left outside all weekend, i'm waiting to see her in the back garden so i can jump the fence, open the gate and take her with me. i just wanted to know if there were other ways in getting the rspca or animal welfare to go out and wether other people would do what i would do or if it was just summat only a few of us would do.

it does seem when rspca get involved the animals are in such a bad state that they need putting down to end the suffering (as this is what you always see when rspca do raids and its on tv / newspapers etc..)

[wildwood]

Sorry, but sounds to me as if there is more involved than just the dog.

If you have statements to the effect that she is mistreating the animal you can simply get an court order to reclaim the dog legally.

[lankeela]

Just take it. Its what I would do.

[notasyoungasiwas]

PLEASE Wilkesneil just take the dog!!! It belongs to you both and you are entitled to have it. Do you want it to die like the poor rabbit?? I'm sorry, but she is an out and out bitch, that poor little rabbit must have gone through hell. Why was this allowed to happen? As usual, the RSPCA are rubbish. If it was me, I promise you, I would take the dog, I would have taken the rabbit too. Good luck !

[jules77]

I would just take the dog, and face the consequences later.

[wilkesneil]

notasyoung...
RSPCA i told have been crap as they want the dog to be really suffering but when an animal is in such state they just put it to sleep to stop the suffering as they got their to late.