A little legal help here please?

[ErinsChins]

I should've known better than to deal with people on craig's list. For three or so days now I have been talking with a lady about getting her dog. It was a beagle pekingese mix named Daisy Mae. I finally went to pick her up yesterday (I was so excited). I had just gotten done with a 12 hour trip on little to no sleep and after I picked her up I settled her in the basement with a big bowl of food and water and her bed and stuff. She was all by herself and seemed fine (other than the fact that she had fleas and apparently worms). She was so skittish though, but I figured she would be fine. I woke up the next morning 7am and she was laying on her side drooling, I had no idea what happened. She took some water (only when I moved it to her) and I planned on taking her to the vet when they opened the next hour. She seemed alert so I went upstairs to get her some fresher food. I came back down and she was barely breathing. At this point I figured I could go ahead and start driving to the vet. She died on the way. I took her back in the woods behind my house and buried her. Meanwhile, the old owners were leaving me texts and voicemails wanting her back because their kids were sad. I was panicking and I haven't yet told them she died, but now they are posting ads on craiglist to "beware" of me, listing my name, and pictures of me. What can I do legally? They are slandering me as a person and now they are bringing my chinchillas into this.

 

[ErinsChins]

I should also ad that they are threatening to go to the media? Whatever that means. I really need help guys, i'm panicking.

 

[threewingedfury]

Most likely you're not gonna be able to do anything unless there was some kind of contract or health guarantee. This is the reason for not buying animals off of CL, because you're taking the risk of these mishaps. If anything you could have had a necropsy done and possibly taken the owner to court if the death was proven to be her fault, but even then you'd be wasting your time and money on a lawyer because there wasn't a contract or guarantee. It's a harsh reality, but the law isn't always on the side of the animal.

 

[InkedupTara]

You can still get her for slander I would think, I would print out her posts on Craigslist and flag them and consult a lawyer if you feel the need. I dont think you can do much like said above about the dog.

I am sorry about your loss of the puppy though

 

[ErinsChins]

Most likely you're not gonna be able to do anything unless there was some kind of contract or health guarantee. This is the reason for not buying animals off of CL, because you're taking the risk of these mishaps. If anything you could have had a necropsy done and possibly taken the owner to court if the death was proven to be her fault, but even then you'd be wasting your time and money on a lawyer because there wasn't a contract or guarantee.

I wasn't so concerned about getting anything from them (she was free) I am concerned, is there anything they can do to me personally? I mean, can they do anything for me NOT returning their dead dog that they gave to me? (probably knowing something was wrong)

I am sad about her dying (I panicked, I mean, they were calling me every five minutes and I was still bawling my eyes out about her dying) and i'm just..panicking right now.

 

[AZChins]

They're just upset...they'll calm down eventually. They do really need to take down what they said about you on Craig's List - that isn't fair in the least.

Just stay away from Craig's List in the future, I guess.

 

[threewingedfury]

I wasn't so concerned about getting anything from them (she was free) I am concerned, is there anything they can do to me personally? I mean, can they do anything for me NOT returning their dead dog that they gave to me?

I don't see what they could do since they released the animal into your care. The media is going to laugh at them. CL is gonna flag them. I would just soak it up to a bad experience that you have to learn from.

 

[ErinsChins]

Thanks guys! I hope you are right, I really try not to deal with craigslist and I honestly doubt that anybody that could be a customer in the future would see anything. For now I will keep flagging (the first one is down or else I would link to it)

 

[ABBY W.]

It doesn't seem to me that there is anything legally they can do to you. They don't have any evidence that you hurt the dog or were negligient in some way. They had no contract with you indicating any obligation on your part.

You could try to prove slander but it's not easy. You have to be able to prove to a judge that they did tangible damage to you in some way (for instance, if they went to your job and told your boss you were taking drugs, and you got fired). Unfortunately, they are entitled to their opinion, even if its uninformed and unfair to you.

If I were you, however, I would ask them to stop contacting you. There's no reason you need to be subjected to harassment.

 

[CTChin]

It's too bad you didn't have a necropsy done. Could she of gotten into something poisonous in the basement? Poor dog must of been so scared alone down there

 

[caiti]

Oh that's horrible, I'm sorry that happened.

They started calling you today and already they have posted about you and left a slew of voicemails and messages? That sounds a little crazy.

I know this will be difficult but I think you should tell them that the dog is dead. Just explain exactly what happened. Yes, they may try to post that you killed their dog or something if they are insane like that but without any evidence no rational person would believe them and I wouldn't think they could do anything legally with no evidence either. If I read a post on CL that said "someone killed my dog because it died in their care" I would not take their word for it at all, not for a second.

 

[Riven]

I would have had a necropsy done as well. They got rid of the dog... they obviously didn't care too much about it.

Keep flagging their posts, and if you want to give them a taste, post to beware of them because you got a pet from them and it died right away.

 

[ErinsChins]

It's too bad you didn't have a necropsy done. Could she of gotten into something poisonous in the basement? Poor dog must of been so scared alone down there

The basement is finished and was actually my room for a long time. I know it wasn't anything poisonous, at least nothing found in my house, the room she was in is my chinchilla proof room (where I let them run). I should have had a necropsy done, bur like I said, I panicked.

 

[ErinsChins]

Oh that's horrible, I'm sorry that happened.

They started calling you today and already they have posted about you and left a slew of voicemails and messages? That sounds a little crazy.

I know this will be difficult but I think you should tell them that the dog is dead. Just explain exactly what happened. Yes, they may try to post that you killed their dog or something if they are insane like that but without any evidence no rational person would believe them and I wouldn't think they could do anything legally with no evidence either. If I read a post on CL that said "someone killed my dog because it died in their care" I would not take their word for it at all, not for a second.

I thought so too considering she knew I was tired and I had already told her I would be going To sleep soon.

I plan on doing that , bu i'd like To wait until they either post something or try contacting me again.

I really appreciate all of your help guys!

 

[Riven]

I forgot to add, you can always send them a cease and desist.

Here is a basic copy of one, basically it says if you don't stop it, I'll press slander charges, or in the sample it's about copyright laws.

http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/INTELLECTUALProperty/contract/cease.htm

 

[ErinsChins]

This is already getting old. I went for a ride, came back and they have already reposted. here's a text he sent me:
Dam 72 calss about u and counting i just want the dog back full color fliers (flyers?) in the morning got a deal at my printers 300 fliers.

I replied politely:
I am 16 years old in case you aren't aware. MY dog died a few hours ago for unknown causes. Please back off, I would not like for this to go any further.

They then completely ignored the fact that the dog died and said:
U started this all iw ant is my dog everything i am saying is the truth give me our dog and u can go back to reselling free pets

 

[threewingedfury]

At this point, I would call your phone company and report the number for harassing calls/texts and see if there is something you can do about it to block the number.

 

[ErinsChins]

I went to verizon earlier today and they said i'd have to go to my verizon, which we do not know the password to. I will go tomorrow and see if there is anything else they can do.

 

[tunes]

Actually, there isn't squat they can do to you. They gave the dog to a minor. Even if you HAD hurt the dog, it would be pretty hard for them to do anything about it because of your age. They let the dog go, they dropped the ball.

I would have my parents contact the police and file a report on them for harassing a minor child.

 

[ErinsChins]

This is all a little too weird and creepy for me. They completely ignored the fact that I told them she died. Here is the ad:
http://tricities.craigslist.org/pet/1890197583.html
http://tricities.craigslist.org/pet/1890258727.html