Unpaid Reward Incites Lawsuit
The owner of a missing chihuahua in Cincinnati, OH. offered a $1,000 reward for the safe return of her beloved pet. Carmen Dominguez and Sheila Miller say they found the dog and returned him weeks later after seeing the online ad advertising the reward.
The owner refuses to pay the reward because she thinks they stole her dog. The women claim they picked up the dog when he was about to run into traffic. They say he had no identification.
Here’s where it gets interesting, the women are now suing the owner for not paying out the reward. According to the GrandForksHerald.com the lawsuit, filed by Carmen Dominguez and Sheila Miller, alleges breach of contract and fraud and seeks damages up to $15,000.
I don’t know if the women stole the dog or if the owner just wanted to back out of paying, either way, I can’t imagine suing. So much for just being a good Samaritan and returning the dog because it’s the right thing to do.
Would you ever sue someone if you found a dog and the reward wasn’t paid? Or do you think the whole thing is ridiculous? Give me a bark.
There was no picture with this story, the handsome boy above is from Dogster’s Adoption Center. His name is Poindexter and he lost an eye after being attacked by another dog. He is very sweet and loving and in desperate need of a forever home. The poster lives in Calgary, Canada but he’s being fostered in California. He can be brought to Alberta if anyone there is interested in adopting him. For more info send email to muttsnstuff.
Of course it’s ridiculous to litigate such a trivial matter.
Can you say tie up our court system again!!!!!
If I found a lost Dawg I would return it with our a reward because that’s just what you do. The Dawg is a living breathing creature.
How about refusing the reward altogether? Bringing a dog back home…priceless.
If I found a lost doggie and there was a reward, I’d take it back home, if I got paid fine, if not that is fine too. I would never file a lawsuit. Isn’t the courts tide up enough.
I would return the dog of course. And not really expect payment. But I would resent being called a thief. I might make an issue over that, especially if her comments got press. So, circumstances would affect my reaction.
She should just be grateful she got her dog back, and since she was willing to pay a reward, maybe she needs to go ahead and honor that. If she has good reason to suspect the women were thieves, talk to the police about it.
I would never sue if I weren’t given reward money. Just the feeling I would get reuniting a dog with it’s owners is good enough for me. Being accused of stealing the dog though… that would make me angry! Still, I wouldn’t care.
Returning the dog to a happy pet parent is reward enough. However, if it were one of my babies I would happily pay a reward to have them returned. The fact that this person is suing for 15k does make me wonder.
I could see possibly suing for slander and/or libel for the accusation that the women stole the dog. Suing for non payment of reward is just ludicrous. I wouldn’t think that offering a reward is a binding contract.
Everyone is correct in that returning the dog is it’s own reward. If I were offered a reward for returning a dog I’d take it and donate it to a dog rescue group.
Let’s hope the owner will more diligent in keeping her dog at home in the future.
This is absolutely ridiculous, like you said, whatever happened to just doing a good thing? I could never imagine suing someone, let alone for $15,000 for money for reuniting them with their four legged family member. The owners gratuity and the joy of the animal being returned to their owner has always been a good ‘reward’.
carmen and shiela are showing their true shabby colors filing this suit which doesn’t stand the slightest chance of resulting in a settlement!
let me guess, girlz..you are representing yourselves? what lawyer would touch this!
you ladies will never live this action down; google will haunt you!
you will be scorned and unemployed for the rest of your greedy days.
i would never accept a reward for a missing dog, the reunion is more rewarding than any dollars and yes..i have turned two down!
poindexter..you are a wonderful pup; i will pray you find your home!
My mom has been lucky enough to return FOUR dogs to their homes. All but one tried to give her money and she refused. The dog getting home safely IS the reward.
A reward offer is not a contract, so I don’t see how they can sue. Those two should be made to pick up doggie doo as a public service for filing a frivolous lawsuit.
No, I would never file a lawsuit. I can’t believe that’s what the two women did. Plus how do they get they’ve been deprived $15,000??
I hope Poindexter finds a good home:D He is adorable.
A lawsuit would never come up since my only reward is to see the dog reunited with its owner. I would never ask for a reward. If the owner insisted I would ask that they send the reward to our local no-kill shelter or an animal shelter of their choice.
I don’t know why the owner thinks the two women stole the dog, but their reaction to not being ‘paid’ for returning it makes me suspicious of them. It is a sorry situation all the way around.
Well, first of all if I found a lost dog, I would not only not want or expect a reward, I’d refuse a reward because…well, it’s just wrong to take it (IMHO). Yes, either way it’s ridiculous. Don’t know who’s in the wrong here, but both sides are being ridiculous. I’m just glad the pup is home again and safe.
So… what would they have done with the dog if there hadn’t been a reward offer – Ie only a lost dog poster with a plea to return if found? Kept him? Turn him into the shelter? Sold him? Seems as if the $1000 was their only motivation for returning the dog. Hmm..
I think they should honor it since it was offered. Don’t offer something you have no intentions of honoring. HOWEVER, I think this whole taking it to court thing is insane! You returned a precious dog to their owner. I would want my dog back if my little shih tzu ran away!
It is a shame that these people seemed to only return the dog for the money. Seems they wouldn’t have returned it without a reward….. SAD!
The owner should have pay the reward but the fact that they are going in court now suggest me that they were after the money only. Even if they really found the dog, it’s like they were waiting for some money to be offered before they bring back the dog. I found a lost dog one time, first I called the local SPCA to tell them that I found a dog and to give my phone number to anyone who will contact them about it. They morning after I got a call from the owner. She was so happy and I was too because I would be out of my mind if I lost one of my furbabies.
I would never expect a reward for bringing someone’s fur child back to them. That being said, that was rude of the owner to OFFER it then back out.
I’d pay gladly to get my spotted love child back. Anything they wanted.
Whether or not a reward is paid, depends on the circumstances on how the dog went missing in the first place. If this dog just “disappeared” from his yard (no way the dog could have gotten out of the yard on his own), that would send up a red flag. There are a lot of Yorkies being stolen from their yards and sold in my area.
I probably would’ve refused the reward. Heck, remembering what it was like when Cinnamon was missing and the smile on my face when I got her back, the return of the dog and the happiness of both owner and dog would be enough for me. =/
Something still smells fishy with the case. Who knows who’s in the wrong, though.And, cricket, you’d be surprised what small dogs can do. There was a chihuahua in my neighborhood, lived in a fenced in yard, biggest escape artist I’ve ever known.