In July of this year, my husband and I answered an ad for a free, adult, AKC registered black lab. When we went to pick him up, we told them we wanted the animal as a companion for ourselves and our female black lab, and that we were considering breeding the two when she was old enough. We offered them their pick of the litter if that happened.

At the time of pickup, they said that they couldn't find his papers, but that they would send them as soon as they were unpacked. They seemed happy to have found a good home for him and were ecstatic at the prospect of getting a puppy.

A couple of days ago, we emailed them asking if they had found them yet. They said they had, but that they wouldn't send them unless we gave them a "fair" payment for them! They refuse to give us the papers, and claim that we took advantage of them and are profiting off of the dog (which we are not, our female is not old enough to be bred yet). They demand the dog back if we don't pay, even though they say that they don't have any place to keep him (suggesting that they simply intend to sell him).

We have a long email trail outlining all of the above, including that they knew we were considering breeding the dogs and that they intended to give us the papers, but sadly, we don't have the original ad. We appear to have reached an impasse with emails, and they have said they are getting a lawyer.

Is that even legal? What can we do about it? What sort of lawyer do we need to get, if any?

Hi sharlow. I can understand this must be a frustrating situation for you. The ad was for the dog, which you have, so that is a good start. I'm wondering if there is any way you could contact the AKC to get the original registration re-issued? Sometimes you can get official documents reissued in the event they are lost, destroyed, etc. Just an idea.

At any rate, you can certainly speak to an attorney about your legal options. I would suggest you try to speak to an attorney with experience in breach of contract matters or specifically in this area if you can find one. You can find more information about an attorney through the attorney locator service on LawInfo's home page at: http://www.lawinfo.com/. Some do offer free consultations.