Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

I own a kennel business. As I am sole owner, I make appointments inbetween customers ie if no customer in am I use that time for appointments. On this day, I had no am customer and left for two hours. in my absence, an afternoon customer came in that two hour timeslot, saw everything locked, assumed because my vehicle was here that something happened to me as she stated later. She called the state police and they came out, entered my home and found noone home and at that time the customer told the officer that she wanted her dog, and he told her if she could get into the kennel, she has his permission to get her dog . I feel it was breaking and entering as she had to jimmy a clasp on the security gate in the back of the kennel to gain entry and then went into the building and took her dog without paying for the 5 days of boarding. I feel the officer had no right to tell her to go in and she had no right to do so. It seems that she should have been told to leave a note or phone message to call her when I returned. She has been here over the last 6 years off and on and knows my procedures. I feel she was angry because she couldnt get her dog immediately and did this. I called the seargent at the post and she said that as long as the lady only took her dog she did nothing wrong, and that it is OK for customers to enter when noone is present and take their animals.


Asked on 10/04/09, 8:03 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Neil O'Brien Eaton County Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

The police entry into your place isn't a crime because there was a community caretaker reason for it -- they had a person saying that they thought you might be inside injured (your car was there but you weren't). You hadn't left a note on the door or used one of those notes with a movable clock to say "Be Back At 2:30". (Next time, why not do that?) So the concern for your safety was a reasonable basis for police for force their way in ... to see if you were ok. The fact they they were mistaken doesn't convert the entry into something illegal.

After they were inside, you think it was a crime for the customer to take her dog. The customer's property (the dog) was on your premises, and the wanted it back. A "claim of right" defense to a charge of entry without permission, or breaking & entering, or larceny in a building, etc. is probably viable here, even though she had not paid for your services yet.

Ultimately, this is a civil matter: the customer owes you money for 5 days of boarding. She has not obvious legal defense to that civil claim, so I hope that she will quickly pay you for that service once the two of you next talk to each other. Or, send her a bill. If she doesn't pay, sue your soon-to-be ex-customer in small claims court.

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Answered on 10/09/09, 9:28 am


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