Colorado Animal Law and Replevin Cases

Get Your Pet Back or Fight Bogus Charges

Colorado law treats your dog or cat like property. That’s nonsense when you’re talking about family, but it’s the law we have to work with. Whether you’re facing criminal charges over an animal incident or someone won’t return your pet, you need an attorney who actually knows this stuff inside and out. At Colorado Lawyer Team, we don’t just dabble in animal law. We teach it. That means when you hire us, you’re getting lawyers who literally train prosecutors and police on these cases. Most of our cases are either private party disputes over pet ownership or involve Animal Control and law enforcement. Either way, we’re here to help you through this difficult situation with your fur-babies.

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Criminal Defense for Animal Cases

When “Mistakes” Turn Into Charges:

Animal cruelty and neglect charges are tricky. Prosecutors often don’t have experience in this area, which leads to overcharging. What looks like neglect to someone who’s never worked with livestock might be standard care or an elderly horse. A neighbor dispute about a barking dog can spiral into criminal charges fast. We defend clients facing:

• Animal cruelty charges (misdemeanor and felony)
• Animal hoarding charges 
• Large animal, small animal, and exotics cases
• Large-scale seizures of animals and search warrant cases
• Neglect or mistreatment accusations
• Dog bite criminal liability (dangerous dog or municipal / county ordinance violations)

A conviction can mean losing your animals permanently or even the euthanasia of your animals. We fight to keep that from happening and to help you navigate these incredibly complex cases that even judges, DA’s, and probation departments don’t fully understand. We offer free thirty minute consultatons for all manner of criminal cases, including animal cases. We may be able to offer complementary advice or referrals for cases involving the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Protection, or the Pet Animal Care Facilities Act (PACFA) complaints. Don’t hesitate to reach out as soon as you’ve beeen contacted by law enforcement for any of these situations. Time is truly of the essence when we’re talking about your pets, livestock, and property!

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Replevin: Getting Your Animal Back

When Someone Won’t Return Your Pet:

Has your ex refused to return your dog? Did a roommate take your cat when they moved out? Is a rescue or foster holding onto an animal that’s legally yours? Police call these “civil matters” and won’t help. But there’s a legal process called replevin that forces the return of property that’s been wrongfully taken. Yes, we hate that the law calls your pet “property” too, but that’s what makes replevin work.

We help clients recover animals from:

• Ex-partners or former roommates
• Family members who won’t return borrowed pets
• Friends who try to claim their temporary custody of a pet was actually a gift
• Rescues or fosters refusing to complete adoptions
• People who sold or gave away your animal without permission

For many cases involving spouses, pet ownership is required to be determined as part of a divorce case. Just like you divvy up the cars, couches, and collectibles, you’ll need to have the court decide who owns the pet. (Note: For divorce-related pet custody, visit our Family Law page). For all other cases that DON’T involve a formal divorce proceeding, there’s the replevin process. Replevin can be incredibly complex, sometimes even requiring multiple witnesses and days-long trials. In addition, there is a Show Cause Hearing held early on which can affect who holds possession of the animal while the case is ongoing. We can help not only with the filing of a new replevin case in most of Colorado, but all of the subsequent testimony and court dates. Let us help you get your pets back today!

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Why Hire Us?

We Teach This Stuff

You need a lawyer who knows more about animal law than the DA and the other party/opposing counsel standing across from you. Our lead attorney, Justie Nicol, doesn’t just practice animal law. She teaches it to prosecutors and law enforcement, animal control officers, and others. She even wrote a book on animal injuries and who should be liable for the Colorado Bar Association. She’s lectured throughout the state on animal law topics and is a certified Equine Body Conditions Scoring specialist. Now, Justie has brought that expertise to the entire firm, and our entire team is geared up to help you with these cases. When you hire us, you’re not getting a generalist who Googles animal law. You’re getting lawyers who literally wrote the book on it.

A Team Approach to Every Case

Animal law cases require more than just a lawyer. They require investigators, expert witnesses, and a systematic approach to gathering the right evidence. That’s exactly what we bring. Our team includes experienced investigators who know how to build these cases from the ground up. We provide referrals for confidential, defense-specific animal cruelty evaluations at a low cost for every cruelty case. For replevin clients, we have checklists that walk you through gathering the evidence you’ll need to prove ownership and wrongful detention.

Most importantly, though, we’ve built relationships with a wide range of experts who’ve worked with us on all types of animal cases. As a Fellow at the University of Denve’rs Institute for Human-Animal Connection, Justie brings academic expertise and professional connections that matter when you need a credible expert witness. Leading veterinarians who’ve graduated from vet school #1 at CSU and who have attended Harvard choose to work with us. That means when your regular neighborhood vet doesn’t want to get involved or go to court on your behalf, you won’t be left scrambling. We already have trusted experts ready to step in.