I don't know what the laws are in the States but in Canada, those papers represent ownership of a chattel. If the dog is sold and resold (or placed) without the agreement of the owner of the dog (the one whose name is on the ownership certificate) which is indicated by return of the papers, it could be considered theft, the dog could be repossessed and the current owner charged. The chances of that happening are little I admit BUT never doubt the determination of a buyer who thinks that they've been wronged. There was a case up here last year where a breeder was slandered all over the internet and through several lists because of the same type of affair. The rumours always last, even when you try to fight back with the truth. In my opinion, stick with the letter of the law and write it off as a really bad experience. Ensure that all the GSD Breeders that you know are informed as to this person's name and hopefully they will never again be in the position to do such harm to a young GSD. JMHO Mary-Anne >If he goes to someone who wants to do performance stuff, let >them get an ILP #. I have to agree with Kathy. I was in a situation where my Rusty's (RIP) AKC registration had never been completed by his goofy first owner. I even found out his litter number. No matter. I got his ILP and he would have proudly gone for his obedience and rally titles under his new name (that *I* gave him) had he lived. As it is, AKC "papers" don't mean much to the average dog owner or else designer mutts would not be so popular and AKC wouldn't be crying all the time that their registrations are down. You've already spent the money on his vet care and you're about to invest more in training. I'd get the dog into a proper new home and worry about "papers" later. If this dog's new people want to do sports with him, they can use the ILP. That's what it's for. -- Karen C. Email: kmc@xxxxxxxxxxxx ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2008. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================