Custody battle over dog may now be heading to court
»Play Video
PORTLAND, Ore. - A Portland man lost his dog and then more than a year later he found it with a new owner, but the new owner refuses to give it back. Now the dispute could end up in the courtroom.
Sam Hanson-Fleming says he loves his dog Chase and wants him back, but the new owner, Jordan Biggs, a student from Portland and who is studying in Corvallis, says the dog is now hers. She has named the dog Bear and she's filed a lawsuit to keep him.
Hanson-Fleming says Chase jumped the fence in the spring of last year. He tried to find him by putting up fliers and calling shelters over and over again. But he finally concluded his dog was gone for good.
But when he was in a Dutch Brothers drive-thru in May of this year, he happened to glance at the car behind him.
"I look in my rearview mirror, and there's Chase," he said Thursday. "Right between her seats, staring me right in the face – and I’m like 'No, no – you know, in just disbelief."
Biggs' attorney did not return a phone call Thursday. But Biggs' mother spoke about her daughter's love for the dog in a video on Facebook.
"According to her, God intervened when he sent her Bear," she says. "Bear was a stray dog that wandered into Jordan's life and changed it in many ways. Now she's trained Bear as a service dog who helps her in case she has an asthma attack."
Who is the rightful owner? The decision went to the Multnomah County Animal Services director, Mike Oswald. He asked for evidence from both sides. The ruling?
"Based upon all that I had, it appeared that the dog, Chase, is really owned by Mr. Hanson-Fleming," he said.
But Hanson-Fleming says Biggs still won't give him back the dog even after the ruling and says Biggs has filed suit in court, demanding that she keep the dog.
If Bigs is disobeying a court order to return the dog, throw her butt in jail.
Saw the latest news on this Thursday Oct 4th. on KOIN 6. Impressions from that - The Flemming family seemed like the Honey Boo Boo types (poor white trash and proud of it). The college girl seemed like a more suitable and responsible type. BUT, this is an easy call in favor the Flemings. Clearly the law is on their side. It just looks like a great dog and if the dog was a good judge of character and could choose(hypothetically),  I'd hope he'd want to live with the girl. Flemming seems more like the Pit Bull type. Yes I probably sound irrational, but if you saw the latest from KOIN 6 then you probably know where I'm coming from. I'm being irrational because basically I'm tired of stupid people. 'Fat, stupid and ugly is no way to go through life' - Dean Wormer, Animal House.
 @Paul H. Honey Boo Boo type?  You don't know these people. You know nothing about this other than what was told on the news. Reserve your ignorance and rash judgement for people you've met.
The judgement of the MC Animal Control was correct....but the young lady in question, rather than return the dog to his rightful owner, went to an attorney instead - resulting in the rightful owner being intimidated by a private investigator and having questionable complaints of abuse lobbed at him from an ex-girlfriend/wife.  For cripes sake this poor dog is now ensconced at the Animal Shelter waiting for the outcome of a trial that should never have grown to this magnitude.Â
Â
I don't know about you, but it makes me sick to my stomach to see this poor dog in custody, while the little princess and her legal team make a mockery of the judicial system.Ms Biggs - grow the hell up and do the right thing - - - - tell your attorney to stop this nonsense and give him back to Hansen-Fleming. If you really love the dog - FREE CHASE.
Lets be completely clear here, the animal was not "stolen"....until she refused to give it back to its rightful owner, Mr. Hanson-Fleming. Theft isnt theft when something is simply found, however, if no "reasonable" attempt is made to return property(though i loath to term animals as property...they are, in fact, such), that is when the "theft" occurs. Ms. Biggs did not make any reasonable attempt to return the animal to its owner, only after she obtained a lawyer did she suddenly remember that she went through hell and high water to find the owner. Animals run away all the time, even from good homes where they are properly "trained". Would you make the same assertion about parents who's children run away for any old reason, are they "bad parents"? If a child runs away and some random person picks that child up and takes them home, is it now THEIR child if they put up a flier here or there or asked their neighbor?
The thought is absolutely insane, while an animal is definately not a child, a "reasonable" attempt to find the owner is not only a proper response, it is required by law. Ms. Biggs has made statements that she followed all laws concerning the return of an animal to its owner in this case, what she has failed to mention is she did so according to BENSON county code, NOT the code where she actually found the animal. She broke the law, and the heart of an entire family.....SHAME ON HER!
As for nearly every comment on here, I bet none of you know Miss Biggs.  She didn't steal he dog, the dog ran away.  It's a gray area on the issue of found animals.  She did attempt to locate the owner with fliers around the area.  There are 2 fliers for found cats in my neighborhood, they have been there for 2 months.  Should she have done more yes, but at the age of 20 and not having to deal with this situation before you make your choices based on a personal feeling.  If she had to dog trained to fetch a medical devise then I believe that to be true, Huskies are a smart breed.  Maybe Mr. Hanson should have trained his dog not to run away.
Somehow I doubt the Service Dog line.
I am in disbelief that Jordan Biggs is going against all rules of law and morality and keeping Chase from his owner and family!!! Give him back to Hanson-Fleming now!!!
One must wonder why this dog did not have a microchip on him. Certainly if he did, there would be no question of him being lost for more than a year. Bad owner! Nevertheless, you can't keep a dog that's not yours when you didn't even really try to find the owner. The Multnomah County Animal Services would be your first thought if you were trying to find the owner. I don't buy that she even put up flyers or checked Craigslist. She would have found the owner if she had. She just stole this dog. Give it back. Bad thief! Bad!!
B*tch!!!!!!!!!!
There is a facebook page, "Chase Hanson-Fleming".Â
The correct action would have been for her to take Chase to animal control when she found him, so the rightful owner could have reclaimed him.
This woman is a horrible horrible woman for not giving back this dog that she stole.  When she found the dog, did she contact the humane society to see if someone lost a dog? Did she put an add in the paper of a lost dog?Â
No! So basically this spoiled entitled human being stole this beautiful dog.Â
Â
Sam, we are pulling for you - you should start a facebook page so you can see all the support you are getting and how many people are just as angry as you are at this situation.
Â
I adopted a dog 4 years ago from the shelter that looks just like this one. He is my angel dog and nobody gets near my dog!
Â
I'm so sorry for Sam that he has to go through this but we all are routing for you!
She is claiming to be a Christian and behaving like this? Think about Chase's family, who raised him from a puppy, who have children who miss him desperately. Have you no conscience or heart? It's pathetic! Give Chase back to his family!
 @Wildwood I thought the same thing. She can't claim to be a Christian and behave in this way.....
It must be awful to have asthma so bad that you have to have a dog to "alert" you to an impending attack. Poor girl can't snowboard, hike, or do the Hood to Coast.
Â
No wait, she does.
Â
Additionally, her parents should go look in the mirror and see if they do not feel shame for allowing their daughter to corrupt Christianity in her childish quest to play finder's keepers with someone's pet.
Â
This whole thing is terribly disgusting. I posted a link on Reddit, search "girl won't give dog back" upvote it and lets get some national attention on this story.
 @SellwoodHaole great post and I like your username lol
What she did is reprehensible, and to cloak it in the safety of "God" and her asthma inhaler fetching dog is downright despicable. She's a "Christian"... riiiight. What would Jesus Do? Not steal some other person's forever friend, that's for sure.
Â
I posted a link to the story on Reddit. Search for "girl won't give dog back" upvote it, get it some national attention, and I bet that Chase will be home with Sam fast as can be.
Â
The Oregon State University paper has dirt cheap advertising rates.... Perhaps an ad should be taken out.
Â
 @SellwoodHaole Totally agree, it's despicable behavior.
I'm willing to bet that when Mr. Fleming saw his dog in Biggs car, he wasn't wearing his "service dog" vest.
Â
One more tidbit- We have a service dog in our household. They are trained specifically NOT to run up at people. If she had put so much money into professionally training Chase to be her "service dog", he would not have leaped through her car window and jumped into Fleming's arms.
Â
Nice try, Biggs, but your story is BS.
 @VisualizeWhirledPeas I'm sure she bought the vest just before posing for the pic for the Corvallis newspaper story. Ridiculous.
 @Wildwood That vest looked brand new, like she had just bought it that day. Also, Chase looks uncomfortable in that photo, like he's thinking, "WTH?" It can take years to properly train a service animal. She only had Chase for 13 months. I think she tried to use the "service animal" excuse just to get public support and sympathy. Her ploy backfired on her, she's universally hated now. Good luck getting a job after college, Ms. Biggs!
Â
Ms. Biggs - you've proven yourself to be a thief and probably a desperate liar as well. I have some advice for you. First of all, stop thinking with your emotions and start using your head. Fire your lawyer and own up to the money he is owed for his services. Unfortunately, no matter what he says, he does not have your interest at heart. This is purely about money for him. Second, give the dog back to his rightful owner and make a full apology - first personally and then publically. Humbly admit your mistake and seek the owner's forgiveness. You have harmed him by your selfishness and the only way to make this right is to admit that to him and ask for forgiveness even though you don't deserve it. If you have caused him financial burden, then you should make sacrifices in your own life and repay him for that as well. Lastly, learn from your mistake and choose to not be so selfish in the future. You can purchase another dog at a later date that you will love just as much. You will not have to forget "Bear", but he loves his former master as well and you have harmed him as well. If you love him, then you will do the right thing and let him go.
Â
Good luck. I'll be praying for you.
Ms. Biggs, give that dog back.
This seems like a pretty simple case.
When property shows up and the ownership is established, those in possession of the property must relinquish it to the rightful owner.
Some one stole my dog and I found him but then refuses to return him , They would be seeing a 30/30. And if he called the cops, This person deserves to be reunited with his pet. It is the same as kidnapping a child.
I read on Oregon Live that there is a legal fund acct set up at US Bank called "Return Chase Now Charitable Legal Fund". Any money not used will be given to Humane Society.
Oh, and when Sam gets Chase back, get him chipped. It's cheap and painless and oh so effective. We've had our dogs chipped and have also found lost dogs that were chipped. We took the dogs to the vet to see if they were chipped, they were and they were returned to their owners.
 @Fronk although chipping is a good ID method, it can fail......in this case, Chase had his collar with tagsâphone number, dog license, and Biggs did not contact his owner. If Chase had been chipped, based on her actions, she would not have taken Chase in for scanning because she had no intention of trying to find his owner.
 @Fronk
Â
Chipping would nto have helped in this case. The dog was not found by authorities then adopted out, he was found begging on her doorstep and she decided he was hers to keep.
Â
It would be like a neighbor kid walking up to my door unable to speak. I decide I like the kid and keep him as my own. She should have called animal services and if they didn't find the owner then, she could adopt.
@Repoman Well it's kind of like the old saying, "locks only keep the honest people out".
@Fronk  Just for the record Fronk...it isn't "painless" and "cheap" dpends on how long you've been unemployed. I work at the Banfield Pet Hospital Corporate offices on 82nd, and if you get a puppy and have it chipped, it can be a painful process for the little one. Puppies have lots of pliant, loose skin that makes it difficult to insert the pippet used to insert the grain of rice sized "chip". Some pups have a smooth time of it, and some vets are better at it than others...but it's not painless. An older dog, with smoother, more taut skin can a much easier time and for the most part painless. If you can wait until your dog is at least a year old, he/she will have a better time of it. Just sayin' :)
@ Bewitchin Just for the record Bewitchin it cost us 40 bucks an animal to have it done. That's beer money on anyones budget. You could collect and recycle bottles and cans for that kind of money. If the vet who performs the procedure is hurting the animal then I would seek out a different vet. If your practice is to chip puppies knowing full well it causes discomfort or pain then why not make it a practice to refuse to chip a dog until it is at least a year old? Loose too much money if you practice that? By the way, our dogs were about six months old when we had it done and it was quick and painless. We have a wonderful vet with a great team around her. Anyway, Chase is at least a year old.... Just sayin' :P)
Â
How I hate it when some goober thinks they need to spew their self-rightous drivel. Get over yourself.
First of all, she did not train the dog to be a service dog. That takes a professional and can't be done in a few months time. Secondly, she has stolen the dog and needs to return it. It had to be painfully obvious that the dog was not a stray but only lost by his healthy condition. She (and her mother) are selfish self centered pigs who don't know right from wrong. I hope this guy sues her arse.
so she stole his dog, what a horrible human being. she could have at least takin it to an animal shelter and give him a chance to claim him back, but to just out right decide hes now hers and steal it... wow
 @franksbeans Yay, low isn't it?
Oh please... give me Jury duty for this case.  Hanson-Fleming would have his dog back by the end of the court date if I had my way. This is crazy. Biggs should be ASHAMED of herself.Â
Was there ANY attempt to locate the owner at all ? if not then this dog belongs to the original owner. but to really see who is the owner let the dog pick the owner, have both parties in a court room with the dog and whoever the dog comes to while the parties are calling him that's the owner, everybody these days are sue happy sheesh.
Counter sue, Hanson-Fleming....and then this young lady will have to pay all court costs. It is clear that a jury will find in your favor!
Almost every stray dog or cat is owned by someone. I am always amazed how people will take in a stray dog or cat and immediately feel like the animal is theirs; it is not.
This comment has been deleted
 @archangels007 agree, and I think God orchestrated the meeting two months ago when Hanson-Fleming saw his dog again at Dutch Bros!
Too bad he wasn't chipped.
It's sad: both owners feel justified. I read the article in The Oregonian this morning (more details that KATU sadly lacks), and I feel the court made the right call. You have to advertise every day for two weeks that you have a found pet. Ms. Biggs did not do that by her own admission. She also did not go to court to face her accuser, a bad sign.
Â
There's the whole "service animal" part to this that befuddles me: as a long-time sufferer of asthma, I don't understand how a dog (or cat) can be a service animal to someone suffering from asthma. You need an inhaler, not a pet with dander.
Â
I have an adopted dog. I got him from Clackamas County Dog Services. It is always in the back of my mind that someone may someday see me with him and claim him as their dog. But I got him from the pound, where he was incarcerated for two weeks and NO ONE came there to look for him. He's mine, legally, and he's micro-chipped. But here's the biggie: he's an escape artist. In a heart beat, he could be out the yard and gone and I'd be in Hanson-Fleming's shoes, posting flyers, checking with the pound and my vet daily for any news of my dog. I didn't teach him to be an escape artist: his former owner did.Â
Â
While I feel for Biggs as an adoptive pet owner, I also feel for the man who did everything in his power to find his beloved pet. Perhaps more for him than for her. Ms. Biggs needs to give the dog up. He isn't a "service dog" for asthma: that's an inhaler.
Apparently there is a U.S bank account set up for Mr.Hanson Flemming.Noting that this story has gone viral,perhaps a indegogo page can be set up? I would like to see Mr.Hanson Flemming get enough money to hire a entire team of attorneys.
She should be made to give the dog back to its rightful owner.
Wasn't this an episode from the Brady Bunch??
 @PD1202 No Charlie Brown when Snoopy ran away to visit his first owner
I understand that she has trained this dog to be a service dog and now feels entitled to keep it, but she should have gone to the animal shelter and picked out a dog that would truly be her's. If she found this dog just one year ago, and it is already now trained as a service dog...how much time did she spend searching for the owner? Probably not much time at all. The fact still remains...this dog does not belong to her, and if she chooses to take this to the court system, she's just going to be throwing her money away because no judge on earth will side with her. Sorry girl!
 @acepixure It came out that the dog is trained to bring her an inhaler when she has an asthma attack. So he was trained to fetch.
Â
The Oregonian spoke with an organization that trains service dogs and they said they have never heard of a service dog for asthma.
Â
From all the details coming out, it looks like she didn't look at all. She claims the collar and tags that were on the dog when she found it were from someone in the neighborhood who put them on there temporarily. In reality it would be the tags and collar from the owner - the ones with his information on them.
Â
She claimed she licensed the dog and everything, but The Oregonian also found out she didn't do that until after she knew the dog had an owner and she decided she was not giving the dog back.
 @Jenni S.  @acepixureÂ
Thank you for that information. Now if I could teach MY dog to fetch my inhaler... Naw, it's much easier to just keep in ON MY PERSON. (And it doesn't have dog drool on it that way...)
Â
I am sympathetic to her, but I feel the real owner is Hanson-Fleming. And I think you are right: *if* the dog had a collar and tags on it, it was really EASY to track the owner. there's no such thing as "temporary" tags.
 @Jenni S. For the amount of lies she tells, she's not very good at it. I hope she comes to her senses soon and returns Chase to his home.
 @seymore Exactly. Why would  the dog be wearing a collar and tag that "had been temporarily placed on it a day before by another person in the neighborhood whom had also found the dog roaming about lost with no collar or tag on it at all." Especially since the day she says she found the dog is the same day it got loose.