We Were Given A Dog And Now They’re Saying It’s Stolen, Are We Obligated By Law To Give It Back?

We were given a dog and now they’re saying it’s stolen, are we obligated by law to give it back?

Background context: Little bit of a weird situation here, on the 28th of November a close family friend asked us if we were interested in a dog or if we could find a good home for the dog. A few days later we found someone who was interested in the dog. A family of 5 with the same breed of dog (a medically needy dog). They have a house, a yard and the financial stability to afford the medical needs for the dog.

On December 2nd we picked up the dog and upon meeting they were ensuring that the dog was going to be placed in a good home and of course we reassured them he was going to an amazing family.

Within 48 hours of the rehomining then an adult male and his child came into my work and began interrogating me and causing a scene as to the dogs whereabouts in front of co-workers and customers. I tried to de-escalate the situation as I would discuss this matter after my shift has ended.

What had happened was, they left their dog with this family friend of theirs expecting them to take care of it while they found an adequate place to live. However this family friend lied to us and said it was theirs, and to find a home for it. We did, and then this happened.

Once my shift was over I had gotten into contact with the alleged owners, explaining how I had come into possession of the dog (at this point we were being told two different stories, not really knowing who we should believe).

The next day we had talked to the alleged owners of the dog explaining that we were told to find the dog a good home and we were no longer in possession of the dog. Getting said dog back would be difficult as the new owners were two hours away. We had tried to arrange a meet-up to talk about the situation and possibly a compromise since we did feel bad for the family. After two days of trying to no avail the alleged owners then texted that they would put us on blast online then report the dog as stolen to the police.

Would we be in legal trouble if the current owners don't want to give the dog back?

After researching this family we no longer feel safe returning the dog dew to their current living situation and new knowledge of the alleged owners.The adult male who confronted me at my work had openly gloated about murdering the neighborhood stray cats for fun. The spouse of the alleged owners has previously tried to ask us to take custody of her child since she didn't want to care for her. They also do not have a home and are currently living in a hotel and being told they are unable to continue affording the costs there.

Also, when the dog was in their possession they did not get the dog its shots or legal paperwork. They were also fully aware that this family friend has done similar things in the past when they left the dog to them.