Need help with legal fees to save my dog

The full story is in my change.org petition here, but the gist is that I had a "friend" taking care of my dog, Coco, and he gave him away to Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue. Despite a ruling from a judge, they refuse to give Coco back to me.

I've tried tons of different legal avenues to get the judgment enforced, but it's difficult because the surrender occurred in Tennessee, the dog is in Maryland (last I heard) and the rescue is headquartered in North Carolina. This makes things complicated legally, and I've had to hire lawyers and file suits/other documents in multiple states.

I've been paying for this on my own, but I'm living paycheck-to-paycheck, so it's tough. The goal of this campaign is enough for the filing fee to domesticate the judgment into North Carolina, and a retainer for a lawyer who is very knowledgeable on this issue.

Any money that isn't used for legal/lawyer fees will be donated to a reputable no-kill shelter.

When I posted my petition, some people were shocked at the story and didn't believe it could be true, so here's a copy of my ruling:



If you have any other questions before donating or signal boosting, I'd be glad to answer them. You can contact me at [email redacted].

Thanks for reading!