Help with legal fees to fight against previous abusive owner

This is Brave, our gorgeous little boy with a back story.

Last year Brave was left with us by his previous owners, almost completely bald from alopecia, bruised from a dog attack that had not resulted in a vet visit, unvaccinated, and with severe dental issues.

After promising and failing to pay for his expenses over a few months, his original owner went completely silent (despite consistent efforts to text and call him).

We were fine paying for his care and upkeep until Brave had a seizure at the start of this year. The owner was unreachable, meaning we had to pay vet fees and couldn’t tests done to find the cause of the issue (as we were listed on his microchip).

We told the previous owners in February this year that we would be filing for microchip ownership to help him get the treatment he clearly needed. I informed him that the provider he’d chosen had a 30 day transition period and would contact him regularly by phone and email to see if he would reject/accept.

He said he’d call me, never did and never rejected the owner transfer.

He'd been abandoned in our care, we looked after him and as you can see from the photo of this plea, got him in a MUCH. better state of health.

Roll around to August this year, his previous owners have found photos of him healthier online and have asked for him back, threatened to come to our home to take him by force, and have ultimately been reported to the police for harassing us.

Edit:

We’ve spoken with the police on several occasions regarding Braves situation and the previous owner has been told he’ll be arrested if he contacts us directly. We’ve both been advised that no crime has been committed but this is a civil issue and will need to go to civil court to be resolved. On our side, I’ve forwarded 2 years of chat history, medical records, and photos to ensure I’m doing this as by the book as humanly possible.

I'm starting legal proceedings to make sure that Brave does not end up in his previous abusive home again. He's happy, healthy, and most importantly settled with us. It would break my heart to tear him away from our family.

He's gone from being a handbag dog/ toy to a dog that goes on long walks, Pomeranian meet ups, he is our sole focus and, main priority. He's come so much out of his shell this past year, I'm not ready for him to lose that.

I'll be uploading messages, previous photos of the state of his health, etc when I'm able to crop out private details but if there's anything you can do to support the proceedings and protect my dog, I'd be forever grateful.

How Funds Will Be Used:

Sourcing a lawyer to support our claim (we’ve already started consultations with some laywers)

Court fees (including the initial submission fees)

Potential buffer in case we lose and are liable for defendant fees - any excess will be donated to the RSPCA foundation and 15/10 foundation which pays medical bills for rescue animals in need of a home.