A man named Zane adopted a puppy and raised him as a pet. He named the dog “Max.”
When Max was five years old, he broke free of his collar and ran away. Zane told his friends, and also told the local animal shelter that he had lost Max.

About two weeks later a woman named Mary found Max walking along the highway. She called the local animal shelter and described Max. They told her to keep the dog until they could find the rightful owner. But the people at the shelter never called Mary back.

Mary put up signs that described how she found Max. She even had a local radio station talk about him on the air. But no one came to claim Max. So she took care of him and treated him like her very own pet.

Then, one day, over a year after she found Max, one of Zane’s friends saw Max at Mary’s house. He told Zane that Max was just two miles away. When Zane went to see if this was true, Mary refused to give Max back. Max jumped into the owner’s truck and they drove away.

Because Mary wanted to keep Max, she decided to go to court to get the dog back. When she went to court, the court told Zane he had to give Max back to Mary because now Max belonged to her.

Zane did not like the court’s decision, so he appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court.