Jean owns a champion female German shepherd named Abby. Jean had planned to breed Abby in the future, but before that could happen, Abby became pregnant. The only two dogs who could have been the father were a German shepherd and a standard poodle. This is because these were the only male dogs anywhere near Abby’s house. Abby was normally kept in a fenced yard but had accidentally gotten out of the yard a couple of times. These were the only times that Abby could have become pregnant. Abby gave birth to a litter of eight purebred German shepherd puppies. As the puppies became a few weeks old it became obvious that they were championship quality. Abby mentioned to the owner of the puppies’ father that Abby had given birth to some of his dog’s offspring. The next day the father’s owner notified Jean that he wanted four of the puppies and would go to court for them if Jean did not voluntarily give them to him. What is the legal theory that the father’s owner would use to try to gain rights to the four puppies?
a. Contract
b. Tort
c. Theft by deception
d. Accession
