Why didn’t they just bring the dog inside? Then the deputy would have needed a search warrant to enter the house.
Reading these comments...New material for Jeff Foxworthy?
As I read the story, the dog was originally inside; they voluntarily brought it outside.
Letting the deputy do it even after the deputy stated he didn’t need any proof shows that the owners didn’t know about their rights under the law. Something like not presenting the dog to the deputy probably never occurred to them.