01x98 - Pit Bull Puppy Attack

[bunniefuu]

The pitbull, it came running at my dog

and before I could really react,
he had a hold of his neck

and, like, he was just shaking him,

and then I was yelling at him to stop.

Their pitbull grabbed onto your dog.

Yes.

- Uh, but, when I, um...
- Look at me.

They have the capacity to k*ll you.

- Well...
- "Well" is not an answer.

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Pamela Pitre is suing
her former neighbors,

Anthony Opulencia and Cady Mulnix

for vet bills and emotional distress,

resulting from a dogfight.

[Kevin] Court come to order.

Have a seat, please.

Case number 1172
Pitre versus Opulencia, Mulnix.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

[Judge Judy] Ms. Pitre, this is your son.

[Pamela] Yes, Your Honor.

- [Judge Judy] What's his first name?
- [Pamela] Zion.

- [Judge Judy] Zion's 12?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] And you got him a puppy.

- [Pamela] Correct.
- [Judge Judy] When?

May of 2019.

What kind?

[Pamela] I'm not quite sure.

[Judge Judy] Zion, would you stand up

because even your mom wasn't
a witness to this dog incident?

Zion, what kind of dog
did your mom buy you?

He's a Frenchie, and then, uh,

I believe a Terrier and Falcon.

Do you have a picture of him?

- Yes.
- [Judge Judy] May I see it, please?

When you say a Frenchie,
you mean a French Bulldog?

Yes.

[Pamela] I'm sorry.

[Kevin] Thank you.

[Judge Judy]
And how much does he weigh, do you know?

Right now, he currently weighs 12 pounds.

[Judge Judy] An incident happened
on the 15th of April.

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
You weren't present during that incident.

No, Your Honor.

Would you change places with Zion?

I want him to be right in the middle.

Zion, you were out walking your dog.

- Dog's name is?
- Tony.

- You were walking him on a leash.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] At what time of day?

[Zion] Like afternoon-ish.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Now, you're walking, Tony.

And he was on a leash.

And what happened next?

[Zion] Me and my friend,
we were walking going on to the trail.

And then...

[Judge Judy] Okay.
So you were with a friend.

Yes.

Explain to me where the trail is.

[Zion] It's...

like if you go from my house, uh,

directly down from the lion fountain

and then you take a left

and that's how we were going
on to the trail.

[Judge Judy]
Where did the defendants live?

- [Zion] They live...
- Do you have the pictures?

I do, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] I'd like to see them,

so I can get some idea
of what you're talking about.

[Pamela] Yes. So you can, uh...

Your Honor, so you can get a full visual.

Zion was walking this...

- [Judge Judy] Okay. No, no...
- Oh, I'm sorry.

No, no, no, you can't tell me
where he was walking...

- [Pamela] Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Yes.
- ...you weren't there.

Just hand me the photographs.

- Thank you.
- [Kevin] You're welcome.

[Judge Judy]
Zion, is this the complex where you live?

[Zion] No.

[Judge Judy] Is this the complex
where the defendants live?

[Zion] Yes.

You live on the first floor
or the second floor?

- Second.
- Second.

- We did. Yeah.
- [Judge Judy] Second floor? Okay.

And this is the trail

where you will going to walk with Tony?

- Don't shake your head.
- Oh, sorry.

[Judge Judy] You weren't there.

- Do you understand?
- [Pamela] Yes, Your Honor.

Otherwise, you could sit,

uh, as a matter of fact, it's better.

- Sit down.
- [Pamela] Okay.

[Judge Judy] Zion, this is where
you were going to walk with Tony?

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
Did you have to pass the defendant's house

in order to get to the trail?

- Yes.
- And your dog was on the leash?

Yes.

[Judge Judy] Tell me what happened
as you passed their house.

[Zion] So as I passed, like, uh,

me and my friend were going on a trail.

And then from behind us, uh,

the pitbull, it came running at my dog

and before I could really react,
he had a hold of his neck.

Like, he was just,

like, shaking him and then, uh,

I was yelling at him to stop,
like, I was in shock.

And then by the time
he stopped with his neck,

he immediately moved
like, uh, by his thigh

and then he started gripping it

and then we were all yelling
at him to stop.

And then by that time, um...

[Judge Judy] When you say you were all,

so I have you and your friend.

Yes.

[Judge Judy]
Were either of these two people there?

[Zion] Uh, her.

- [Judge Judy] You.
- Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] She came after her dog?

Yes, she was there.

[Judge Judy] When their pitbull
grabbed onto your dog,

- was she there?
- [Zion] Yes.

- [Judge Judy] Was the pitbull on a leash?
- No.

- [Judge Judy] Was your dog injured?
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] How did the pitbull
finally let go of your dog?

[Zion] A man was walking down the trail.

He parked his dog,
he had to punch the dog a few times

and then the dog finally loosens it...
loosened its grip.

- [Judge Judy] He punched the pitbull.
- [Zion] Yes.

[Judge Judy] Did you know who the man was?

[Zion] Uh, I think my mom
got in contact with him.

Now you can stand up.

Did you find out who the man was?

Yes. Yes, Your Honor.

Did you speak with him?

Yes, Your Honor.

How did you find his name?

[Pamela] Um, there's, uh, a group
called Neighborhood Group

on, uh, social media for our community.

And I had asked for the gentleman
who stepped in and helped my son,

if you could please reach out to me.

And he announced himself and who he was.

And so we got together at that...

[Judge Judy] Got it. Now, sit down.

You weren't home
at the time of this alleged attack?

No, ma'am.

Who is this?

It's my girlfriend Cady.

[Judge Judy] Your girlfriend
was home with your pitbull.

Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy] And at the time,
I'm reading these papers,

you were under house arrest?

Uh-hmm. Yes, ma'am.

[Judge Judy]
And you were wearing an ankle bracelet?

Yes, I was.

And you live on the second floor?

Yes, I do.

[Judge Judy] So you let the pitbull out
to relieve itself

because you couldn't go out

because you had an ankle bracelet on

because you were under house arrest?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] The pitbull walked down
the stairs by itself.

Yes, Your Honor.

Is this your apartment?

Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] So you were standing here

when the dog ran out, was unleashed.

By the time you got to where the dog
had Zion's dog,

tell me what you did.

- Yes, Your Honor.
- To get the dog off Zion's dog.

[Cady] Yes, Your Honor.

- Well, uh, when I, um, uh...
- [Judge Judy] Look at me.

- Don't look there.
- When I was...okay.

And make sure you know I know everything.

[Cady] Okay. Um, so...

- [Judge Judy] Do you understand?
- Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
So, now you're on the second floor.

You've got an ankle bracelet.
You're not allowed to leave the house.

So you let the pitbull out by himself.

He runs and attacks his dog.

Do you either hear or see the commotion?

I did, Your Honor.
Um, I was already...

like I was out there before the, um,

before the attack even happened.

Then I tried...actually, uh, um, like...

- Now, look at me.
- [Cady] I let him know that, um,

that my dog was out there loose.
And I was...I was going to get, like,

- I was trying to get it like...
- [Judge Judy] Just listen to me.

Just because you say it fast

doesn't mean I miss it.

- You're on the porch.
- [Cady] Yes.

- [Judge Judy] You let your dog out.
- Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy]
Let's take it from there. Step by step.

- [Cady] So I know...
- [Judge Judy] Don't look over there.

I saw him into...walking his dog.

And I went to let him know
that my dog was out there.

- And I was going to go and get him.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

You saw him walking his dog.

- [Cady] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] With a friend.

- [Cady] Yes, Your Honor.
- [Judge Judy] On a leash.

[Cady] Yes, Your Honor.

[Judge Judy] And when you say
you let him know,

what did you do?

Just... what did you do?

Don't cross your arms.

What did you do or say to let him know?

I said, "Hey, my dog's out here loose.
So, you know, I'm trying..."

- [Judge Judy] Hey, no, let's go slow.
- [Pamela] Lord, have mercy.

"Hey, my dog's out loose out here."

[Cady] And I'm going to go...
I'm trying to go get him.

- [Judge Judy] And you're going to?
- Get him.

And when you say that,
you're on the porch.

No. Well, no,
I'm not on the porch at this point.

I'm going to get my dog,
that's what I'm doing.

Well, why would you let the dog out
if you were going to get the dog?

I didn't know...I wasn't...I didn't think
I would have to go get the dog.

Like, uh, he comes back normally,

so I didn't think
I was gonna have to go get him.

- Well, so...
- [Cady] Right.

...it is your routine to let the dog out.

Not...only when...

- only when I was on the bracelet.
- [Judge Judy] Just a second.

Only when I was on the bracelet.

In what month
were you placed on the bracelet?

- [Cady] Um, May...
- [Judge Judy] No, no, don't look at him.

May what?

I don't know the exact date, Your Honor.

You don't know the date that somebody
put an ankle bracelet on you?

How old are you?

- Thirty-four.
- Probably March.

[Judge Judy] How many times
have you had an ankle bracelet on?

- One.
- Well, then I would know the exact date

when somebody came
and slapped an ankle bracelet on me.

[Cady] I remember the date I got it off,

- but I don't...
- [Judge Judy] No, on.

I know, I don't remember
the exact date that I got it on.

What date did
she get the ankle bracelet on?

I'm not sure. I'm not sure
what that even has to do with anything.

- [Judge Judy] You're not sure?
- No.

[Judge Judy] You're not sure?
I'm gonna tell you what's sure.

What's sure is, is that she says

because she was wearing an ankle bracelet,

that's the reason
she let the pitbull out alone.

- Correct.
- Well, then it becomes important

because she said he usually comes back.

That means she's let
the pitbull out alone before.

Now do you understand?

Two hundred people died in your state

as a result of pitbull attacks.

- And that's a sad situation.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah, just a second.

So you have to be a moron
to allow a dog like that around children.

You have to be a moron.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Pamela Pitre claims
her former neighbors,

Anthony Opulencia and Cady Mulnix
owe for vet bills

after their pitbull attacked
her son's dog.

Anthony is countersuing
for threats and harassment.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
What county do you live in and what state?

[Anthony]
King County, Seattle, Washington.

- [Judge Judy] Whose pitbull is it?
- [Anthony] Mine.

- [Judge Judy] How long have you had it?
- About two years now.

[Judge Judy]
How long has she been your girlfriend?

About three years now.

What kind of work do you do?

I was a maintenance supervisor.

[Judge Judy]
In the complex where you live?

Not that complex, but another property.

- Did you get fired?
- [Anthony] Yes.

Is that because you had a pitbull?

- No.
- Why?

Why? Because of her constant harassment,
calling corporate.

[Judge Judy]
Are you allowed to have a pitbull?

- [Anthony] Yes.
- [Judge Judy] Are you?

- I was, yeah.
- [Judge Judy] Let's see. King County.

- I'm looking into it.
- [Pamela] Your Honor.

Just a second.

[Sarah] So I know January 1st of 2020,

the state of Washington undid

their initial ban on pitbulls outright.

So pitbulls were allowed
in the state of Washington

and counties were not allowed
to ban them outright

after January 1st of 2020.

But I'm on the King County
Government website

to see if there's anything specific.

[Judge Judy] So when you got the dog

because you said you've had
the dog for two years,

pitbulls were banned in your state.

You know how much it takes to ban a dog

to get that through
a legislature to ban a dog?

And I don't know
why Washington undid the ban,

but they did in January.

But when you got the dog,
the dog was a banned dog.

And I don't know why you think

because the girlfriend knows
she let the dog out.

She says, "I let the dog out.

And I've done it before,
usually comes back."

I told him, "Hey, my dog's out loose."

And why you would think
that an unmonitored dog

and you as the owner are not responsible
for all their vet bills

- is mindboggling to me.
- [Pamela] Hmm.

I never once said
I wasn't responsible for the vet bill.

[Judge Judy]
Oh, well, then what are we doing here?

You said in your answer,

- "We agreed to split them 50/50..."
- Yeah.

[Judge Judy] "...and I paid my half."

Why would they split

the vet bills with you 50/50
if it's all your fault?

Well...

- "Well" is not an answer.
- [Pamela] Hmm.

Sir, "Well" is not an answer.

If she's lazy

and instead of walking the dog on a leash,

a dog that can cause significant damage

because the dog might have

just as well attacked the child as the
dog.

[Anthony] That would never attack a child.

[Judge Judy] But only attack another dog,
is that what you're saying?

- No, that's...no, no, no.
- [Judge Judy] Is that what you're saying?

- I have pictures of my dog.
- [Judge Judy] You want me to show you...

- My dog around other dogs, around kids.
- [Judge Judy] Do you want me...

- well, let me tell you.
- It was the actions of that other dog.

Let me...let me...let...
I wanna tell you this...

- Yes, ma'am.
- ...sir,

I have drawers full of letters

from grandparents and parents

who say my pitbull is wonderful,
I thought,

and then one day, it turned.

And when a dog that weighs ten pounds

or twelve pounds turns on you

and, you know, snaps at you,

I have a dog that weighs four pounds.

If I annoy her and she's sleeping,

and I wake her up, and she nips me,

which she hasn't done, smart,

I would get hurt a little bit.

But when a pitbull attacks somebody,

they can k*ll them.

And if you choose to have a dog like that

and you're a grown man,

that would be on you.

And if girlfriend over here
decides that that's okay,

she's a grown woman.

But when you subject children to your dog,

you're making them take a risk

that they didn't ask for.

Why would you subject a child,
yours or anybody else's,

from an animal that's capable,

capable of causing
serious physical injury?

Read the papers.

There's a list of dogs in most states

that insurance companies
won't even insure your house.

[Kevin] Uh-hmm.

[Judge Judy]
If you have a particular breed of dog,

why do you think they do that?

They're in business to make money.

And all you pitbull owners out there,
I've heard the hate mail.

Don't bother. I don't read it.

There's a lot of bad owners out there.

[Judge Judy] I'm sure that
there are terrific pitbull pets

that are wonderful.

They have the capacity to k*ll you.

They have been known to k*ll you.

I never knew anybody that got k*lled

by a Shih Tzu,

or a Yorkie,

or a Chihuahua.

Never.

But if you go on Google

and find out how many deaths

and serious physical injuries were caused

in the last year by pitbulls,

I tell you what we're gonna do.

Sarah's gonna look at it.

I've never looked at the number.

- [Cady] Um, uh, Your Honor...
- [Judge Judy] Uh, I don't speak.

What you're supposed to do
is put a leash on your dog

and get your behind out of the house

and walk the dog,
because there's no question in my mind

that you and boyfriend went out
downstairs to the grass area

because you actually
went out of the house,

they didn't come and arrest you
for leaving the house, did they?

- When you ran outside after your dog?
- No, no, Your Honor.

- [Judge Judy] No, they didn't arrest you.
- Uh-uh.

All right. So you could just
as easily have taken the dog out

to one of these grass areas
that's right near your house

to relieve itself, but you were too lazy.

Do we have a number?

[Sarah] Well, it looks like out 430 dog...
fatal dog attacks,



- in the state of Washington.
- [Pamela] My God.

- Not even half.
- [Judge Judy] Just...

- are you...
- [Sarah] It's a life. My God.

[Judge Judy] You know how many

hundreds of breeds of dogs there are,
you idiot?

Do you know how many hundreds
of breeds of dogs there are?

So, practically 50% of the deaths

in the state where you live

from dog attacks were pitbulls.

I want you to look and see
how many dog deaths

in the state of Washington

were caused by Chihuahuas
in the same period.

[Anthony] Oh, my God.

And your counterclaim for harassment

is dependent upon this number.

Because if this number is more than zero,

I will actually entertain
your counterclaim for harassment.

Otherwise, I'm tossing it.

- How...that's crazy.
- [Sarah] Between 2005

and 2018 in the entire United States, two.

[Judge Judy] From a Chihuahua?

- Appreciate that.
- [Judge Judy] The entire United States.

- [Anthony] I'll take it.
- From 2005, 2005...

- More than zero.
- [Sarah] Until 2018.

[Judge Judy] From 2005...

you'll take what?

[Anthony] It's more than zero.
What you just said.

[Judge Judy] Oh, that I'm gonna hear
your counterclaim.

Do you understand?

Two hundred people died in your state
as a result of pitbull attacks.

- And that's a sad situation.
- [Judge Judy] Yeah, just a second.

So you have to be a moron
to allow a dog like that around children.

You have to be a moron.

- I'm not a moron.
- Oh, absolutely.

Now you have a counterclaim
for terroristic threats,

loss of employment, moving expenses,
and emotional distress.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Whose? Other than mine.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Pamela Pitre
is accusing her former neighbors

Anthony Opulencia and Cady Mulnix

of refusing to pay vet bills

after their pitbull attacked
her son's dog.

Anthony says Pamela
threatened to sh**t their pitbull.

[Judge Judy]
Now, can I see your vet bills, please?

- [Pamela] Yes, Your Honor.
- Now you can stand up.

What's the balance
that he owes on the vet bills?

[Pamela] Currently right now his, um,

he paid a total of $780

with a remaining balance of $289.

[Judge Judy]
Why did you stop making the payments?

Because I got fired because of her.

[Judge Judy] Oh, good, $289. Okay.

Now you have a counterclaim
for terroristic threats,

loss of employment,
moving expenses, and emotional distress.

- Yes, ma'am.
- [Judge Judy] Whose?

Other than mine.

- Other than mine.
- Mine and hers.

[Judge Judy]
You have to understand something.

She's a wrongdoer.

- Who's a wrongdoer?
- [Judge Judy] She is.

You don't know that.

She allowed a dog off leash

because she was lazy.

And she let the dog go out

and the dog attacked another dog.

And you recognized your fault

because you paid the vet bills
to your credit.

You paid the vet bills
until you said you got fired.

The suggestion is you got fired
because of her.

- It's not a suggestion.
- [Judge Judy] So that...just a second.

You had a pitbull in the house.

She reported it to whomever,

animal control, the management company
that you worked at.

- Yes, ma'am.
- She reported it, which is her right.

Other than that,
what are you complaining about?

It's her right to report

that because you maintained a dog

in your house and your girlfriend

let the dog roam free

not once, but according to her regularly

that she felt that that created a threat

to everybody in the neighborhood.

The truth is, so do I!

So if you have something to show me

about terroristic threats that she did,

I'll be more than happy to see them.

I wasn't there when it happened.
She was, so...

- [Judge Judy] Terroristic threats.
- Yes.

[Judge Judy] Okay.
Tell me about the terroristic threats.

When the...when the, uh, after...
so after the incident happen,

um, uh, and she came over to talk...
to talk to me about it.

Um, she was, uh,
just, uh, completely, like,

freaking out
and I was trying to calm her down

and trying to calm her down a bit.

She's telling me
that she...that she...actually,

she brought her g*n over with her
to sh**t my dog in the head and like...

[Judge Judy] She was gonna sh**t your dog?

- Uh-hmm.
- [Judge Judy] Did you see a g*n?

I did not see a g*n.

[Judge Judy] Okay, next. What's next?

What's next is that
she continued to call me

separating me from the work
I needed to do almost daily,

uh, at least every other day.

She's texting me, calling me,

"What are you gonna do about this bill?
Where's my money at?"

I stopped answering her

and she starts calling corporate
and calling my, my management company

and harassing multiple people
on the...on the board there.

So they're calling me telling me

to try to smooth the situation out,

do what you can to...

so okay, I'll do that.

But even though I did,
she still kept calling still.

It wasn't good enough for her.

Your counterclaim is dismissed.

Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of

the remainder of the vet bill,
which is $289.

- Your Honor.
- We're finished here. Thank you.

- Thank you.
- [Kevin] Court is adjourned.

I'm irate right now.

I just wanna say I've been watching
Judge Judy for a long time.

And I knew that coming here

that my case will be heard
and justice will be prevailed.

Thank you, Judge Judy.

She called the animal control
I think it was, uh,

like a few days later,
a week later or something.

Our dog, um, he's a all white dog,

so he was just full of blood.

The dog wasn't there by then.

- We already lost the dog.
- We'd already gotten rid of him.

You should have your dog on a leash.

There's not much to really say about it.

I was teary,
I mean, like, it's a horrible thing.

We don't want them hurting other people.

Nor do we want, um, our dogs being hurt

vice versa, just please leash your dog up.

[Sarah] You know, I might have
to adjust that number a little bit

as I kept looking for the fatalities
caused by dogs,

there's so many different accounts
and different numbers.

But one consistent thing
from all of the accounts is that

pitbulls did account
for a majority of fatalities

from dog bites and dog interactions.

It's been my experience here

that those people who have dangerous dogs,

and there is a couple
on that dangerous list

have to be really mindful of the fact

that if an animal and it is an animal
has the capacity to k*ll,

it doesn't mean
that it intentionally does that.

I mean, if you're a homeowner,

and if you can't get homeowners
insurance or renters insurance,

if you have a particular breed of dog,

I would say to myself, doink,

there is a reason that insurance companies

that are in the business of making money,

they have done the math,

they understand that eventually

they're gonna pay out on a claim.

So they say, "You know what,
you wanna have that dog,

either you're gonna pay a double premium

or we won't insure you."

And I would say to myself
as a rational human being,

there are over 200 breeds of dogs,

- find another breed.
- Yeah.

And I say that even though
I regularly get this onslaught

of vocal mail,
so don't bother, don't send it.

I don't read it. That's my opinion.

You're entitled to yours.

Goodbye. Have a good day.

[announcer] Want justice?


[theme music playing]