03x26 - Dog Mauling Mayhem

[bunniefuu]

Your dog caused serious injury.

Viciously attacking him.

That's not true, Your Honor.

He said, "Your dog barks a lot.
That's why my dog attacked him."

It wasn't my fault or my dog's fault.

I don't want you to play with me.

You lie to me once,
I believe nothing else.

[announcer]
This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Grecia and Juan Galvan
are suing their neighbor, Ruben Alonso,

for vet bills after their dog
was attacked by Ruben's dog.

[Kevin]
Court, come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Hello, Judge.
Case 3060, Galvan versus Alonso.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Ms. Galvan, that's your dog.
Your dog's name is...

-Yogi.
-[Judy] Yogi.

-And this is your dad.
-Correct.

Ms. Galvan, you and Mr. Alonso
are neighbors.

[Grecia] Correct.

[Judy]
He lives across the street from you?

No, so he's actually
two doors over to the left.

So his house is the green one
on the right side,

and mine is the yellow on the left.

Pink house is in between.
How long have you lived in your house?

About 15 years now.

And your dog is 13.

Yes.

And Mr. Alonso,
how long have you lived in your house?

[Ruben]
Seven years.

[Judy]
Who do you live there with?

With my wife and my kids.

How old are your children?

My oldest ones are 17 years old
and my youngest one is 13.

And I forgot to say my son,
Jason Alonso. He's 24 years old.

-[Judy] He lives at home?
-[Ruben] Yes.

And you have a dog.

-[Ruben] Yes, ma'am.
-What kind of dog do you have?

He's an American bully.

American bully is a combination
of pit bull and what?

It's between a pit bull
and an English bulldog.

A male dog?

Yeah, male dog.

[Judy]
How old is he?

He's four years old.

[Judy]
How long have you had him?

Four years.

-How much does he weigh?
-[Ruben] Seventy pounds.

-[Judy] And his name?
-Max.

It is your claim, Ms. Galvan,
that your neighbor Mr. Alonso's dog

bit and severely injured yours.

Correct.

[Judy]
Also causing some injury to your dad.

[Grecia]
Yeah.

[Judy] Mr. Alonso says that
his dog was on a leash,

your dog was not,
and whatever fight

or scrapping the dog had
and the injuries to your dog

were therefore not his responsibility

-because your dog was off leash.
-That's not true, Your Honor.

-[Judy] That's your defense.
-Yes, ma'am.

[Judy] Okay, so this incident
happened when, Ms. Galvan?

On the morning of April 28th
at 4:30 in the morning.

-4:30 in the morning?
-[Grecia] Correct, yeah.

What was everybody doing up


I work at 5:00 AM,
so I was heading out to work.

And what was your father
doing up at that hour?

[Grecia]
He, too, works at the same company,

so we carpool together
and he was walking my dog for me.

Would you ask Mr. Galvan
to tell me what happened

at about 5:00
on April 28th of this year

when you were walking Yogi.

[translator speaking Spanish]

[Juan speaking Spanish]

I was walking my dog.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

At the moment that I opened the gate,
I was opening the gate.

Could you walk up to the photograph
and show me where you were?

[Juan speaking Spanish]

-You were over there.
-[translator] Right here.

-[Juan speaking Spanish]
-[translator] I was opening the gate.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

I heard steps of something running.

When I turned,
it was the man's dog.

Where was the dog coming from?

-[Juan speaking Spanish]
-[translator] From here.

[Judy]
Could you see Mr. Alonso?

[translator speaking Spanish]

-No.
-No.

-Just the dog.
-[translator speaking Spanish]

[Ruben]
That wasn't true.

Shh! Mr. Alonso.

You're gonna have a chance
to tell me your version of the events.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

[translator] I saw the dog
when it was already on top of us.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

[translator]
I turned and it hit my legs with its body.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

[translator] It made me tumble,
and I leaned against the gate.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

[translator] When I came to,
it was attacking my dog on its back.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

Very harshly.
It was shaking it badly.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

[translator] I tried to help him
and to pull it off.

Why don't you step back now so that...

[translator speaking Spanish]

[whispers] I know.

Go ahead. I'm sorry to interrupt you.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

I tried to help,
and my daughter came to help.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

And we were struggling.

[Judy]
Stop one moment.

Ms. Galvan,
at what point did you observe

this interaction between
your dog and Max?

Instantly.

I was walking out of my house, and I have
full visual of my entire driveway,

and I immediately saw
when my dog started crying for help.

The defendant's dog, Max, was mauling him
and viciously attacking him.

What I want to know is,
when you came out of your house,

because you didn't see how it started,

you saw that Max was
on your dog at that point.

Did you see Mr. Alonso?

No.

[Judy]
I would like you to walk over...

Your father will take him.

Just walk over there and show me
where you were when you came out

and where your dad
was with your dog.

Our front door is right about here,

and I was walking out,
and my father was here.

[Judy]
Right on the corner near the...

[Grecia]
Opening the gate, correct.

Okay, now you can go back.

Ms. Galvan, at what point
did you see Mr. Alonso,

if at all that day?

After a few seconds of us
trying to separate the two dogs,

he did come out and try to...

So you saw him coming from his house?

[Grecia]
Yeah, he was running from his house.

-[Judy] Running?
-More or less. [chuckles]

And what happened when he got
to where the two dogs were?

Well, the dog was unleashed
and without a collar,

so the defendant grabbed his back legs
and attempted to separate the two.

-Was he successful?
-At the time, yes.

So Mr. Alonso grabbed his dog's back legs
and pulled him off yours.

-[Grecia] Correct, yeah.
-[Judy] And then what did he do?

At that instance,
my father picked the dog,

my dog up, threw his leash,
almost strangling him

to put him on the car
that was outside, for his safety.

The dog, Max, then lunged at my father.

I intervened by kicking, for his safety,
and I got bit on my shoe.

It's not true, Your Honor.

When you say you got bit,
you got bit by Max?

Correct.

-Did it go through your shoe?
-No.

-But you...
-But I did get bit, and I felt it.

Okay, but it didn't pierce your skin?

No, my main concern
was my dog's damages.

Okay. And Mr. Alonso was finally
able to pull his dog off yours?

-[Grecia] Correct.
-And off you.

He actually got dragged on the cement
and the sidewalk.

-[Judy] Who did?
-Mr. Alonso.

His dog is very, very strong.

[Judy]
Would you show me?

Go back there
and show me, Ms. Galvan.

When you say Mr. Alonso got dragged,
show me where.

I saw where the incident
took place in the corner.

-Correct.
-And where did his dog drag him?

[dramatic music rises]

I wanna tell you something.
I do not believe you.

-Why not?
-I don't answer questions.

And I also wanna tell you
to be very careful what you tell me.

-Okay.
-Very careful.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Grecia and Juan Galvan
claim their neighbor, Ruben Alonso,

owes for vet bills
after Ruben's dog attacked their dog.

Ruben says his dog was the one attacked.

Where did his dog drag him?

So everything started here.

We eventually tried separating
the dogs towards this way.

Mr. Alonso was dragged
from this area down.

The car was parked here, so we managed
to put the dog on top of the car.

And Mr. Alonso was on the floor
wrestling his dog to control him.

Thank you.

You took your dog to the vet?

[Grecia]
Immediately, yes.

-[Judy] You have the vet report and bill?
-I do.

-[Judy] May I see it, please?
-Of course.

Kevin.

Thank you.

So your vet bills look in total
to be about $4,600.

About 58, if I'm not mistaken.

Okay, I may have missed one.

He suffered
a level-four bite wound and...

He was very seriously injured.
There's no question.

He was very seriously injured,
spent a long time in the hospital.

Okay, Mr. Alonso,
the ball is in your court, sir.

I would like to hear
your version of what happened.

The day, April 28th, what happened,
I was walking my dog with the leash.

That's what I usually do
every day before I go to work.

-That's not true, Your Honor.
-[Judy] Shh. Don't speak.

That's what I usually do...

-I don't care. Mr. Alonso.
-Yes.

-I want you to understand something.
-Yes.

-I don't care what you usually do.
-[Ruben] Okay.

And there are certain things
that are common sense.

-All right.
-[Judy] Do you understand?

Yes. Okay. I was...

On April 28th,
I was walking my dog on a leash.

And I also wanna tell you
to be very careful what you tell me.

-Okay.
-Very careful.

April 28th,
I was walking my dog on a leash.

Show me where you were.

I was walking to the left, right here.
That's my house, the green.

I know where your house is.

Okay. I was walking to this
when I noticed that the gate was open.

And then when I was getting close by,
her dog started coming out barking

to the sidewalk,
biting my dog in the legs.

[Grecia laughs]

[Ruben]
Okay? Biting my dog in the legs.

Then when I start pulling out
my dog from their dogs,

that's when Juan
and Grecia came out.

They start, um...

So, they start grabbing their dog, too.

Okay, Grecia even apologized after the dog
to the vet and then later on,

when she received the bill,
she want me to pay her back.

-Your Honor...
-Shh! Shh! Shh!

I said I wasn't gonna pay her out

'cause it wasn't my fault
or my dog's fault

that they leave the gate open
and their dog unattended.

I wanna tell you something.
I do not believe you.

-Why not?
-I don't answer questions.

I get answers to questions,
and then I have to say to myself,

these two people,
they were going to work

at 4:30 in the morning.
You were out at the same hour.

-Do you work at that hour?
-Yes, ma'am.

I was about to go to work, too.
That's why I was taking my dog out.

There are other adults in the house.

Yes, I have two more.

Okay. They were all sleeping
at 4:30 in the morning?

-Yes, ma'am.
-[Judy] Okay.

So you opened your door,
and you have to understand, sir,

I am particularly unabashedly
sensitive to pit bulls

who are unleashed or not watched.

Your dog is four years old.
I don't know.

I assume you have had
no prior incident with your dog.

-No, ma'am.
-[Judy] Okay.

-[Grecia] That's not true.
-[Judy] We'll get to it.

Last article...
I keep them in my desk drawer...

about pit bulls was a baby,
a three-month-old baby,

left alone for a second with a pit bull.

The pit bull gnawed off his hands.
That was last week.

So you have to understand that
I'm particularly sensitive

to a large animal
that's capable of causing serious injury

being unattended for a second.

You answered my question very quickly

whether your dog Max
had had any prior incidents.

You said no.

Plaintiff seems to say
that that's not true.

Now she's gonna tell me
about a prior incident,

unless you wanna
tell me about it first.

I never noticed or nothing.

Nobody informed me about another accident,
incident or nothing.

Your answer is, you don't know
about a prior incident with your dog.

-Yes. I don't know nothing about it.
-[Judy] Is that right?

-Yes.
-Why don't you tell me what you know.

First things first, I have
an animal control report

that proves his statement
of his "leashed" dog incorrect.

May I see it, please?

[Grecia]
This is the second attack.

-Shh. Just a second.
-[Grecia] Sorry about that.

Well, this recites
your version of the events.

Correct.

And the report indicates...

-You're Ruben, is that correct?
-Yes.

That you ran out to the scene
to try to separate your dogs.

-Did you speak to animal control?
-Yes, I did.

-You spoke to them on what date?
-Two days after.

-May 1st?
-Yes.

-[Judy] So you spoke to them?
-Yes.

Then this write-up
incorporates what you told them,

which is consistent with
what Ms. Galvan testified to, sir.

Okay. I don't know where
you are showing me

that this was not the first instance.

So the first instance was about
a little bit over a year ago

where his dog attacked my dog,
and he didn't break skin,

so animal control refused to create
an actual incident report.

Tell me when that was.
That was about a year ago.

Yeah, so it was actually my mother
who was walking my dog.

I was out of state at the time.

I have a witness statement
if that helps for anything,

but my mother was walking the dog
where his dog was.

-You were not there.
-[Grecia] No, but...

Well, then I can't take that evidence
because it's hearsay.

-Do you understand?
-Okay, I understand.

The second attack
was on a 10-year-old German shepherd

walking in front of our house,
walking on a leash by his owner.

And again, the dog was out loose
without a leash or collar,

where he attacked the German shepherd.

[Judy]
Was that within the year?

In late January, yeah.

-[Judy] Late January of this year.
-Correct.

Only five, six months ago.

Did you observe that?

I did. I assisted in separating
and keeping the German shepherd safe.

[Judy] Who came out of the Alonso house
to retrieve their dog?

Was it Mr. Alonso or his son
or one of the other children?

I think it was his younger daughter.

What's your younger daughter's name?

[Ruben]
No, I got two. They're twins.

So I don't know
which one she's talking about.

-'Cause I never...
-[Judy] Well, you know them both, right?

-Yeah, I know them both, but...
-[Judy] Just a second.

-Listen to me carefully.
-Okay.

You know them both.

Mr. Alonso, I don't want you
to play with me.

I'm not playing with you, Your Honor.

So there's no question
that if anything happened

with a German shepherd
and one of your twins,

who are not babies,
came out and retrieved your dog,

they would've told you about it.

[exclaims]

-I haven't heard nothing from that.
-[Judy] Really?

-[Grecia] He was involved, Your Honor.
-[Judy] What?

I spoke to him about the situation

just days after
the last incident with him.

I brought the German shepherd
and the owner and...

Where's the proof?

Now it's documented
that your dog

has attacked at least once,

and if you let that dog
or any of your other dogs out,

they're gonna take that dog
and destroy it.

You do know that?

Yes, we do.

And that will be your fault.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Grecia and Juan Galvan
have accused their neighbor, Ruben Alonso,

of owing for vet bills
after his dog attacked their dog.

Ruben claims their dog was off-leash
and started the fight.

Just a second.

He said, "Your dog barks a lot.
That's why my dog attacked him."

Your Honor, if my dog knew how to talk,
we wouldn't be here.

[Judy]
Just a second.

When you say that
after this attack on your dog,

-the serious one...
-Correct, yeah.

...you brought the German shepherd?

Whose German shepherd was it?

Somebody that lives in our community.

-[Judy] And the owner?
-Yes.

To see Mr. Alonso?

Correct, because Mr. Alonso said
that my dog was barking too much

and that's why Max attacked him.

[Judy] Okay, so now you bring
the German shepherd.

Your dog, Yogi, is at the vet.

No, this is a few days post-op.

So my dog was recovering inside, indoors.

[Judy]
Okay, so your dog was indoors,

but it wasn't with you
when you went to confront Mr. Alonso

-with the German shepherd...
-[Grecia] Yes.

-...and the owner of the German shepherd.
-Correct.

Okay, and can you tell me
what Mr. Alonso said

during that confrontation
about the German shepherd?

Not your dog, what did he say
about the German shepherd?

Nothing. His demeanor
was very aggressive.

He turned. He was up
putting on some cameras in his home.

He turned, did not say a word,
and turned back around.

And his son was there as well.

-[Judy] Really?
-[Grecia] Yeah.

[Judy]
Stand up.

Over there, please.

-Your first name?
-Jason.

Jason, do you remember
Ms. Galvan coming to the house?

Your father was there. She was there
with a German shepherd and its owner.

-That's a yes or a no.
-Yes.

[Judy] Okay. Were you close enough
to hear the conversation?

-That's a yes or a no.
-Yes.

Did you hear the conversation
about your dog

at some point having a confrontation
with the German shepherd?

-Yes, I did, Your Honor.
-Tell me what you heard.

The plaintiff ended up bringing
the owner of the dog over and...

-The owner of the shepherd?
-Yeah, the owner of the shepherd.

And he said he didn't wanna
start no problems or nothing.

-He didn't wanna...
-He didn't wanna start any problems.

Who said?
The owner of the shepherd?

-The owner of the shepherd.
-[Judy] The owner of the shepherd said...

[Jason] He said it was an accident
and stuff happens,

-and he didn't want no problems with us.
-[Grecia] That's not true.

I wanna know,
before he said that, what was said

about Max attacking the shepherd.

The plaintiff was claiming that...

Plaintiff said...

That Max bit the German shepherd.

[Judy] Okay, and the German shepherd
and the German shepherd's owner was there.

-Correct.
-What did your father say?

He was just quiet during the instance.

[Judy] Just a second.
So he said nothing.

-Correct.
-Did you say anything?

At the current moment,
I was actually holding the ladder stand

'cause he was on a ten-foot ladder
installing cameras.

That is very unsafe for me
to try to tell him anything...

Just a second.
Did he come down from the cameras?

He was still installing
the cameras as they came up.

Well, now there are two people there:

one person there with a dog

that he knows
has been seriously injured by his dog

and a German shepherd,
who I'm absolutely positive

that one of your sisters
discussed with him,

had an incident some months before.

Don't say no.

Because I have to tell you something.

You lie to me once...

You lie to me once, sir...

That incident wasn't, um...

Nobody said nothing to me about it.

That's why I didn't talk to the guy,
'cause I don't know if she...

Well, you talked to her.

What I'm telling you, Mr. Alonso,
is you lie to me once,

I believe nothing else.

Certain things are common sense.

I have children. I've had dogs.

If one of my dogs
was involved in an incident

and I was involved
in separating them

and I was involved
in making the situation better,

when my parent came home
from work, I would say,

"Let me tell you what happened,"
and they would tell you.

Or they would tell
their older brother what happened.

And the older brother might tell you,
but somebody would tell you.

-It wasn't brought to my attention.
-That's not true.

It wasn't brought to your attention.

I'm gonna bring something
to your attention.

Do you have homeowners insurance?
Do you own your house?

I don't own the house.
I rent the house.

[Judy] You rent the house.
Do you have renters insurance?

Yes.

Does the renters insurance that you have
know that you have...

not a French bulldog,
because that's what it says here.

Somebody identified your dog
as a French bulldog.

A French bulldog
is different from a bully.

I have a license that says it's not a...

It's not even a pit bull.

It's an American bully.

It's classified in its own breed.

I actually know
what an American bully is...

not a French bulldog.

-Do you have a French bulldog?
-We do not.

Your Honor, he has three
in his garage at the time.

And sometimes when he illegally breeds,
he has seven or eight at a time.

-It's not ill*gal.
-[Jason] Not true.

We got papers to prove that.

[Jason]
We're licensed breeders, Your Honor.

All of our dogs
are Purple Ribbon UKC show dogs.

That doesn't make this dog
any less vicious.

-Correct.
-[Judy] Do you understand?

Yes, I do, Your Honor.

Dog caused serious injury.

And either your father
is just in a total state of denial

or he hasn't been introduced to the truth.

I don't know which one it is.

By the way, I'm entering
a judgment for them

for the full amount of their vet bills.

Now it's documented that your dog
has attacked at least once...

Twice.

...and if you let that dog
or any of your other dogs out,

they're gonna take that dog
and destroy it.

-You do know that?
-Yes, we do.

And that will be your fault

because you're the owner
and the responsible person

to make sure that a dog that is capable
of serious physical injury...

serious physical injury...

doesn't injure a person
or another animal.

That's your responsibility and
any other adult who lives in the house.

Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of $6,500.

We're done. Thank you.

[Kevin]
This court is adjourned.

I think the decision was bad.

I mean, they try to, like,
consider my dog a pit bull.

He's not a pit bull.

She was just. She followed the truth,
and that's all we could have asked for.

Their dog got out
and started biting my dog,

so my dog defended himself.

[Juan speaking Spanish]

It's a lie. He never...

He came and there was never a leash,
no, neither a collar,

and that's when the dog
started attacking the dog and myself.

Probably set up another fence
in front of our yard.

Probably establish something a little bit
more secure than what we have now.

I've had him for more than half my life.

I mean, that's my companion,
my bud, my best friend.

And to see him in pain
for, like, weeks after,

it was even equally as traumatic
as the incident itself.

I definitely would say it will be avoided.

We will be taking precautions
going forward,

make sure this doesn't happen again.

The truth always comes to light.

I always say if you choose to get
a breed of dog, that's your choice.

And if the dog for some reason...
and dogs can go off...

-attacks you, that's...
-Mm-hmm.

You're a grown-up.
You've made a conscious choice.

But when you bring a dog
that has the potential

of causing
serious physical injury or death

into a house with young children,

I actually think that
that should be an absolute liability

for people who do know that
certain dogs have the capacity to maim,

and despite that,
they choose that dog

and bring a dog into a house
with toddlers and infants.

I just think that that's so irresponsible.

I have a drawer full of those...

I have seen it. I know you do.

...of those cases
that just are heartbreaking.

[announcer]
Are you having a family dispute?



[theme music playing]