02x125 - Puppy Problems

[bunniefuu]

You left the two dogs with her.

Within two hours you called her and said,
"I changed my mind."

I was little uneasy about giving her
the dog.

She said, "I got offered a lot more money
for this dog.

I think you're a scam artist."

No, I did not.

You made a deal.

- I really just want my dogs.
- Duh!

[announcer] This is Judy Justice.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Breanna Slanaker is suing
her buyer, Charity Houvener,

for the cost of a golden retriever puppy.

[Bailiff] Court come to order.
All rise.

Have a seat please.

Case 2188.
Slanaker versus Houvener.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Ms. Slanaker, is this your boyfriend?

Hi. Yes, this is my, my boyfriend
and the father of our two-year-old child.

Okay. You could stand up with her.

In addition to a two-year-old child,
you also had two dogs.

Where were you living at the time
of this incident?

Uh, so we were living in our house.

[Judy] In your house where?

In Redford, Michigan.

[Judy]
Do you own the house or rent it?

- We rent it.
- [Judy] Are you still living there?

- Yes, we are.
- [Judy] Do you work?

- Uh, no. I, uh...
- You're not... the answer is no.

I am a writer.
I'm also two months pregnant too, so.

The question is,
do you work and make a living?

- Yes.
- [Judy] At what?

- Writing.
- Okay.

Who do you write for?

Uh, myself. Self-publishing.

Well, how much money did you make
last year self-publishing?

- Zero.
- Zero?

So the answer is, you don't work
and you don't make any money.

And what about you, boyfriend?

I currently, at the moment am a custodian
for the [redacted] Hills School District.

[Judy] Okay.
And how much do you earn?

Uh, I earn $16.50 an hour.

- And what's your rent?
- Uh, it's $1,445.

Who pays it?
There's no question, you don't .

- Oh, he does.
- I do.

Impossible, not at $16 an hour.

- My Brother currently lives with...
- [Judy] What?

My brother lives with us as well.
So we have a roommate.

- That's how we pay for it.
- And he pays some of the rent?

[Kenyin] Yes.

- Is your rent current?
- [Kenyin] Yes.

- And you have a car?
- [Kenyin] I do.

So you have car and insurance.

You have a comp...
well, somehow you're very economical.

Now, you had two dogs,

you had financial hardship
according to your complaint,

and you could no longer take care
of the dogs.

Is that correct?

- Yes, that's correct.
- [Judy] What kind of dogs were they?

Our d... one year old dog
named Courage.

He is a border collie
and Australian shepherd mix.

- [Judy] He's a border collie?
- Yes.

[Judy]
Where did you get him from?

We got him from a breeder back in 2021.

It was probably December 2nd,
of 2021.

And what was the other dog?

The other dog, her name was Dani.

She was a pure breed
golden retriever puppy

that we had bought...

purchased October 7th, 2022,
yeah.

Okay.

Now, how much did you pay
for the Border Collie?

We paid $500 for the Border Collie.

Still figuring out
how you were all budgeting.

And how much did you pay
for the Golden Retriever?

We also paid $500
for the Golden Retriever.

- [Judy] Where did you get the money from?
- A tax return.

So let me understand this.
You have a two year old baby?

- Yes.
- You have a two year old baby.

You've got tax returns
from the only income from the house,

which is his,
where you're earn $16 an hour.

And what you did was you spent a thousand
dollars of your tax return on two dogs.

I just am clarifying that in my own mind.

[quietly] Yeah.

[Judy] Huh?

- Yes.
- That would be a "right."

Okey-dokey.

When you could no longer either physically
and or financially take care of the dogs,

you put an ad on the internet.
What part of the internet?

Uh, we, we put the ad
on Craigslist and Hoobly.

- [Judy] Craigslist and...
- Hoobly.

It's like another Craigslist type online.

- Do you have a copy of the ad?
- Yes, I do.

I'd like to see them.

Okay.
So you put ads for both dogs.

One you said, "Small rehoming fee,
not a breeder,

needs a new home, call for details."

The other is the one year old,
Border Collie, Aussie mix

and you had rehoming fee of $200.

- Yes.
- Okay.

This says absolutely nothing
about fostering short term.

You get the dogs back,
nothing.

And no other criteria in here.

- Yes.
- Nothing.

So this is your complaint.

The defendant answered your ads,

you brought the two dogs over to her.

She gave you $100.

- Yes.
- Yes. You left the two dogs with her.

You were on your way back
to wherever you lived, you're in the car,

and according to you,
you had a change of heart.

Yes.
Uh, yes, your Honor.

And you called her and you said to her,
"We're coming back."

- Yes.
- How long did that process take you?

It was within the two hours we had left.

So within two hours you called her
and said, "I changed my mind."

- Yes.
- [Judy] And what did she say to you?

She had said that she had given
the dog away.

- [Judy] One of them?
- One of them. Yeah.

Okay.
She said, I gave the dog away.

Did she tell you to whom?
Did she tell you what circumstances?

Did she tell you?

She said that she had given the dog
to a lady named Cindy.

And she mentioned that she gave this to...
Dani to...

You have text messages?
Is what you're reading from text messages?

Yeah. Yeah.

- [Judy] I'd like to see it.
- Okay.

[Breanna] Yeah.

Okay. So this is a text in the evening.

And she says to you,
"My friend is traveling back

to Tennessee now with my friend Cindy."

Now you went back to the house
and you picked up one of the dogs?

- Yes.
- Courage.

And did you give her back
the hundred dollars?

- Uh, no.
- [Judy] It's either yes or no.

- No.
- Why not?

- We want our dog back.
- You made a deal.

She paid you $100.

She gave you one back despite the fact
that you didn't give her any money.

Why do you think that this is a deal
that you can say,

"Ah, I change my mind."

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Breanna Slanaker claims
her buyer, Charity Houvener,

wrongfully gave away a golden retriever
after promising to keep the puppy.

Now, you went back to the house
and you picked up one of the dogs?

- Yes.
- Courage.

And did you give her back
the hundred dollars?

- Uh, no.
- [Judy] It's either yes or no.

- No.
- Why not?

Because she kept the other dog, uh, Dani
which was a pure breed Golden Retriever.

The condition was to have both dogs
together.

Okay.
Show me where that is.

Show me something in writing
where that was a condition.

It certainly wasn't in your ad.

It certainly wasn't in your ad,
which just said

you needed to find new homes
for both your dogs.

Did you ever say anything
to the defendant about getting

a better offer for the Golden Retriever?

- [Breanna] No.
- Yes.

Did you ever say...

Did you ever say anything to the defendant

either on the phone or in a text

that you believed that you could get more
for the golden retriever?

Because if you had paid $500
for it as a puppy,

this was just a couple of months later,
it was still a puppy.

I'm asking you,
did you say anything to her

about being able to get more money
for her?

Mm-hmm. No No.
No, I did not.

We want our dog back
because of our other dog Courage.

And uh, she...

Oh, what makes you think
you can have your dog back?

- Well...
- You made a deal.

She paid you $100.
You took the $100.

You didn't return the $100
to her.

One of the dogs was already rehomed
to yet another person.

She gave you the dog back.

She gave you one back despite the fact
that you didn't give her any money.

Why do you think that this is a deal
that you can say,

"Ah, I change my mind."

What makes you...

Because it was in a verbal condition
to keep the dogs together.

- She had...
- Absolutely not.

- [Judy shushing]
- Sorry.

It was a verbal condition to keep
the dogs together.

They were a bonded pair.

And, um, she said that if we wanted to,
we can...

In what month did you sell the dogs
to the defendant?

It was December 4th, 2022.

Twelve four.
Now you got, according to you,

the Golden Retriever in October of 2022.

So you had at most the dogs together
for two months?

- Yes.
- Yes.

[Judy]
Well, that's not a bonding experience.

How old was the Golden Retriever?

She was two months old
when we got her.

- [Judy] So she was four months old?
- Yes.

Well, you certainly could have gotten more
than $100 for her,

you must have been really desperate
for that hundred bucks.

I really just want my dogs together.

Well, they're not together.

Then you should have thought
of that before you put ads here.

You changed your mind.
That's it.

You changed for whatever reason,
you felt sad in the car going home,

or she's going to tell me
that you had a conversation

with her that involved money.

- No.
- I'm ready.

All I wanna know from you
at this point is,

and it's really not dispositive
of this case, but it was in your answer.

Did you ever have a conversation after
she dropped the dogs off about money?

- Yes.
- Tell me about the conversation.

When was it, was it in the car,
or was it it...

It was by my door.
By my side door.

[Judy] When, at what point in this?
When they came back or when...

When they came back,

she said, "I got offered a lot more money
for this dog.

I think you're a scam artist.
And I want what's due.

I want the rest of my money."

[Judy] What's the rest of your money?

- No.
- [Charity] I don't know.

- No, your Honor. No.
- Never said that.

Yes!

- She got offered more money, your Honor.
- [Judy] She cer... she certain...

She certainly could have gotten more
for this Golden Retriever.

She certainly could have gotten more money
from the Golden Retriever

than the $100
that you gave her

- for both dogs.
- Yes, for both.

But she accepted the $100
and she never returned the $100.

That's it. Finished.
What?

Your Honor, I wanted to keep Courage.

And my friend here, Cindy,
took Dani.

Oh, so she's here.
You have the other dog?

- I do, yes.
- Have the other dog... step up.

- So you were going to Tennessee? Yes?
- Yes, yes, yes.

Okay. Tell me about the conversation
that you had with Miss Houvener?

- Yes.
- On the date

that they dropped the dog off.

Okay. Um, she had called me
and let me know that...

- [Judy] Well, first of all...
- Breanna I believe is her name...

...was gonna drop the dogs off.

When did you have this discussion?

That was on the fourth,
on December 4th, 2022.

She called me, um...

I would be guessing, I don't know.
I'm gonna say maybe five in the afternoon.

And, uh, told me that,
I think her name's Breanna,

was going to be dropping the dogs off...

- [Charity] For $100.
- For $100.

And she asked me,
"Do you have, you know, $100?"

And I said, "Well, sure."

- [Judy] So you gave her $100?
- I gave her $100 to give...

- Breanna.
- Yes.

And, um, I was waiting and she was running
just a little late.

We was going to Tennessee,
we had to get diapers and stuff.

So I left $100 with Charity and I said,
"Just in case she comes while I'm gone,

you have the money to give her
and I'll come back

when you know,
we're done shopping to get the dog."

Okay. Now, when had you discussed with her
the hundred dollars for both dogs?

Over the phone, your Honor.

Tell me about the conversation.

[Charity] The conversation went...
we had discussed

- the hundred for both Courage and Dani...
- [Judy] Do you have that in texts?

- Yes.
- [Judy] I'd like to see it.

- Not all of them. Just...
- Not all of it?

- Just the one that she's asking of.
- Yeah.

How is the dog?

She's doing really good.
Yeah, I got her to the vet.

She's... and she's growing.

Oh, she, um, two weeks ago was her
last shots and she's already 41 pounds.

- She's just...
- Growing.

Growing like a weed.
Yes. Yes.

Okay.
I'm gonna read this to you.

"I am trying hard to come up
with a hundred more dollars, dear,

I have 100."

And you respond to her,

"Okay, we're just gonna have to feed them
bread until somebody buys them."

Then she answers you,
"I will come up with the rest."

You we're just feeding
these puppies bread?

What's changed in your life financially

that you think that you should be able
to stretch your budget

to feed so far a 40 pound dog
and the other one?

What's changed?
Nothing.

[theme music playing]

[announcer] Breanna Slanaker is accusing
her buyer, Charity Houvener,

of giving away a golden retriever
hours after purchasing the puppy.

Now, you respond to her,

"Okay, we're just gonna have to feed them
bread until somebody buys them."

You were just feeding
these puppies bread?

That's what you wrote here.
Who wrote this?

- You or him?
- I wrote it.

And I would assume that your life's
circumstance hasn't changed.

You are still not working and he's still
working for $16 an hour.

Sure. Yeah.

- Right?
- Yes.

And at that point, back in December,
what you said was,

"I can only afford," in effect,
"I can only afford to feed them bread

until I, until somebody buys them."

What's changed in your life?

What's changed in your life financially
that you think that...

that you think that you should be able
to stretch your budget to feed,

so far, a 40 pound dog
and the other one, what's changed?

Nothing.

- Ridiculous people.
- Both jobless at the time.

Kenyin was jobless at the time,
your Honor, um...

- What?
- Yes.

- He was jobless in December?
- Yes.

You still took your tax returns
and bought a dog for $500.

Duh!

She says to you, "They are both really
fantastic dogs."

And you respond, "Absolutely they are.

It was a nice chapter to have them.
Now their fate's with you

or wherever their life journey takes them.

Glad you have them now."

- That's what you wrote.
- Yeah.

- Yes.
- [Charity] Yeah.

"Yes, you're right,
I'm probably gonna fall madly in love."

Anyway, then you changed your mind

and they reached out
to PAWS organization

and had a chat about last night.

"Your suspected buyer is being rude to us,
and we want our dog back."

What's a PAWS organization?
What is that?

When we had met her at her house,

I was little uneasy
about giving her the dog.

And taking into consideration
the area we live in, in metro Detroit,

it's, there's a lot of dog fighting there.

So I had to be sure that she was
trustworthy.

So she had mentioned to me that she was,
uh,

is a part of the PAWS organization

which is a animal friendly organization
like, uh...

- Okay.
- Okay.

Wow... yeah.

You say now you want the dog back
and you say,

"Option A, you pay us our asking price
for the dog."

What was your asking price? This is after
you already got the hundred bucks?

Okay.

So now after you got the hundred bucks,
left the dogs with her,

what was your asking price?

What was your asking price?

The... the value of her.

What was the asking price?

- Uh...
- [Judy] It's your words.

I'm a little confused.
I'm sorry.

"Option A, you give us... you pay us
our asking price for Dani,

or option B, we call our lawyers
and take you to court."

Yes, I, at the time, wanted her to repay,
pay the remaining balance of Dani,

how much we had bought her for, $500.

- So you wanted more money for the dog?
- Yes.

Okay. Well you can't have it.
You've already made your bargain.

Your case is dismissed.
We're done here.

- Thank you very much.
- [Bailiff] This Court is adjourned.

I think that there's a lot o of evidence,

a lot of things that was left out
and unsaid.

I thought the judge's decision
was fantastic.

I just feel like everything
wasn't said properly.

That's probably on our part.

I don't think it was necessarily fair,
but that's what... that's her decision.

Cindy and I wanted the best interest
in these dogs.

It just didn't feel right.

So immediately we went back
to get the dogs

and keep them and bring them home.

It was about money.

Just stick it out next time.

You know, don't trust everybody.

I just feel as if these dogs
were not taken care of.

I hope she does have a good home.

You know the sadness of that whole case
for me Sarah,

is the mindlessness
of these two young people.

I don't know where they got the $500
during that two year period.

- An extra $500...
- A... a thousand.

- ...to pay for each dog.
- Mm-hmm.

I can only speculate.

When I speculate I say to myself
based upon my common sense,

neither one of them look like
they're robbing a store.

No.

So I have to say to myself, you know,
"Who bought them those dogs?"

The president.

'Cause the only time you get
that kind of chunk of money,

was if your stimulus...
or extended something.

But even if it's extended unemployment,
cause he was unemployed,

you have $1,500 a month in rent,
you have a car, you have insurance,

you have a two-year-old baby.

What kind of thought process
goes into buying two expensive dogs?

- And big dogs.
- And big dog...

Well, one of them was a big dog.
One of them is a substantial size dog.

Then you have a two-year-old baby
and you're gonna feed the dog's bread.

So what do you do?

You have another baby.

That makes sense.
Makes perfect sense.

And I guess I get so excited about it,
because based upon my history,

it's always the children
that end up suffering.

I knew you were going there.

- And it's so... and it's true.
- [Judy] Yeah.

You're feeding a dog bread and think
that that's an appropriate way

to take care of an animal.

And trying to get it off your plate.

The first thing I would be doing is making
sure I didn't sign up for another child.

Financially, responsibility-wise.

Yeah, well, what are you gonna do?
Cut the baby's formula with water

so that you can stretch it?

I mean, they both look like they could use
a good meal.

I don't understand, I just don't
understand this thought process.

And it's always the innocents that suffer.

Because even the dogs are innocents.

Clearly the babies, but clearly the dogs
are innocents.

You know, they just wanna be fed
and have a home with...

You're not, a four-month-old puppy
eating bread until they can find somebody

that can give them something
more nourishing.

It's absolutely outrageous
and irresponsible and tragic.

That's what I think.

Life isn't getting any different
from what it was 40 years ago.

- It just stays the same.
- Mm-hmm.

Well, at least the Golden Retriever
is in a good home, goes to the vet.

Hopefully it's getting fed real dog food.

So there's a bright side
or a silver lining in the end of that.

- So...
- Right.

Now, if you could just
find reasonable parents

to take care of these two children
that they created.

[announcer] Want justice?