03x63 - Dog Breeder's Fight for Frenchie

[bunniefuu]

-He gave you a dog?
-Correct.

-And then took the dog back.
-Stole the dog back, yes.

I object. He was just
watching the dog for me.

He had the dog for four months,

feeding it, taking it to the vet.

Why would I give him a $10,000 dog?

-I don't give a rat's behind...
-The dog is good. It's my dog.

I don't give a rat's behind.
Do you understand?

[narrator] This is Judy Justice.

Anthony Williams is suing
his family friend, Michael Bowers,

for stealing his French Bulldog.

[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

-[Kevin] Hello, Judge.
-Hello, Kevin.

Case 3103, Williams versus Bowers.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Mr. Williams, your case
is relatively simple.

It is your claim that Mr. Bowers,
who you knew,

-gave you a dog.
-Correct.

-And then took the dog back.
-Stole the dog back, yes.

Took the dog back
and refuses to return him.

-It's a male dog.
-Yes.

The defendant says you were just supposed
to watch this dog temporarily

because he breeds dogs
and he and his family were moving.

They moved into a place
where they couldn't keep dogs.

Then he could keep dogs.
And he says, right now,

he doesn't even have the dog,
whose name is Gizmo,

because he breeds dogs with a partner.

And the dog has been
at this partner's house for breeding.

For how long?

A few months now,
ever since I got the dog back.

You have to know something,
I know something about dog breeding.

I know that a male dog
doesn't have to stay there

during the course
of an entire breeding of the 63 days

that it takes to gestate a puppy.

'Cause I know
that you modified your answer

and your modified answer
to his complaint is,

"I don't even have the dog

and I can't interrupt
the breeding of the dog,

which takes months."

That's baloney. I want you to know
that I know that's baloney.

Yes, Your Honor,

we was breeding the dog
with multiple dogs.

We have a boy dog
and we have three females.

It was like a process,
so we just kept them together. That's...

Now you're gonna get him back.

-Do you understand?
-Yes, Your Honor.

-Your friend's name.
-Logan Jean-Pierre.

Sarah's gonna find him. Telephone number.

-I have it in my phone.
-Get it.

-Get ready, Ms. Rose.
-Oh, it's going.

[Michael] All right, six, seven, eight...

[Judy] Now put the phone down.

Tell me where he lives.
Because he's your partner

-so you have to know.
-in Norcross, Georgia.

-Okay. Sarah Rose...
-Sure.

-Could you go and give this fellow a call...
-Sure.

...and find out what the status of Gizmo is.

Sure.

Okay. Now I'm coming to you, Mr. Williams.

While Sarah is getting that information,

this is what your case is about.

According to you,
he said can you take care of this dog,

-do you want this dog...
-Yes.

...we're moving and we can't keep the dog.
When did that happen?

He called me on April the 12th of 2023.

-You knew the dog. What kind of dog is it?
-It's a French Bulldog.

-How much does he weigh?
-I think 28 pounds.

That's called a Frenchie,
they're small dogs.

-Frenchie. They're small dogs.
-Yes.

Do you have a photograph?

-Yes.
-May I see it?

-And you knew Mr. Bowers how?
-He's a family friend.

I'm calling in regards to Michael Bowers
and his dog...

[Judy] How many dogs did you have
on April 12th of 2023?

I have two dogs that I own myself.

-Males or females?
-Both of them are males.

Your partner?
How many females does he have?

I don't really know.
The last time I saw was two.

-When was the last time you went there?
-Couple of weeks ago.

Cute.

-How old is the dog?
-[Anthony] Two years old.

[Judy] Okay.

When, for the first time,

did Mr. Bowers indicate to you
that he wanted the dog back?

He said he wanted the dog back
for breeding.

That's would have been July,

but he was only supposed
to have the dog for two days.

So for a full four months,
you had the dog?

Yes, ma'am.

Tell me what happened in July.

Can I go back a little bit before that?

The defendant,
when he delivered the dog to me,

the dog was in bad condition.

I had to bathe the dog,
take him to get his nails cut.

He had no shots.

I spent hundreds of dollars
taking him to the vet to get his shots.

I have the paperwork from the vet.

[Michael] I have shots for the dog.

The dog already had shots
before he got there.

Oh, I'd like to see that.

[Anthony] Also, Your Honor,
I got extra shots for the dog

'cause when I spoke to the vet,

for French Bulldogs,
since they have smashed-in faces...

[Judy] Shh, shh, shh, just one second.

You asked Mr. Bowers to take Gizmo
because you had the other male.

How many female dogs...

These are from 2021.

-The dog was just born in 2021.
-That's the last shots that we had.

Those are puppy shots.

My business partner does the shots
himself. He does a lot of...

You know this is
not gonna fare well for you?

I don't think.

-Not that I'm pre-judging.
-[spectators laughing]

Okay. Tell me what happened.
You took care of the dog,

cleaned the dog up,
brought the shots up to date. And?

And, also, he was a two-year-old dog.

When I got the dog,
he was not house-broken at all,

-to be a two-year-old dog.
-[Judy] Okay.

It's clear the dog wasn't house-broken,
the dog was kept crated most of the time.

-Is that right?
-Yes, ma'am.

And the person with whom
Sarah is now commiserating on the phone,

he also keeps the dog crated
because the dog wasn't house-broken.

-Yes, ma'am.
-That's a yes.

The dog is for business purposes.

I don't care what the purposes are,
I just wanna know how long

this two-year-old little French Bulldog
was kept in a crate,

is what I asked you.

By the way,

I have to get some stuff in here

so that you understand
how business this is.

-You come from Georgia, correct?
-Yes.

-And we flew you here?
-Yes.

I assume you want us to fly you back?

Yes.

And when you're here,
you're gonna get an appearance fee.

[Michael] Yes.

-And you want that, right?
-Yes.

Good. And so we're gonna listen
to whatever I tell you. Correct?

Yes.

Perfect. 'Cause, otherwise,

you may have to learn
to love sunny California.

Or you can earn a bus ticket to go home.

-Nah. No.
-Got it?

Yes, yes, Your Honor.

And you know
I don't say anything I don't mean.

Yes, Your Honor.

So you had the dog for four months
and then you called him.

And what I gather is
you wanted the paperwork for the dog.

-Well...
-That's what you said.

You wanted the paperwork for the dog
because you wanted to breed the dog.

Yes.

And, after that call, he said to you,

"I wanna pick up the dog
because I wanna breed the dog once more."

-Correct.
-And you let him take the dog.

He was supposed to have him for two days.

After the two days,
did you have any communication with him?

Yes. Actually,
the defendant sent me a text message

on July 21st that he wanted
to come pick the dog up.

He was supposed to have him for two days.

-May I see the messages?
-I sent him a text message saying okay,

-are you bringing Gizmo back today?
-Got it.

-Oh, he had a lot to say.
-Okay, sit down for one second, Sarah.

I don't believe you, sir.

-That means I just give up ownership...
-Just a second.

Oh, I believe him, sir.
You'd give a dog to somebody...

I have a lease
that prevents me from having dogs.

I don't care if you have a lease
or something from the Pope.

[spectators laughing]

[narrator] Antony Williams claims
his family friend, Michael Bowers,

refuses to return his French Bulldog,
Gizmo.

Michael says Anthony watched the dog,

but never owned him.

Before I read this,

which clearly says, "Morning, Mike,"
that's you.

Yes, Your Honor.

"You still bringing Gizmo today?"
That's July 23rd.

And then, July 24th,

he writes again,

"Hey, Mike, you bringing Gizmo today?"

And then you answer him.

And you say,
"No, they'd probably be done today,

-so I'll bring him tomorrow."
-Yes.

-Did you bring him?
-No.

It's not his dog to bring.
He was just watching the dog.

Okay. Now let's hear about...

Yeah, uh, so Logan, uh, had a lot to say.

He's actually the papered owner
of Stitch/Gizmo.

Yes.

[Sarah] And they, um,
purchased the dog, uh, in March of '21.

They went 50/50 on the price,
which was $5,000.

They each paid $2,500, from a friend
of Mr. Jean-Pierre's in New Jersey.

But said that he was in his care
for maybe a week or two.

The reason that they were asking him
to watch the dog is because, uh,

Mr. Jean-Pierre had five dogs in his home,
three females,

and already had one male in the home,
with three females.

To have two males in the house
would've been a little rowdy,

so they had the plaintiff take Gizmo
for that period of time.

Is that what they told you?

I've never spoken to this other gentleman
that's she's spoken about,

-but when I spoke to the defendant...
-[Judy] Go ahead.

He said that he felt comfortable
with the plaintiff taking the dog

when the defendant presented it to him.

Seemed like a "good enough" guy...
Had a nice house.

-And he is the registered owner?
-Yes.

He's the only one. He has his last name.

He's the only one with the AKC papers.

He believed he forwarded a picture of it
to the defendant.

prior to coming here today.

[Judy] So from what I gather,
he has a $2,500 investment in this dog.

Mm-hmm.

Plus whatever shots it was
and they've used the dog for breeding.

Twice. I asked how many times
they've bred him.

-He said twice.
-[Judy] Twice.

Now I want you to do the following, Sarah.

-I'd like you to call him back.
-Oh, great.

This is a unique situation

because I can't resolve this
with a third party.

Would you ask him
if he is made financially whole,

will he agree
to allow Mr. Williams to take the dog,

which will be used strictly as a pet.

Are you prepared to do that?

Otherwise, I may not be able
to resolve this.

Yes, that's why I'm suing.
I do want the dog back.

-The only thing is...
-Just a second. Do you understand?

Which means that you're going to
have the dog neutered

-and he will be a pet.
-Yes, that's totally fine.

-Okay.
-Find out.

And by financially whole,
you're referring to the $2,500?

The $2,500 that he said he invested.

-Don't care about him.
-Okay.

-May I say something, Your Honor?
-Yes.

If you give me an order,
and we go back to Atlanta,

and I have to pick the dog up,

I don't trust that the defendant
will hand over the dog.

You're gonna get the dog from his partner.

Your Honor, I have other text messages

of the defendant promising
to bring this dog back to me

-because...
-I'd like to see them.

Yes. At this point, you know...

-I never gave him the dog.
-...and I love the dog.

I don't believe you, sir.

Why would I give him a $10,000 dog

-that I could just give back...
-Just a second.

I believe him. You don't...
You'd give a dog to somebody,

you say could you watch my dog for a week?

And you have a partner.
So, if you have a partner,

and you're living situation prevents you
from keeping the dog,

it's gonna be for a longer period of time.

I have a lease that prevents me
from having dogs.

I don't care if you have a lease
or something from the Pope.

-It makes no difference.
-[spectators laughing]

I believe you that you couldn't
keep the dog for a while.

So that means
I give up ownership of the dog?

You never had ownership, sir.
The dog belongs to somebody else.

Yes, I do. Me and him co-own the dog.

-He says that he owns the dog.
-We co-own...

Good, that makes it even easier for me.

May I have that, please?

That's the business license
that we have together.

Yeah. You answered his question.

"Mike, you're gonna bring Gizmo over?
Let me know, please.

You coming back tomorrow?"

And you finally answered, "He is,
but he is still with my friend right now.

He gonna bring him back soon.

The dog's just made it."

And then, Friday, August 18th,
he says to you,

"What's up with Gizmo?"

Everyday he's writing to you.
What's up with Gizmo? When are you coming?

And you say to him, Friday, August 18th,
"Yeah, I'm bringing him back

before the weekend is over."
"Good, I miss him."

-How'd we do?
-No dog.

He does not wish
to relinquish his rights to the dog.

He thinks that even
if the plaintiff is correct

in his more monthly caring for the dog
as opposed to what he said,

which was a few weeks,

nothing compares
to the years since March of '21

that this third party has owned the dog
and cared for him

and made him a part of his family.

But that's just it.
They don't care for the dog.

The dog is just left in cages.

At the time that I got the dog,
I had to bathe him, take him to the vet,

get his nails cut.

-He was not...
-[Judy] Let me ask you this question.

Mr. Bowers, you partner says
the dog has been with him

for most of the time...

Between the two of them,
for most of the time.

Within the partnership of either
Mr. Bowers or the third party.

You can't be house-broken in one place
and not in another.

Either you keep the dog in a cage
or you don't, or a crate.

When he's with me,
I don't have him in a cage.

-I don't believe in cages.
-That's not true.

[Judy] You just told me you did.

Whitney, can you go back?
I thought he said,

when I asked him about crate,
do you keep the dog in a crate...

He might sleep in a crate,
but he's not there all day long.

The dog wasn't house-broken, sir.

The dog was house-broken.
You're just taking his word for it.

It was at my house all the time.

-May I say something?
-Just a minute.

The beginning of the word was "crate".

Not cage, crate.

[Sarah] He did seem to care for the dog
and when I mentioned the $2,500

and making him whole financially,

he did not seem to waver in the slightest.

The plaintiff said,
"He is not house-broken at all

to be a two-year-old dog."

You said, "So it's clear
the dog wasn't house-broken."

"The dog was kept crated
most of the time."

-The defendant said, "Yes, ma'am."
-[Judy] Okay.

Perfect.

I still want Animal Control
to go to his address

because the defendant showed me videos

of the conditions the dog were staying in.

What I've seen,
there were cages in someone's garage.

-The dog is good. He's my dog.
-Mr. Bowers,

I think you better quit
while you're ahead, sir.

[narrator] Anthony Williams is accusing
his family friend, Michael Bowers,

of stealing his French Bulldog, Gizmo.

Michael claims he only asked Anthony
to temporarily watch Gizmo.

-Mr. Williams.
-Yes, ma'am.

This is my conundrum.

I'm prepared to rule today.

And I'm taking at face value the fact
that he and his partner co-own the dog.

-Do you understand?
-Mm-hmm.

I cannot order the partner
to relinquish the dog to you.

I have no control.

If I had the partner
under my jurisdiction,

if you had sued the partner,

I may be able to, but I can only rule
on his ownership of the dog.

Which I am prepared to do today.

This is the first
that I'm hearing about the...

-The partner?
-Right.

I assume that this is the first
you're hearing about it.

Right. And for me, I feel like
for me to be made whole,

of course I want the dog back.
I don't trust him.

But I feel like the only way
that I can be made whole

is for him to pay to get me another dog

-if I do not get Gizmo back.
-[Judy] No.

You're gonna be made whole
by paying all of your bills

-for the time that you had the dog.
-Mm-hmm.

Because you did that
with the understanding from him

that the dog was going to be yours.

Economically, you'll be made whole.

Emotionally, if you can't be made whole
because you're not gonna get the dog back,

I can't order the dog back
from the legal owner.

But he has to hurt some.

You don't have any proof that I said
he could have the dog.

[laughs] Mr. Bowers,

I think you'd better quit
while you're ahead, sir.

You acknowledged the fact, you did,
that he had the dog for four months.

Do you want me to read that back to you?

My lease agreement
does not allow me to have dogs.

I don't give a rat's behind
about your lease agreement

or any of your personal problems.

Do you understand?

If there was, in fact, a misunderstanding
between the two of you,

he suffered
by treating the dog as his own,

feeding it,

taking it to the vet, having it groomed.

And because of your misrepresentation,

he's gonna be made whole.

Now, you can make your case
to a judge locally

where you come from in Georgia,
why you should have this dog,

but I can't make a decision
without having somebody here

who is the titled owner of a property.

Now, I want you to tell me, sir,
what your vet bills were.

-Uh, you...
-Yeah.

-Maybe I know.
-I don't have the paper.

Your Honor, is there anything for it?
Because this case was very emotional.

I had to take off work for this
and I do have paperwork from my doctor.

Um, you know,
'cause I was worried about the dog.

-The dog is good. It's my dog.
-He wasn't good...

Shh, shh, shh.

[Michael] He was up to date
with everything.

-He was up to date...
-[Judy] Shush.

I'm looking for something here
in your paperwork.

I have 368, 257...

Your Honor, and I also have paperwork
of everything I bought the dog

off of, uh, Amazon.

His monthly flea and tick, everything.
I have all that here.

Must be at least $1,000 there.

If not more, that I've spent.

-Well, I'm adding up the vet bills now.
-[calculator clacking]

Vet bill's now also totaled
very close to $1,000.

-Can I say one other thing, Your Honor?
-Sure.

Even if I was not to get Gizmo back,

I still want Animal Control
to go to his address because...

That's very, very...
That's very, very easy, sir.

[Anthony] The defendant showed me videos

of the conditions
that the other dog were staying in

What I've seen, there were cages
in someone's garage

of dogs stacked on each other.

So they're not taken care of.

-Why wouldn't you do that before?
-I didn't know the address.

-So do that.
-[Judy] Okay.

Once you get Animal Control,

Sarah will be more than happy
to get on and indicate to Animal Control

that in addition to you,
I would like to see a report.

Okay.

If Animal Control takes any of these dogs,

what I am going to indicate

is that the American Kennel Club
should add your name

-as co-owner of the dog.
-Okay.

That will prevent his partner, hopefully,

that I made this adjudication,

your name is to be added as co-owner,

which means he can't sell these puppies
without your permission.

Do you understand?
Tell that to your partner.

Do you understand?

Yes, Your Honor.

Perfect. In any event,

we're gonna issue that order
to the American Kennel Club,

if that's where they're registered.

I'm awarding you $2,500
in your lawsuit against the plaintiff,

which covers all of your expenses,

and $500 for your aggravation
in bringing you here.

It is absolutely appalling to me

when I have a vision
of these adorable little creatures

that have no life at all except to breed.

And kept in such a way,

if it's true,

that is so cruel and unkind,

-all for the purpose of a buck.
-[Anthony] Yes.

[Judy] Very, very sad to me.

And I will do anything in my power
to make uncomfortable a person

-who has chosen to do this as a business...
-Yes, ma'am.

...and not taken care
of their creatures appropriately.

So that's my judgement.

And then I leave it to you
what you do in Georgia

to see if you can get Gizmo home.

-Okay. Thank you.
-Okay. Good.

[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

I feel like it's strictly
a business to them.

They don't care about dogs.
It's just about the money.

It was business on my end
and pets as well,

but we bought it for business,
but then we fell in love with the dog.

So that's what happened.

The dog needed to not be crated.

He just needed to be loved,
a family, and trained,

and well taken care of.

The most important thing is not
sitting in a cage all day.

The dog is not neglected.

He don't have no poop that he just...

He says, she says.
He never even been there.

I'm glad that Judge Judy
saw through his lies and all the mess.

Happy that I brought the case
to Judge Judy

and I'm satisfied with the verdict.

I hope it all works out.

What I would hope happens
as a result of my ruling today happens,

which would be that
the American Kennel Club would add

the plaintiff's name as owner of the dog.

Because as between the plaintiff
and the defendant,

I believe that the defendant
led the plaintiff to believe

that this dog... he was giving him the dog

because he couldn't
take care of it anymore

-because of his lease.
-Sure.

So as between the two of them,
the people that we had here today,

I believe that the defendant
gave up his interest in the dog.

So I've just take away,
from the defendant...

Mm-hmm.

...today, any issue, that he has no rights
to this dog in a business.

-Okay.
-Now, hopefully,

the AKC will do
what I want them to do. Who knows?

Things may get interesting
when they all return to Georgia.

Yeah, we shall see.

[narrator] Are you a victim of a scam?