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00:00You filed a restraining order against your mother?
00:03Yeah.
00:04Because she don't want her to see the kids,
00:06which I understand why.
00:07Excuse me?
00:08I raised my daughter.
00:10She was never in foster home.
00:12Would have been better.
00:14What?
00:15Do you have any idea how selfish that sounds?
00:17She can stay her way, I can stay my way.
00:20I want you to use your ears, not your mouth.
00:22This is Judy Justice.
00:30Tara and William Whelan are suing their son-in-law, Charles Garrett,
00:46for the cost of a dog, vet bills, and filing a false restraining order.
00:51Court come to order.
00:52All rise.
00:55Have a seat, everyone.
00:57Judge, case 4004, Whelan versus Garrett.
01:00You're welcome.
01:01Mr. and Mrs. Whelan?
01:02Yes, ma'am.
01:03This gentleman and your daughter have two children together.
01:06Yes, ma'am.
01:07Yes, they do.
01:07And they are still a couple, is that correct?
01:09Yes, ma'am.
01:10You're not married?
01:11No, ma'am.
01:12Mr. Garrett either raises or breeds dogs.
01:15What are they called?
01:17Bullies, bulldogs.
01:18How long have you been either breeding, you breed them?
01:21Not breed them.
01:22I sent them off to get bred, so someone else breeds them.
01:25You bought a dog that's the subject of this case.
01:29Male or a female?
01:30It was a male at the time.
01:32And who did you buy it from?
01:34I bought it off Marketplace.
01:35Yeah, yeah.
01:36So it was like a, basically, it's a group called Bully Minnesota.
01:41I bought it off of there.
01:42When did you purchase it?
01:44August 23rd.
01:45Of this year or a year ago?
01:47A year ago, last year.
01:48And at some point, just so that we understand the social part of this case, you and the
01:55plaintiffs, according to them, have not gotten along?
01:58Never.
01:59Never?
02:00That fair to say?
02:01I wouldn't say never.
02:03But we do not get along.
02:04You've got to get along.
02:06Do you see your grandchildren?
02:08Not any longer, unfortunately.
02:10Okay.
02:11Had you before this incident?
02:13Yes.
02:14Really?
02:15Okay.
02:16This is what your case is about.
02:17It is your claim that the defendant, for one reason or another, couldn't keep this dog
02:22and gave it to you.
02:24Correct.
02:25And gave it to you in late May of 2024.
02:30Do you remember the date?
02:31Uh, we was moving, so basically, uh, I had asked someone to try to figure out somewhere
02:37for him to go.
02:38Was that your only dog?
02:39Uh, yeah.
02:40It was the only dog at the time that I had.
02:41Yep.
02:42So what date was it that...
02:44Uh, we moved into our apartment, I'll say, about May 1st.
02:48So it was along the lines of April or somewhere near there, like the end of April.
02:53Correct.
02:54Okay.
02:55Well, she says it was May that you contacted them about taking the dog.
02:59Uh, me personally, I never contacted her, because I never got along with her.
03:03Who did?
03:04Uh, her mother.
03:05Your mother contacted you.
03:06That's correct.
03:07Well, that's difficult.
03:09Okay.
03:11You never had any conversation with him about the dog?
03:15No.
03:16But I had conversation with my daughter, Courtney.
03:18She didn't buy the dog?
03:19No.
03:20He did?
03:20I don't know who bought the dog.
03:21Well, he...
03:22Is that right, Courtney?
03:23He bought the dog.
03:24Yeah, he bought, um...
03:27Uh, yeah, he bought the dog, but I re...
03:31When I found out that my grandmother, her mother, um, contacted her and she said she
03:37would watch the dog, then I reached out to her, um, to see when we could bring the dog
03:43to her or if she was picking the dog up.
03:44Okay.
03:45And do you remember what date that was?
03:47I don't remember the date, but I do have the messages on my phone.
03:51Could I see it?
03:51Yeah.
03:52Well, you just look at your phone and tell me.
03:56Um, I asked her if she was gonna take Paco April 22nd, uh, 2023.
04:02Okay.
04:03And can you read me the messages back and forth?
04:07Yes.
04:08So, April 22nd, I said, were you gonna take Paco?
04:12And she replied, uh, yeah, when can we get him?
04:16And I said, when are you able to?
04:18And then the next day, April 23rd, she said today, and then I said, okay, I have to do
04:23some things after work, um, and then I can get all of his stuff together around dinner
04:28time.
04:29Okay.
04:30Now, was that the first message?
04:31Because watching a dog, because you're moving, or giving a dog away are two entirely different
04:36things.
04:37Different.
04:38That's what this case is about.
04:39Mm-hmm.
04:40Mm-hmm.
04:41I personally never agreed to give him away.
04:42That's where the whole confusion came.
04:44I got it.
04:45So, you never had a conversation with the dog's owner about making a gift to you of
04:51this dog?
04:52I had a conversation with him when he, uh...
04:54When?
04:55The transfer of the dog.
04:57You, with him?
04:58Yes, ma'am.
04:59Okay.
05:00Tell me about that.
05:01And, uh, me and Charles, as he was getting out of the vehicle, and he was getting the dog
05:06cage for Paco, Tank, I looked him in his eyes, and it was a man's verbal agreement.
05:11I said, look, Charles...
05:12No, no, no, no.
05:13Don't tell me what...
05:14A man's verbal agreement.
05:15Yes, ma'am.
05:16You said he was getting...
05:17Yes, ma'am.
05:18And...
05:19He's unloading this.
05:20The dog, the dog is getting, uh, transferred out of the vehicle to me, into my custody.
05:25And I had said to, uh, Charles, I said, Charles, I said, if I take responsibility for this dog,
05:32I'm not giving this dog back.
05:35He said, oh, that's okay, ma'am, we're not allowed to have it at our new apartment, and
05:39I have a second child coming in.
05:41It's okay.
05:42I don't have time for this dog anymore.
05:43Do you remember...
05:44Shh, just a second.
05:45Do you remember that conversation, sir?
05:47All I will say is, I don't remember because, like I said, I was in a hurry...
05:52No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
05:54Let's get back.
05:55Did you drop the dog off and exchange it with Mr. Weiland?
06:02Yes, I did.
06:03Just a second.
06:04And now, and you know what the situation is now.
06:07He has just recounted to me that you said, all the things, we can't have the dog in our
06:14new apartment.
06:15Courtney, is that correct?
06:17Just listen to me.
06:18I want you to use your ears, not your mouth.
06:25Because I believe he said, well, if you have a dog too much, you don't clean the ears,
06:28they get an infection.
06:29They took the dog to the vet two days after they got him.
06:33Uh-huh is not an answer.
06:35Tara and William Whelan are suing their son-in-law, Charles Garrett, for the cost of a dog, vet bills,
06:52and filing a false restraining order.
06:55Now, that's a very simple question.
06:58Can you have the dog in your new apartment?
07:00No.
07:01And there was a second child coming along.
07:04Correct.
07:05So those things buttress what Mr. Weiland has just told me.
07:11That at the exchange, you live in a place where you can't have a dog.
07:16So now it becomes clear.
07:18Mr. Garrett.
07:19Yes, ma'am.
07:20You see how things change?
07:22Things change from the time you walk into that door and the time you get a little information.
07:26So what appears to have happened was you took the dog.
07:30Yes, ma'am.
07:31And you had the dog for about a month and a half.
07:33About a month.
07:34Two and a half.
07:35Two and a half.
07:36Maybe two months.
07:37And then from what I read, so cut to the chase.
07:40From what I read, your mother moved into the same apartment complex that they live in.
07:47That they live in.
07:48In me, yep.
07:49And your mother, therefore, could have a dog.
07:53Yes, ma'am.
07:54So you decided that it would be best for the dog to go with your mother.
08:00Yep, but the whole...
08:01Yeah, just a second.
08:02That's what this is about.
08:03Mm-hmm.
08:04So somehow the authorities got involved.
08:07Did authorities get involved?
08:08Yep.
08:09Yes, ma'am.
08:10The authorities got involved.
08:11Transfer the dog back to you and the dog with your mother now?
08:14Yep.
08:15The dog is so old.
08:16I don't want anything to even do with the dog.
08:17That's what I do.
08:18I sell them.
08:19I made them.
08:20I sell the puppies.
08:21Just a second.
08:22I want you to go slowly because I'm old.
08:24Oh, I got you.
08:25Sorry.
08:26You took the dog back to give to your mother.
08:29Mm-hmm.
08:30Uh-huh is not an answer.
08:32Yes, ma'am.
08:33And then what happened to the dog after that?
08:36The dog after that, uh...
08:38Just a second.
08:39She's listening to you and she's not going to say anything that's not true.
08:45Yep.
08:46So you better...
08:47What happened to the dog after you gave it to your mother?
08:50Oh, she was living...
08:51He was living with my mom for about two, three months.
08:54Two to three months?
08:55Yep.
08:56And then what happened?
08:57Uh...
08:58Well, she kept harassing my mom and walking their dog every time that we'll walk Paco.
09:02So basically, he's not sold, but I had gave him to my sister to watch until we move,
09:09because we'll be moving soon.
09:10I gotcha.
09:11Now I know exactly what happened.
09:13He did, in fact, say to you when he transferred the dog to you, and you were clear with him.
09:17You said, listen, I'm not taking responsibility.
09:19You have another dog.
09:20Yes, ma'am.
09:21Yes.
09:22I'm not taking responsibility for this dog, because there's lots to do with the dog,
09:26unless this is going to be our dog.
09:28Yes.
09:29Right now, it's not clear.
09:30You don't have anything on your messages that said this is just, you're just watching the
09:34dog for us.
09:35Is that right?
09:36Not in those words, no.
09:38Right.
09:39Okay.
09:40So this is what your lawsuit is about.
09:41Your lawsuit says you want the value of the dog.
09:44Correct.
09:45Why?
09:46I'm just asking you why.
09:47You used to see...
09:48You see, my problem is what he did was make you a gift, and then he took back the gift.
09:54Yes, you did.
09:55You made him a gift.
09:57I find that that conversation took place.
09:59You may have changed your mind, changed your mind with your mother, and then you changed
10:02your mind with your sister, and your sister's going to have the dog for three months.
10:05Before you know it, this dog is going to be really, really screwed up going from your
10:10house to their house, to your mother's house, to your sister's house, and then someplace,
10:14maybe back to your house.
10:16You shouldn't have a dog.
10:18That's what I do.
10:19You shouldn't have a dog.
10:20What do you think happens to a child within the first year of their life, if first they
10:25go to live with one person, and they attach to that one person, and then three months
10:31later, you say, well, we're going to send you to another person, and they attach to that
10:35person, because that's what they do.
10:37That's what children do.
10:38That's what dogs do.
10:39And then three months later, you take it, and you say, nah, I think I'm going to give
10:42this one to my sister to watch for me for a while.
10:45And then they attach to yet a third person.
10:49And then when you finally decide to be responsible, you say, well, nah, we're moving to a new place.
10:54I'm not exactly sure when, but then we're going to take the dog back from my sister.
10:59You know how selfish that sounds?
11:01Do you have any idea how selfish that sounds?
11:04You have two children?
11:06Yeah.
11:07Can you imagine the scenario of your children going from one foster home to another every
11:11three months?
11:12Can you imagine what that would do to your child?
11:14That's what you've done to the dog.
11:16Kind of like her daughter.
11:17What?
11:18It's kind of like her daughter.
11:19That's what she did to her daughter.
11:20So, I mean, you can't really compare to that.
11:22Excuse me?
11:23I raised my daughter.
11:24She was never in foster home.
11:26Shh, shh, shh, shh.
11:27Just a second.
11:28Okay.
11:29Would have been better.
11:30All right.
11:34There are reasons for everything.
11:36I would like to see you bought the dog, when you bought it, and how much you paid for it.
11:39Yep.
11:40That's right there.
11:47So is it my understanding that you paid $650 for the dog?
11:51Uh, I talked him down a little bit.
11:53What?
11:54I talked him down a little bit, negotiated with him.
11:56What did you finally pay for the dog?
11:57Uh, $500.
11:58Now, when you were finally required to turn the dog back over to him, according to what
12:04I read, he gave you some money for the dog food and for...
12:08Yes, I did.
12:09What?
12:10Be quiet.
12:11Yes, ma'am.
12:12How much did he give you?
12:13He gave me $200 in cash.
12:15Okay.
12:16When you got the dog, you took the dog to the vet.
12:19Yes, ma'am.
12:20You have a vet bill?
12:21Yes, ma'am.
12:22I'd like to take a look at it.
12:23May I say something, ma'am?
12:25Uh, when we received the dog, I noticed that the dog was in really rough shape.
12:30I...
12:31I understand.
12:32I just wanted to elaborate on...
12:34The dog came to us with double ear infections and everything else, and it stayed in there.
12:40Also, if you don't clean his ears within those two months, of course, it's going to build
12:45up.
12:46He was severely dehydrated.
12:48Just a second.
12:49None of that is true.
12:50They took the dog to the vet two days after they got him.
12:53Mm-hmm.
12:54I don't know what...
12:55That's not too much.
12:56I don't know what they did.
12:57So I want you to use your ears, not your mouth.
12:59Mm-hmm.
13:00Because I believe he said, well, if you have a dog two months, you don't clean the ears,
13:03they get an infection.
13:04Yeah, yeah.
13:05They took the dog to the vet two days after they got him.
13:07Mm-hmm.
13:08Uh-huh is not an answer.
13:10Yes, ma'am.
13:11I'm sorry.
13:12Okay, so they gave you medication for both the ears and an infection.
13:15Correct.
13:16And he gave you $200?
13:18Yes, ma'am.
13:19What did you do with it?
13:20Uh...
13:21Ma'am, I, uh...
13:22I know what you did with it.
13:23I ripped it up, ma'am.
13:24In the heat of the moment.
13:25Ripped it up and said he don't want it.
13:27Okay.
13:28That's what it says in the papers.
13:29Yes, ma'am.
13:30But it needed to appear on the record.
13:31And that was for food.
13:32That was for food.
13:33Well, the dog probably in the two months that you had spent, probably spent a couple of
13:38hundred dollars for food.
13:39It was more than that, ma'am.
13:40Maybe.
13:44This is his signature.
13:45He filed it June 18th, 2024.
13:47I don't remember signing that.
13:49If you need a psychiatrist or a neurologist, that's not my problem.
13:52You filed it.
13:53I mean, nobody could make this up, fool.
14:06Tara and William Wieland have accused their son-in-law, Charles Garrett, of wrongfully removing
14:13their dog and filing a false restraining order against them.
14:17Okay.
14:18He made a gift of the dog to you.
14:20Yes, ma'am.
14:21There was a clear understanding between you personally and the defendant.
14:26I don't care about your daughter or your mother-in-law or your wife.
14:30But there was a clear understanding with you, to whom he turned over the dog, that this wasn't
14:35I'm going to watch until you get ready.
14:37I'm going to take care of the dog.
14:39No givebacks.
14:40And his response to you that you outlined to me was totally consistent with the facts.
14:45They were moving into a place where they couldn't have dogs.
14:49Your daughter confirmed that.
14:50They still are living in the same place where they can't have dogs.
14:55He does clearly doesn't like you and clearly you're not crazy about him.
15:00So when opportunistically his mother moved from where she was living into your complex,
15:05if she could have a dog, he said, I'm going to give the dog to my mother rather than them.
15:09Yes, ma'am.
15:10Kept it for a while.
15:11Now, so you're entitled to what he paid for the dog.
15:13And he paid $500 for the dog.
15:15That's what he said.
15:16So that's what I'm awarding you for the dog.
15:18Plus the vet bills, which was $195.
15:21Now, you say the rest of your complaint is about filing a false restraining order.
15:27Yes, ma'am.
15:28Yes.
15:29Did you file a restraining order against him?
15:31I never filed one, so I don't even know where that came from.
15:33I did.
15:34You did?
15:35Just a second.
15:36You filed a restraining order against your parents?
15:38Parent.
15:39He's not my father, but yeah.
15:41Against your mother?
15:42Yeah.
15:43You filed a restraining order, but you're not a party to this proceeding.
15:46No, this is, um, it doesn't have anything to do with the dog.
15:49This is just simply because it just adds on.
15:52Just a second.
15:53The last part of your complaint is filing a false report that caused a temporary restraining order to be issued.
16:01Yeah.
16:02But he has to be the one that filed the false restraining order.
16:05He did, okay.
16:06He did?
16:07Yes.
16:08Yes, he did.
16:09Well, let me see what he did.
16:13So what you're saying is you never filed a restraining order.
16:24Take a look.
16:25I worked too much to file one.
16:26Take a look.
16:27So I know, and me...
16:33Yeah, I never filed one, so...
16:35That was one I...
16:36This is when she filed it.
16:38I never personally filed one.
16:39And I even told them I don't want to be a part of it,
16:41so I don't even know why my name's on here.
16:43This is between her, her daughter, and my mother, and my children.
16:46May I see that, please?
16:47That's nothing to do with me.
16:48Yeah.
16:49So I don't even know why my name's on there.
16:51Well, I'm looking at the signature...
16:54Mm-hmm.
16:55...on the signature page of the restraining order.
16:58Oh.
16:59Yeah, that's your signature.
17:01I never knew that I was even on a restraining order.
17:04She can stay her way, I can stay my way.
17:06I don't need no restraining order, so I don't even know how that came about.
17:10But I know with her and her daughter and my two children,
17:14that's probably why, because she don't want her to see the kids,
17:17which I understand why.
17:18You are Charles Garrett, aren't you?
17:20Yes, ma'am, I am.
17:21Okay.
17:22And this is Charles Garrett, petitioner against Tara Weiland.
17:27And even if it's not one...
17:296-6-2024.
17:32That's the day we got Paco back, yep.
17:34What happened with this case?
17:36It was dismissed, he never showed.
17:37But if possible, I am going to file another one,
17:40so I ain't even got a deal with none of this no more.
17:42You filed this one, sir.
17:43Well, no, it wasn't dismissed. Ours got denied,
17:46so then we petitioned it to see why it got denied.
17:49He signed this, he filed the petition.
17:52This is his signature, he filed it June 18th, 2024.
17:56I don't remember signing that.
17:57Well, so I...
17:59Listen, if you need a psychiatrist or a neurologist,
18:02that's not my problem.
18:03You filed it, you outlined.
18:05I mean, nobody could make this up, fool.
18:08I might have, I don't recall though, so...
18:11Right.
18:12Did you hire an attorney?
18:13I know personally, I never filed it.
18:14Well, be quiet.
18:15Did you hire an attorney?
18:16No, ma'am.
18:17You just went to court?
18:18Yeah.
18:19And it was dismissed, he never showed up?
18:21Correct.
18:22Okay.
18:23I had a restraining order that was placed on me
18:25that was supposed to be by my daughter, by his mother,
18:28and by him after I placed a restraining order only on his mother.
18:33And she was trespassed from my place of employment as well.
18:37It was retaliation.
18:38And so it was kind of retaliation, yeah.
18:40Whatever it is.
18:41And they were all dismissed.
18:42Whatever it is.
18:43The $695 is for the dog because he did, in fact, give the dog to you, sir.
18:49I believe what you're saying to me.
18:50And I'm fining him $2,000 for filing a restraining order that he did clearly file several months ago
18:55that for some...
18:56Uncross your arms.
18:58Oh, that's good.
18:59That for some reason or other now he doesn't remember and denies ever doing.
19:02Yes, ma'am.
19:03But he clearly did.
19:05Right, Courtney?
19:06Correct.
19:07Right.
19:08Okay.
19:09$2,695.
19:10Judgment for the plaintiff.
19:11We're finished here.
19:12Thank you, ma'am.
19:13This court is adjourned.
19:19She should never got nothing, but it is what it is.
19:22I mean, I can't fight with it.
19:24I'm just happy that they happy now.
19:26I'm very grateful for her decision.
19:28I filed it on my own reasons because I don't want her to keep harassing me or my children.
19:33And I just don't want any connection with her anymore.
19:37Just very hurt that my daughter is still, um, bullheaded.
19:41Just leave me alone.
19:42That's all that is, ma'am.
19:44It's in God's hands and faith will bring us together.
19:48The case had two parts for me, Sarah.
19:50The first one was irresponsible people should never be pet owners.
19:54And, you know, certain dogs, in my opinion, have potentially dangerous tendencies
20:00if they're not raised appropriately, physiologically.
20:04And this man bought a pit bull and has transferred it from one person to another.
20:11So it's been, it's bonded and then taken away.
20:14It's bonded and then taken away.
20:15And you wonder why an animal gets crazy, acts out after being,
20:22certainly I believe the dog was treated well with the plaintiffs.
20:25They cared enough about it that within two days they...
20:28Brought it to the vet.
20:29They took it to the vet.
20:30They felt that the animal wasn't appropriate weight,
20:35that it had, was annoyed in the ears.
20:38They spent money, clearly in anticipation of keeping the dog.
20:43He's just not a, just not a nice guy.
20:46It was so funny.
20:48My feeling when I looked at the papers and what actually happened was so totally different.
20:53Mm-hmm.
20:54You never know what you're going to get until they're in front of you.
20:55You know, on paper, paper it seemed pretty clear.
20:58Mm-hmm.
20:59But then there's a story unfolded.
21:00But your initial impression was so, you know, you can't judge a book by its cover.
21:05Got to get the information out for us.
21:06And the second part of that case is so sad because they, the daughter had clearly allowed her parents,
21:15her mother, to see the grandchildren up until the time of this incident.
21:19Mm-hmm.
21:20It's just unfortunate that, not that a dog isn't important,
21:23but something as small in comparison to a grandparent's relationship with a grandchild,
21:28as small as a dog and its ownership could ruin that relationship for both of them.
21:33Yes.
21:34But Courtney told the truth.
21:35Mm-hmm.
21:36And wanted to say to her, whether it's true or not,
21:3825 years from now you're not going to know the person standing to your immediate right.
21:42Mm-hmm.
21:43And that would be the father of her children.
21:45Mm-hmm.
21:46But that person's always going to be your mother.
21:48Choices.
21:49Yeah.
21:50It's all about choices.
21:51It's all about choices.
21:52Well, the kids and the, that's certainly that poor dog is suffering as a result of people's
21:57poor choices.
21:58That's unfortunate.
21:59Yeah.
22:00Are you a victim of an assault?
22:02Go to JudyJustice.tv.
22:04Whoisatoes.
22:16It's all about TAR-3.
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