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00:00You had a dog that you adored, and you wanted him cremated.
00:05I found a spot at a local park.
00:07She wanted me to dig up the animal's remains.
00:10I wanted my child cremated.
00:12He did not deserve this.
00:14He didn't.
00:15Sadness is a much more difficult emotion
00:19to deal with than anger.
00:22This is Judy Justice.
00:42April Johnson is suing her former neighbor, Joel Klocki, for damages after burying her
00:50deceased dog without permission.
00:53Court coming to order?
00:54All rise.
00:59Have a seat, please.
01:01Judge, case 4050, Johnson v. Klocki, you're welcome.
01:06Ms. Johnson, your lawsuit is in effect suing Mr. Klocki for failing to follow your request
01:16and for burying your dog in a location that you didn't select.
01:23Yes.
01:24So it's really an action for emotional distress, I suppose.
01:30Yes.
01:30And I read your case, and these are the facts as I understand them.
01:36You had a dog that you adored.
01:38That I understand.
01:40How long had you had the dog?
01:41Seventeen years, Your Honor.
01:43So I understand that he was your family.
01:47Yes.
01:48And he died.
01:49He had good life.
01:51Yes.
01:51I think the dog's name was what, Ice?
01:53Ice.
01:54And you wanted him cremated.
01:56Yes, Your Honor.
01:56But he passed away on a Friday.
01:59And the company that does cremation of animals wasn't available to get him.
02:04And from what you told me in your complaint, you would advise that you had to bring him
02:10to a vet center for the weekend because you couldn't keep the dog at home.
02:15It would not be possible.
02:16And the cremation company would pick the dog up from the vet center on Monday.
02:22Correct.
02:22So far, do I have the facts right?
02:24You do.
02:25You couldn't take care of that yourself.
02:27Mm-hmm.
02:28So you called Mr. Clonkey, who was a neighbor of yours?
02:31Yes.
02:32And other than being your neighbor, do you have any other dealings with him?
02:37Have you socialized with his family?
02:38No.
02:39None.
02:39Several, several occasions.
02:41I've given her rides and other favors as well.
02:44Okay.
02:44So calling him, you were not calling him as a friend.
02:47You were calling him, he was your neighbor, and I gather you had no one else to call.
02:52Can I say something else?
02:53Yes.
02:54That was before my baby passed away.
02:58Yes.
02:59I might need a ride to the store.
03:01I paid him.
03:03No, I'm not talking about that.
03:04I'm talking specifically.
03:06Yes.
03:07You called him on the Friday that Ice passed away.
03:10Yes.
03:11Because he was your neighbor.
03:13Right.
03:13And you couldn't take care of it yourself, so you were calling to ask him a favor.
03:18Right.
03:18That's correct.
03:19And he agreed to do you this favor and to bring the dog to the vet center, which was
03:26a very lovely thing for him to do.
03:28You would agree?
03:29I would agree.
03:30You would agree, because he had to come to your house.
03:32He had to lift your dead dog into his truck or car and take it someplace.
03:40Well, that's a big deal.
03:42That's not a little deal.
03:44And as it turned out, according to Mr. Clunky, when he took the dog to the vet center, which
03:52you did.
03:53Yes.
03:53Is that correct?
03:54Yes.
03:55Which vet center?
03:56The Blue Pearl.
03:57They would also not hold the animal over the weekend, because it had been deceased already.
04:03They would not hold it over the weekend.
04:04And Blue Pearl was where you had called?
04:08Sure.
04:08Just answer my question.
04:09That's a yes or a no.
04:10Yes, I called.
04:11He says he took the dog in his car and took the dog to Blue Pearl.
04:16And when you picked up the dog and took it to the place where you had called, did you try
04:23to contact her?
04:24I tried all day and then some of the next morning, and there was no answer because I did get
04:29a hold
04:30of her eventually, two days later, and she said she was because she was grieving, which is understandable.
04:35Of course.
04:36But she did not answer the phone.
04:37So what Mr. Clunky says is he could not leave the dog at Blue Pearl because they wanted $200
04:45to hold the dog until the cremation company would come and pick the dog up.
04:52It's not something that they did free.
04:54Actually, it's for a private to keep the ashes is $532.25 to drop it off in full end payment.
05:03So in order to drop the dog off to the cremation company, I thought you said it was $200.
05:11That's for just the common cremation, which you do not get the ashes back.
05:15They needed payment in full for if she wanted to keep the ashes and have a burial service like she
05:20intended.
05:20It was $532.
05:23Well, did they ask you for that money?
05:25Yes.
05:25Absolutely.
05:26It has to be paid in full.
05:27So you didn't have the money, which is what you say in your answer.
05:32So tell us what you did with the dog.
05:35I found a spot at a local park not far from where we live, about three miles, and buried
05:42it off in the woods there at the park.
05:44And that's what you're suing for.
05:46Yes.
05:51That's when I just had it.
05:53I called him.
05:54I said, Joel, you're going to take me to go see my baby's grave.
05:57You're going to get a shovel.
05:58You're going to dig him up.
05:59We're going to have him cremated.
06:01He cussed me out, called me a crazy old woman, and hung the phone up in my face.
06:16April Johnson claims her former neighbor, Joel Clarkie, buried her deceased dog, Ice, without
06:23her permission.
06:25Now, but before you buried the dog, according to you, you took the dog's collar.
06:31A collar and a piece of fur for her, her request.
06:35Well, she had requested that not before you'd buried the dog, but she had requested that
06:40from the place where you were supposed to take the dog.
06:43No, no, no.
06:43She requested it in person as I was carrying the animal out to my vehicle.
06:47Okay.
06:48By the way, how much did this dog weigh?
06:50Forty-ish pounds.
06:51What kind of dog was it?
06:53I have no idea.
06:54What kind of dog?
06:54He was a Jack Russell Terrier mixed with a Schnauzer.
06:58So as you were carrying the dog out, she asked you, because that's something that you wouldn't
07:02think of ordinarily.
07:03Correct.
07:03You wanted the collar and a tuft of fur.
07:06Yes.
07:06And you did bring that to her.
07:08I put it in a Ziploc bag and brought it back.
07:10Did you get the dog's collar?
07:12I got the dog's collar, but I had to go over to his house to get it before that.
07:18I don't care whether you had to go to the house to get it, madam.
07:20Okay.
07:21But I did get the collar and the hair.
07:24And the hair, which he brought you.
07:25What I asked for.
07:26But he never made it to the hospital.
07:28Well, I don't know whether he made it to the hospital or not.
07:31Because I called.
07:32Well, whether he made it to the hospital or not, it's sad that you didn't get your dog's ashes,
07:40if that's what you wanted.
07:42Did he offer to take you to where he had buried the dog?
07:45Yes.
07:46Okay.
07:46Yes, he did.
07:47And the dog passed away on what date?
07:51Friday, April 19th.
07:53And when did he offer to take you over to where he had buried the dog?
07:56That was like the same day, like that Sunday, which was like the 21st, 22nd, and then...
08:03So shortly thereafter.
08:05Right, but I never did make it there.
08:07Just a second.
08:08That's not what I asked you, Ms. Johnson.
08:11Yes.
08:12He said he buried the dog, and he offered to take you to the spot where he had buried the
08:17dog, right?
08:17Yes.
08:18And that was shortly after he had buried the dog.
08:21So you would have seen whether there was a fresh grave.
08:24You would have seen that.
08:25You chose not to go.
08:27That's not true.
08:28He never took me.
08:30Oh, did you say you wanted to go?
08:32I said I wanted to go, but then he told me first, I will take you.
08:35I said, okay.
08:37Then like maybe say the next day, I get ready.
08:40I'm sitting on the porch.
08:41I said, Joel, I'll be ready.
08:42Oh, if something happened to his roommate.
08:46Oh, my truck broke down.
08:48Oh, this, oh, that.
08:49Okay, so you never got to go there.
08:51I never got to go.
08:52I don't know where my child is.
08:54I'm going to interject just for a second.
08:56Okay, so, and I was going to take her.
08:58I am a busy man.
08:59I do.
08:59Let's slow down, sir.
09:01I'm sorry.
09:01I apologize.
09:02I do have a job.
09:03I do have other obligations.
09:04And when I finally had a chance to take her, she was not good enough.
09:08No, no, no.
09:09She wanted me to dig up the animal's remains and then retake it over to have them cremated.
09:14Okay.
09:15Is that what she told you?
09:16That is exactly what she told me.
09:18And how much after you had buried the dog did you have that conversation?
09:22Two weeks.
09:22Do you remember, Ms. Johnson, having that conversation with Mr. Klonke?
09:27That was down the line.
09:29That's when I just had it.
09:31I called him.
09:32I said, Joel, you're going to take me to go see my baby's grave.
09:36You're going to get a shovel.
09:37You're going to dig him up.
09:38We're going to go to Faithful Friends Cremation Service and I'm going to have him cremated.
09:44He cussed me out, called me a crazy old woman, and hung the phone up in my face.
09:50And I'm looking at the phone like this.
09:52I know he did not say that to me.
09:55I did call her crazy because...
09:56Just a second.
09:57Just a second.
09:58Yes, ma'am.
09:58That was not an appropriate way to respond to you.
10:03But I will tell you that going and asking him at that point to go and dig the dog up
10:09from where he had buried the dog to take a dog, that's not his job.
10:13You would ask him to do you a favor.
10:15So I understand that's what the case is about.
10:17It's not a difficult case.
10:19What I want to ask you is, why do you think it's worth $10,000, which is what you're suing
10:26him for?
10:26It's because he has caused me a lot of pain, heartache.
10:30No, what your pain is, is that your dog died.
10:32You have to come to terms with the fact that you're sad because your dog died.
10:39And you asked somebody to do you a favor.
10:42They didn't do it to your specifications, which were unfortunate and sad.
10:48Trying to put a monetary value on that is almost impossible.
10:55It's really almost impossible.
10:57What would, Ms. Johnson, I'm just asking you, what do you think $10,000 would do for you?
11:02I know that it will not bring my little boy back.
11:05Of course not.
11:05But nothing's going to bring it back.
11:06Right.
11:07He was 17 years old.
11:08That's how old he was.
11:10Right.
11:10That's like somebody living to be 105.
11:13That's a great life.
11:14So you don't want to bring him back.
11:17He was probably very sick for a while before he passed away because he was a very senior dog.
11:24A 40-pound dog who lives to be 17 is miraculous and a testament to your good mothering.
11:32Mm-hmm.
11:32That's true.
11:34Right.
11:34But I don't understand how you think a monetary award of $10,000, that would be punishing him substantially
11:44for really trying to do you a favor.
11:46Coming over, picking up, that's not an easy thing to do.
11:50Picking up a dead animal, keeping it for a period of time in a car, in a truck.
11:54Taking it anywhere, whether it's to a vet center or to a place to bury it, that's not a little
12:01deal.
12:01But, Your Honor, like I said, I asked him if he could take him.
12:05I had the address and phone number to Blue Pearl.
12:08I didn't know anything about Blue Pearl Emergency Hospital until Mr.
12:12From Faithful Friends Cremation Service gave me that.
12:16He said, whoever you get to take your baby out of there, we will come on that Monday to get
12:22him and cremate him.
12:23Oh, I understand exactly. I laid that out.
12:25And so I asked Joel to do, and he did.
12:27But that Sunday, I called the next day to remind them that I needed his collar, I needed his hair.
12:34And that's when this lady told me, we do not have your baby.
12:38Fine.
12:38And I'm like...
12:39Yeah, yes. We don't have your baby. That's true.
12:42Because he says, he took the dog and he buried it. That's not answering my question, Ms. Johnson.
12:47But he says, that's not what we discussed about.
12:50And he went over my head, didn't even say nothing.
12:52It's not as if he...
12:53You know...
12:54Ms. Johnson, that's not what I asked you.
12:56Unreachable.
12:56That's not what I asked you, and that's not what I said.
13:01Ms. Johnson, sadness is a much more difficult emotion to deal with than anger.
13:08Are you still neighbors?
13:09No.
13:10Who moved?
13:11He did.
13:12He jumped up and ran. He moved.
13:14I did not have a friend.
13:15You think he ran away from you?
13:27April Johnson has accused her former neighbor, Joel Clarkie, of burying her deceased dog in a field instead of cremating
13:36him.
13:36What I asked you was, how you think $10,000 is an appropriate punishment for somebody who is doing you
13:44a favor?
13:44I feel like he should be paid for what he did. I mean, pay back for what he did.
13:48Well, I'm asking you, how's that going to make you feel better?
13:50It's not making me feel bad. I'm just ill behind this one. This has caused me more health problems. It's
13:59caused me to take more medication.
14:00I have been stretched out for these six months, not knowing where my child is. His dog got killed on
14:08a highway on the side of the road.
14:11He had a chance to say goodbye to his baby. I didn't. I didn't have that chance to say goodbye
14:16to my child.
14:17You did. The dog was with you when he died.
14:19When he died. But yes, but that's not, I didn't, I wanted my child cremated.
14:24Okay, I understand.
14:25He did not deserve this. He didn't.
14:27He didn't deserve this.
14:28He did not.
14:29Just a second week.
14:30My child did not deserve to be in no ground because that's not what I told him. That's not what
14:38I told him to do.
14:39I gave him, I said, please drop him off at the hospital. Here's the address. Here's the phone number.
14:45Faithful friends are coming on Monday.
14:46Did you give him any money?
14:47No, he didn't ask for any money.
14:49I didn't ask you whether he asked for it.
14:51No, ma'am, I did not.
14:51I did not.
14:52No, ma'am, I did not.
14:53Just a second. When you called to inquire about the cremation, did you ask how much it would cost?
15:00Just a second.
15:01Okay.
15:01That's a yes or a no. Did you ask how much it would cost?
15:04The hospital told me I didn't have to ask them.
15:06Okay.
15:06And what did they tell you?
15:07They told me it would have been $175 to keep him there to hope.
15:12Okay.
15:12To keep him there, did you give Joe $175?
15:15Because Joe did.
15:16No, ma'am.
15:17No, ma'am.
15:18So you did not.
15:19And he did you a favor, but you didn't give him any money.
15:22Mm-hmm.
15:22Is that what I'm hearing?
15:24And then didn't answer the phone.
15:25Don't speak.
15:26Sorry, sorry.
15:27I'm asking you a question.
15:29They told you it was $175.
15:31He picked up the dog.
15:33Why didn't you give him $175?
15:35Who was supposed to pay the $175?
15:37I was supposed to have paid.
15:38Just a second.
15:39Well, why didn't you give it to him?
15:40He didn't ask.
15:41He doesn't have to ask.
15:42You asked him to take the dog to the vet center.
15:45You knew it was $175.
15:48No, ma'am.
15:49You told me that you knew it.
15:50You told me that you didn't have to ask.
15:52I did not know until I called that Sunday.
15:54They told me how much it would have been.
15:57Yes, they told you.
15:58And I asked you whether you gave him any money.
16:01You said no.
16:02I did not.
16:02OK.
16:03Ms. Johnson, sadness is a much more difficult emotion
16:09to deal with than anger.
16:12So I can understand you being sad that I died
16:16and was your companion, no longer there,
16:18a mother of a wonderful life.
16:20You asked your neighbor to do you a favor.
16:23He did you a favor.
16:24Despite the fact that you were told how much it would cost,
16:28you didn't give him any money.
16:30He said, I didn't have $175.
16:32Whatever it was, you said $175.
16:34He says $500 for the whole package.
16:37But whatever it is, if it was $175,
16:39you didn't give him the money and he buried the dog.
16:42You asked him to bring a collar and a tuft of hair,
16:47both of which he did.
16:49And it's unconscionable for me to even consider awarding you
16:53what you're asking for, which is $10,000,
16:56because your dog wasn't cremated when you did nothing.
17:02Nothing.
17:03You were told what it would cost.
17:05He took the animal, not an easy thing to do,
17:08to where you asked him to take the animal to.
17:11You did not provide him with the resource to leave the animal there
17:15because you didn't give him any money.
17:16No, I did not.
17:17No, you did not.
17:18Are you still neighbors?
17:20No.
17:21Who moved?
17:22He did.
17:23Okay.
17:23He jumped up and ran.
17:25He moved.
17:26You think he ran away from you?
17:28That and probably his apartment,
17:30because he rented out his apartment to a couple.
17:32And the people who owned the place,
17:34they're after him, so.
17:36Whatever.
17:37Ms. Johnson, you don't have the case against him.
17:39I'm sorry.
17:40Case is dismissed.
17:41This court is adjourned.
17:48He did not do what I asked him to do
17:50or what Mr. from Faithful Friends asked me to ask him to do.
17:54Protocol, was I supposed to drop the animal off
17:57and $175 that I did not have?
17:59Um, and then they, after that,
18:02she wanted me to keep it over the weekend in my truck.
18:05Uh, not gonna happen.
18:06He took it upon himself and did what he wanted to do.
18:10The neighbor doing a favor,
18:11and I'm getting ridiculed for doing a favor.
18:13He's in a better place,
18:14but I really prefer if he had been at his final home as cremation.
18:19I understand completely she's upset.
18:21No animosity on my end.
18:22I know why she's upset.
18:24Uh, just not with me.
18:27You know, this has been a theme I think we've seen a little bit over the last few cases,
18:31is that, just like you said,
18:32sadness is a much more difficult emotion to deal with than anger.
18:37And here, as soon as we read the papers,
18:39I thought I was gonna see a very different defendant than the one we saw today.
18:42I thought I would see, I don't know, some sort of ill will or deception or...
18:48I didn't really know what.
18:49But then what came in front of us was just a neighbor trying to be neighborly and help out.
18:54And unfortunately, the plan didn't work out how the plaintiff wanted to.
18:58But like you said, that was not worth, forget $10,000, that wasn't worth any amount of money.
19:04He did what he thought was best and with the options that he had at the time.
19:07If you don't answer your phone and you don't provide any money...
19:10So without providing any of those things, I think it's easier to be angry than it is to just be
19:16sad,
19:16which obviously I could tell she still was.
19:18To me, that's such a difficult thing.
19:21Maybe because as animal lovers, maybe he is, maybe he is not.
19:25I don't know. She said he had a dog.
19:26Yeah.
19:27But picking up and carrying a large dog...
19:32Traumatic.
19:33...and putting it in your car and having to take it anywhere is a big ask.
19:38And then not only that, you could tell he had good will.
19:41He buried the dog.
19:43I mean, I know we've had animals in our family that have passed away and have asked loved ones to
19:47help,
19:48you know, in the backyard, dig a safe place for the dog and make it beautiful.
19:52And we've seen what the end result of digging a nice place for an animal is.
19:57And that's not a small ask either.
19:59No.
19:59He wasn't complaining one bit about doing any of that.
20:02No, we had small dogs.
20:02Yeah, no. And we had tiny dogs, not 40 pound dogs.
20:05And so for him to actually go find a nice wooded area, actually dig a grave,
20:10that is almost more work than just taking the dog from the neighbor's house to wherever he was supposed to
20:15take it.
20:16So I think unfortunate all in all, but again, not his fault.
20:19Yeah, I don't know how you put a monetary figure on not following my instructions on a favor.
20:28Are you a victim of an assault? Go to judyjustice.tv.
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