This was a terrible incident.
Um, he started screaming in my face.
And I told him that he needed to leave and he wasn't.
[crying] Sorry. [sniffles]
Just take a minute.
They're lying.
You were belligerent and you were angry.
Yes.
You didn't act smart.
[narrator] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music plays]
John Wheet is suing vet assistants Heather Shilling and Hannah Hensley
for damages from an assault.
[bailiff] Court, come to order. All rise.
Have a seat, please.
- Case 21-22, Wheet/ Shilling, Hensley. - Thank you.
You're welcome.
[Judy] Mr. Wheet, it is your claim that the defendants assaulted you.
Yes, Your Honor.
And this is what I gather from reading your complaint.
On August 10th of this year,
your cat was injured. How was your cat injured?
That I don't know. The morning of August 10th, I had let him outside.
When he came back in, he was acting peculiar.
I picked him up and noticed that he had two long, deep gashes
between his chest and stomach.
At what time was this?
Approximately 10:45, 10:30.
[Judy] And the Defendants work at the vet where you have taken the cat before?
Not this particular cat. I have three cats total.
And I had good service from them, so I...
- [Judy] So... - Naturally, I went back.
They work at a vet where you had taken an animal,
- maybe not this one, before? - Correct.
So, at that time, you put the cat in the car
and drove over to where the vet's office is?
Yes.
[Judy] And during that time,
they had a COVID protocol in the vet's office.
And the protocol, I assume... Correct me if I'm wrong.
Because I know I've taken my pets to the vet during COVID.
You get to the parking lot, you call,
they come out, they check in the animal and what's wrong,
and then they come out when someone is ready to see the animal.
They bring them inside. You don't come into the office.
- Is that your protocol? - Correct.
Is that your COVID protocol?
It was in a couple vets where I took our dogs.
- Were you aware of that protocol? - No, Your Honor, not at all.
So, tell me what happened when you got to the vet's office?
- Is there a parking lot? - [John] There is. I...
There was one other vehicle there pulled up in the front of the door.
The very first...
The papers indicate there is a chart
or video of the parking lot. Is that correct?
We drew a diagram that they based that on.
[Judy] Okay.
So, that would be a fair representation, sir, of the vet clinic,
and there are parking spaces in front of it?
- I believe so. - Where did you park?
- [Judy] Yes, please. - My car...
I'm assuming, at this point, the main door is approximately over here.
Okay.
The vehicle that I was mentioning is parked here.
And I was parked here.
- But you were parked right in front? - Yes.
- Okay. Is that right? - Yes.
[Judy] Great.
Okay, so what happened when you got there?
Well, I walked around the back of the car, got the cat out.
He was in the passenger seat in the cat carrier.
And I went immediately up to the door, and I don't know the defendants' names,
but the younger of the two, she was already out front with a...
- The young lady in the blue sweater? - Yes.
- Is that who you're talking about? - Yes.
- [Judy] What is your last name? - Hensley.
- [Judy] Miss Hensley. - She was already outside with a customer.
- Your Honor, that wasn't... - Shh! Don't. Don't.
- Okay. - Don't speak.
Okay, so you say Miss Hensley was already outside with another patient?
I thought it was Miss Hensley.
It could have been another lady that worked there
but was similar in youth and...
Okay. So, somebody came out and was talking to another...
They were already there.
So, they stopped me. I was proceeding up to the door.
And like I say, I have pictures of the signage that they have.
So, you can't read the signage until you get right up on top of it.
Okay, so you went to the door, and what happened?
- I went to go in, and I was stopped. - [Judy] By whom?
- The lady that was outside. - Okay.
And the person who was outside stopped you.
And said that you couldn't go in, so I stopped.
I told them that it was an emergency. That my cat was injured.
- You told the lady outside? - The lady outside. Absolutely.
I told them he was injured
and that he needed to see somebody immediately, the vet,
and they suggested that I needed to call,
and I couldn't understand because I was already there.
I said, "Can't you go inside and let them know I was here?"
That seemed reasonable to me.
What they told you was to get back in your car with the cat...
- No. - And call the...
- No. - Or just call?
- Just call, so I said... - So, she was talking to the person.
Who I assume was a female because you say Miss Hensley.
Miss Hensley, or someone resembling her.
They were taking care of another patient that was outside?
Yeah, they stopped me before I got...
- [Judy] And said, "Stop. Call"? - Correct.
Right? And you were upset. You said,
"Well, why can't you just go inside and tell them I'm here?"
- [John] Yeah, the... - Because she was with somebody else.
Well, it appeared to me that they were done.
- Okay, I don't care what appeared to... - But yeah...
She was outside with somebody else. She told you to call. What happened next?
Well, I set the cat down,
and I actually sat on the concrete and waited.
- That person... - [Judy] Waited for what?
That person left.
As soon as they got done talking with me, they went into the building.
And I waited about five minutes.
And then I guess it was Miss Hensley, now.
She came out and asked me now if I had an appointment.
My cat's name. I said no.
And I told her... I said no. It was an emergency.
and then she told me at that time that there was no vet on duty.
And so, then that's when I got up. I was upset.
I said that I needed to leave. I did use an expletive.
What did you say?
Well, I said I needed to get the F out of there so I could get some help.
- [Judy] Okay. - And then I was... I picked up my cat.
In the carrier. And I was proceeding to leave.
- [Judy] And? - That's when the other plaintiff...
[Judy] Miss Shilling came out.
And she confronted me, and she started into a huge rant
about how she wasn't gonna stand there and listen to this or whatever.
- Were you shouting at Miss Hensley? - No. No.
[Judy] No. She told you there was no vet on duty.
- [John] Right. - And you got up.
And you said, "I'm going to get the beep out of here."
- [John] Correct. - That's it?
Yeah, the fact that I had waited five minutes.
I was, you know... It was upsetting.
- So then, when she... - [Judy] Miss Shilling came out, and...
She started into a huge rant.
What did she say? Rant is a conclusion. What did she say?
Well, she had her voice raised. She was shouting at me.
What did she say?
She said that she wasn't gonna stand there
and let me say things to this other woman.
So, then I just looked at her, and I told her, basically, to shut up.
- So, um... - Is that what you said to her?
I told her to shut the F up.
[Judy] Okay, so you, again, used an expletive.
- Yes. There was no reason for her... - Shh!
- I'm just asking you what happened. - Yes.
- [Judy] So, you told her to shut up? - [John] I did.
- [Judy] And? - That's when she came over.
She was probably about three feet away.
And she stepped right over into me, and she put her body on mine.
So, she stepped right into me, pushed me back with her body,
and she told me, "I'm not afraid of you. I'm not intimidated by you."
And I told her, "Don't touch me."
"Get off of me."
And I told her twice, and she never moved.
I put my cat down, and I moved her off of me.
- What do you mean, I...? - I just... I pushed her back off of me.
You put your hands on her?
She was already on me.
[Judy] How was she on you, sir? What physical part of the defendant?
Her chest, her entire body, was leaning on me.
At that point. She body-checked me.
I'd like you to go over there
and show me where Miss Shilling came out
and where the three of you were standing.
- Okay. I have pictures as well. - Okay.
- So, here being the front door. - [Judy] Yeah, right.
And here was the box where I was sitting.
When I picked up the cat, I moved over to here.
When she came out the door, she was approximately here.
And then, she moved over to me
and put her body on mine.
If... When Miss Hensley came out and told you there was no vet,
why didn't you just get into your car?
I was leaving.
Well, when she came out, why didn't you just go into your car?
No, no. The first lady I encountered never told me there was no vet.
No, no, no. I understand that. When Miss Hensley came out
and told you there was no vet, why didn't you just get into your car?
I was leaving. I had picked up my cat and literally was walking away.
I'd walked from here to approximately here.
In that meantime, she came out, and I had my back to her at first,
and she started to yell.
- He wasn't. He was yelling in my face. - Shh! Just a second.
I'm gonna let you have a turn as soon as he's finished. Go ahead.
She started to yell at me, and that's when I told her.
Okay. Go back.
- Thank you. - [Judy] Then what happened?
Now she put her body on you.
You put both hands on her and pushed her back.
- To push her off of me. - Then what happened?
[John] Then she struck me.
- [Judy] How did she strike you? - With her open hand.
- Where did she strike you? - On my face.
Okay, when you pushed her, she slapped you.
- She did. - And next?
And then the other one slapped me.
She reached over her shoulder and slapped me.
- [Judy] Okay, on the face? - [John] On the face.
- And then? - And then we started to argue.
And it was just yelling back and forth.
Then that gentleman came out of the vehicle
that was in that first spot,
and he kind of defused the engagement,
and that's when she told me, "Just leave. Leave."
I felt safe enough to turn at that point,
and I went and put my cat back in the car,
and that's when the lady in the blue ran behind my car,
said, "Don't let him leave."
Ran behind my car and placed her body on my car.
- [Judy] And? - And that's when I told her...
I said, "You can't keep me..."
"You can't detain me here. I'm going to take my cat someplace
where I can get him some medical."
And I moved her away from my car.
- [Judy] How did you move her? - With my hands.
- [Judy] So you... Okay. - Open hands.
That's when she turned and struck me with her fist.
Broke my glasses. Gave me a black eye.
I was defending myself at that point. I had my hands up. She was...
I'm all cut up on this...
That's when I finally grabbed her by her hair and pulled her off of me.
Which one did you grab by the hair?
The brunette.
What was he saying to you?
Sorry. It's a lot, reliving it.
He started screaming in my face,
and I don't even remember... I'm so sorry.
I don't remember exactly what he was saying.
It was really scary. That's all I know.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] John Wheet claims vet assistants
Heather Shilling and Hannah Hensley owe for damages
after he was assaulted in the parking lot.
Okay. Now, prior to her going behind your car,
you had had no physical interaction with her.
- With Miss... - Other than her hitting me.
- [Judy] She slapped you? - Correct.
Okay. Got it. Okay. Miss Hensley, you came out at some point?
- Mm-hmm. - What do you do for the vet?
I am a vet assistant.
- How long have you worked for the vet? - Like a year and a half.
- You've worked for them all during COVID? - Yes.
Is this the first incident that you've had while you've been working at this vet?
Yes.
- How long have you been working there? - Ten years now.
Have you ever had another incident like this?
- Either during COVID or before? - Not like this, Your Honor.
I've had to call the police before. We've had threats.
We've had people shouting, of course.
Animals bring out emotions. But never has anything ever been physical.
Did you know Mr. Wheet from prior visits with other cats?
I did not. I do know that we had seen one cat once before.
And that actually was during COVID.
- [Judy] During COVID? - Yes.
So you checked, and it was the same COVID protocol?
Yes. We've had the same protocol for... since COVID started.
Okay, so the last time you took a cat there,
you were familiar with the COVID protocol.
- Think about what you're saying to me. - [John] Okay.
The last time you took a cat there was during COVID,
so you were familiar with the COVID protocol.
I believe I might have called before I went there.
And you waited in the parking lot. Somebody came out, took the cat inside...
- I believe so. - [Judy] And that's the protocol.
And the reason that you didn't do that this time
is because you felt as if it was an emergency.
Yeah, I was not aware of any protocol.
- Yes, you were. - No.
Oh, yes. Of course you were.
Of course you were aware of the protocol, sir.
The woman outside told you there was a protocol.
She said you have to call first,
and she was speaking to somebody out in the parking lot.
You've had animals for a long time. When I go to the vet,
there usually isn't somebody in the parking lot.
You know that there's a protocol
because you know somebody else was out there talking to a patient
and said to you, "You have to call first."
- After... Yes. - And said, "You have to call first."
Now, you want to tell me what happened when you first interacted with him?
Yes, so he was sitting outside,
so I went out and told him that he'd have to call to check in.
That we were curbside, and he said he wasn't calling anybody.
And I told him I was very sorry. That was not how we ran things.
That he had to check in over the phone, and we'd come out and bring in his cat.
He said he wasn't doing that. That he wanted to see a doctor then.
And was like, "We cannot do that."
Then I asked him, did he have an appointment?
What's the cat's name. I'm not even sure what we're dealing with.
I need to get an idea of what we're dealing with.
And I think he said the name of the cat was Pebbles.
I don't know. I'm not sure.
I asked if he had an appointment. He said no.
And then I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "The cat's bleeding out."
"She's dying." Something along the lines of that.
Screamed at my face.
And so I said, "Sir, I'm so sorry. You need to go to an emergency clinic."
"We don't have a vet today."
Then he started screaming in my face. Got up screaming in my face.
- "F you. F this." - Just a second. Was there a vet there?
No, we were doing tech appointments that day, so just, like, nail trims.
Things like that. Things we can do without a doctor.
- So there was no vet there? - Yeah, there was no vet.
So, you told him, "You have to go to an emergency room?"
- [Hannah] Yes. - [Judy] When you said there was shouting.
What was he saying to you?
- He was basically saying, "F you." - No, not basically.
It happened a long time ago, so honestly, I don't remember the exact words.
Okay, so you don't remember exactly what he said to you. He was angry?
Okay, he sort of acknowledges that he was angry.
- Then what happened? - I'm sorry. It's a lot, reliving it.
I'm sorry. [sniffs]
I'm sorry. Um.
He started screaming in my face that...
we weren't helping.
And that he would be leaving, but he was still screaming in my face.
And I don't even remember... I'm so sorry.
I don't remember exactly what he was saying.
[Judy] Just take a minute.
It was really scary. That's all I know. [crying]
I told him he needed to leave and he wasn't.
That's when Heather finally came out.
And told him he needed to leave. She got between us and was like,
"Sir, you need to leave now." And kept saying, "You need to leave now."
And he kept screaming in our faces,
and she was like, "I won't have you screaming at my girls."
That's what he's referring to when she got into his face.
She did step into his face to push him away
because he needed to leave,
and she said, "You're not gonna be screaming at my girls."
He still was being belligerent, not leaving.
At that point, he spit in my face, and that's what caused me to shove him.
- [Hannah] And then he... - [Judy] When you said...
We'll stop for a second. You came outside because you heard an altercation.
- Yes. - What happened when you came outside?
So, I did come at them. I stood in between the two of them.
I told him he needed to leave. He needed to leave now.
Um, I told him I wasn't going to have him talking to my girls like that.
That wasn't appropriate. He needed to leave.
And he was still shouting, and then that's when he spit in my face.
And then I did push him away to get back from me.
And he stepped forward. I did smack him with an open hand.
And then he pushed me.
And what he's leaving out is he actually grabbed my scrub top.
And he was pulling on my scrub top.
And that's why Hannah had stepped back in.
She tried to get his arm off,
which probably is where the scratches came from.
And he grabbed her scrub top at the same time,
so there was more contact than was...
[Judy] Where was the cat?
The cat was actually behind me. He had left the cat there.
Sounds like a little bit more, Mr. Wheet, than what you told me.
- In your narrative. - No, no. They're lying.
First off, she said that...
When she just admitted to the fact that she told me that I needed to call.
And that's the first thing I said when I came and pulled up
is that the person I met outside at the beginning told me...
- That wasn't the lie. - ...I needed to call.
[Judy] Shh. Yes?
[John] And she just said she told me that I needed to call.
There would've been no reason for the second person to come out
and tell me that I needed to call.
At that point, they came out and told me...
Asked me if I had an appointment. And I said no.
That it was an emergency. I had my cat the entire time with me
until I put him down in order to push her off of me.
That's the only time I put my cat down, and he was next to me the whole time.
I would not have left my cat between her and me.
Mr. Wheet, these people have been in business for a very long time.
Is it just possible, sir, that because of the circumstances
and you were there with a cat who was bleeding out,
that you were high energy
and maybe not totally composed?
I mean, I have two people working...
At least one who's worked for the same vet for ten years.
You've used this vet before.
You haven't had a problem with this vet before,
and she's been there ten years. And I assume that...
At least she tells me she's never had an incident like this before.
So, I can actually imagine.
You know, I'm trying to put myself here.
Somebody comes out and says to you, "We don't have a vet on duty."
Which you probably didn't believe at the moment.
No, I did.
[Judy] Well, if you believed there was no vet on duty,
why didn't you just walk into your car? Why did you say anything to her?
Why did you use an expletive?
Why was there any need to have any communication at all with her?
If there's no vet here. "Okay, I better get my animal to..."
Well, Your Honor, when I first pulled in and I had that conversation
with whoever that worked there...
And I'll use that term loosely. Whoever. They knew what I was there for.
Don't tell me what anybody else knew, sir.
You were not told there was no vet inside by the first person that you encountered?
No, that's wrong.
No, I was absolutely right, sir, in what I said to you.
So say, "Yes, ma'am."
Yes, ma'am.
Right.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] John Wheet has accused vet assistants
Heather Shilling and Hannah Hensley
of injuring him after an assault in the parking lot.
- [Judy] Go ahead. - I explained that it was an emergency.
One second. The person you were talking to you just told me was dealing
with another client who had another animal in the parking lot.
- I told them it was an emergency. - [Judy] Okay.
Well, you know, one man's emergency is not... How is the cat?
- Now? - Yes.
The cat's fine from that injury, but he's blind now.
Well, fine from that injury.
- Did you get the cat to a vet? - I did.
- How far away? - Twenty minutes.
- And what did they do to the cat? - Clean and suture.
- And you took him home? - I did.
- And you took him the same day? - I did. Um... Yes.
And when you went to the second vet, it was an emergency vet?
It was.
- Did they have a curbside arrangement? - No.
- They did not? Had you called them? - No. No.
If you drove... You mean you drove 20 minutes
not knowing if they could get to see a vet.
- They're open. - How do you know?
I've been there many times.
[chuckles] Mr. Wheet, do you think that I think that you drove with your cat
without calling first to see if they were open and a vet there
when they'd already told you their vet wasn't there?
Why would I get in the car? I'd at least call.
The only other vet that's available right there.
Well, how do you know that vet was available?
I've never been there where they've not.
Okay, do you have any medical records for me to see?
- Of your injuries. I'd like to see... - Of my injuries?
- Yeah. - No.
- I'd like to see them. - I have pictures of my injuries.
I'd like to see that.
Miss Shilling said that you spit in her face.
- Is that true? - That's not true, Your Honor.
I don't have any lower teeth.
When she was in my face yelling at me and I was yelling back at her,
that's when she made that accusation.
It was more than just a little bit of spittle, Your Honor.
- [Judy] It was what? - More than just a little bit of spittle.
He full-on spit.
- Okay, do you have a police report? - [John] I do.
I'd like to take a look.
Thank you.
Okay, so the police report indicates that they were called...
- I assume they were called by you? - Yes.
[Judy] Because they responded to their location.
And the police officer observed red marks on her neck
and her hair falling out of her head.
- I do have pictures as well, Your Honor. - [Judy] Mm-hmm.
- That's when I pulled her off of me. - [Judy] Mm-hmm.
That's when I got all those scratches and my black eye.
I'd like to see the Defendants' photographs.
[Heather] Okay.
[Judy] Mr. Wheet, I've read the police report.
I've looked at your pictures, and can I see the pictures
from the Defendants?
I do not have a cross-complaint.
Your answer, Miss Shilling and Miss Hensley, both indicate
this was a terrible incident and you just want it to go away.
Yes, Your Honor.
- You too! You too! You too! - I did call the police.
I called the police before they called the...
You too. Mr. Wheet, you know,
there are certain things that are common sense.
And the common sense of it is you were upset.
You were aggravated. You were angry. You were not getting what you needed.
You were not told that there was no vet inside
by the first person you encountered, so whenever...
No. That's wrong.
I wasn't told until after the second person came out.
I said... No, I was absolutely right, sir, in what I said to you.
I said you were not told by the first person that you encountered
that there was no vet inside.
- So say, "Yes, ma'am." - Yes, ma'am.
[Judy] Right.
It wasn't until Miss Hensley came outside
that she told you that there was no vet inside.
- That is correct, ma'am. - That is correct.
Right. Now, in between that time, according to you,
you sat outside for five minutes.
- That's correct. - You sat outside for five minutes.
And you did not do what you were instructed to do
by the person who was outside taking care of another animal.
And they said, "You have to call first."
You said, "You're right here. Why can't you tell them?"
That's what you just told me. Is that correct?
As soon as I finished with the conversation about him calling,
they left me and went inside.
That's okay. You did not call. And you sat there on the cement,
according to you, and waited.
Then she came outside and told you, "There's no vet."
- That's correct. - Okay.
By that time, you were very angry because now you had a cat that was sick.
- No. - Oh, yes. Absolutely.
It says so in the police report. That that's what you said.
- You said you were belligerent. - I was.
You were belligerent and you were angry,
but the first physical contact that happened was the Defendant to you,
but you say you were belligerent and angry.
- Yes. - And you honestly said that to me.
- Yes. - [Judy] Yeah. Okay.
You didn't act smart.
If I had my animal that was bleeding to the vet, and they said call,
I would've called. And If I didn't call and waited outside
and somebody came outside, then said to me, "The vet's not here,"
all I would have said is, "Why didn't somebody tell me that before?
'Cause I waited out here for five minutes.
Even though I didn't do what I was told to do,
which was to call first and check in." Do you understand?
Your case is dismissed. We're done.
[bailiff] This court is adjourned.
Obviously, I have to stand by what she said.
I think that it was very fair.
I think that she saw that he was an angry man
who was upset about his cat.
They were the aggressor to me.
As soon as he was screaming and yelling, I think that was the line.
I was holding up my hand, trying to protect myself from her.
She hit me, broke my glasses, gave me a black eye.
The sooner you leave, the sooner you can get your cat treatment.
I was upset at some point. I would have to say that's true.
Pretty bad. I've been having issues, like, working with people coming up to the door.
The cat survived.
He is not welcome. The police did place a "no trespass",
and that was our goal. We just didn't want him to come back.
[Judy] You know, people get really upset when their pets are injured
and they can't get immediate care. It's not quite as acute, probably,
as when your child is sick and you take them to the emergency room.
And there are 500 people in the emergency room,
but your child has a sore arm.
You don't know if it's broken or not, you know, and you're agitated.
- He was clearly agitated. - Mm-hmm.
Agitated and angry.
Actually, I sympathize with him, you know?
The first person could've said, "We have no vet."
"If it's an emergency, go someplace else."
They didn't, and then he sat and waited,
and as he sat and waited, got angrier and angrier,
and then, "We have no vet. You have to go someplace else."
Bottom line, it was all a bad scene.
But it was a bad scene precipitated by him.
Yeah, just listening to his story, I could tell the agitation level
just as he was waiting and not getting info.
You could tell and, like you said, sympathize with him.
Unfortunate. I think the Defendants, actually, were interesting.
- That they didn't file a counterclaim. - File a claim?
- I also was surprised by that. - Because they had, one of them...
The young woman had some serious injuries.
Pulled her hair out, and she had marks on her neck.
They just said it was a bad incident. Just let it go.
- Yeah. Mm-hmm. - He should have, too.
[narrator] Want justice? Go to JudyJustice.tv.