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.
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