Animal Court | Horse Play & Poor Pay

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Sand colic is an accumulation of sand in the intestine of a horse. [music] It takes a while to accumulate. She commented that how good he looked. She hugged him. She said that she's heard a lot of good things about him. The minute I got him home, I put him in a stall. He laid down. I saw him that night. I talked to them. They never mentioned anything about him going down. They never said [music] anything to me. Then in all actuality, we should have put the horse down 24 hours earlier. He suffered greatly.

[00:00:30]You that's completely unreasonable for you. You want to fight, I'll get you boxing gloves, but [music] we're not here for that.

[00:00:35]My first case ever with worms.

[00:00:37]>> Come here, Sophie. Get him, Rusty.

[00:00:40]>> [laughter] >> Can I say you something? No.

[00:00:44]If she hadn't had an oral agreement How do you do?

[00:00:52]I know you've all been sworn. I have read your complaint, ma'am.

[00:00:55]You had a contract with respect to the purchase of a horse from the defendant.

[00:00:59]>> Verbal contract. Yes, sir. Okay. When did the contract When was it executed?

[00:01:03]>> October 23rd.

[00:01:05]What year? 1998. What was the age of the horse? Uh five. And what happened to the horse?

[00:01:12]I picked up the horse about 4:00 from Belle's house. Um I had owned the horse seven and a half months prior. So when I saw him, he was extremely fat. And I made comment to her. Um I said, "Gee, Val, he's awfully fat." She said, "I know. I know. He hasn't been ridden. He's been eating a lot." But he She said, "You know, the horse is fine, Heidi. He's in good condition." I said, "Okay." I put him in my horse trailer. I brought him home.

[00:01:36]The minute I got him home, I put him in a stall. He laid down. And so I watched him for a little while. I was going over to my friends um where they board their horse, their the arena.

[00:01:46]And I took him over there. Um her husband rode him around the arena one time, and he didn't want to go at all.

[00:01:53]So we quick took the saddle off and put him in their round pen. He immediately laid down again, put him back in the trailer, went back to my house and I tied him up that night so he wouldn't lay down because if a horse lays down and he's colicking, he will >> him to a vet that night? No, I called the vet the next morning. Why did you wait?

[00:02:10]Um I didn't I didn't know the horse.

[00:02:12]Horses sometimes lay >> I thought you said you owned the horse previously.

[00:02:15]>> 7 and 1/2 months previously for 5 days.

[00:02:18]And then Val bought him from me.

[00:02:20]>> What did you What did you pay for it then? Oh, I I paid I paid $1,000 for the horse.

[00:02:27]And this time when you bought it, how much did you pay? I sold it to her for $1,500 and I bought the horse back from her for $1,500. Okay.

[00:02:38]What was the condition of the horse when you sold it? To the best of my knowledge, sir, the horse was in great condition.

[00:02:43]>> Was it fat? No, he was not and when she did come to pick him up, she commented that how good he looked. She hugged him.

[00:02:51]She said that she's heard a lot of good things about him. And um we loaded him up in the trailer.

[00:02:56]>> Did you tell her the horse was in good condition? No, I did not. I object, Your >> Was the horse in good condition?

[00:03:02]>> To the best of my knowledge, he was.

[00:03:03]When was the last time before October 23 of '98 that you took the horse to the vet?

[00:03:09]To a vet.

[00:03:11]Um he was last seen by a vet on August 8th.

[00:03:15]For what? For colic.

[00:03:18]Okay.

[00:03:20]She did not tell me, Your Honor, that he had colic in August.

[00:03:24]Do you have a vet report? Yes, I do.

[00:03:30]You also have pictures of the horse?

[00:03:32]Excuse me? Do you have picture I saw some pictures in your folder.

[00:03:39]Where are they?

[00:03:40]Here we go.

[00:03:42]There you go. Thank you.

[00:03:46]Have you seen these? Yes, sir.

[00:03:53]Is that you on the horse?

[00:03:54]>> No, it is not.

[00:03:59]When were these taken?

[00:04:01]The dates are on the bottom of the pictures, I believe. One was >> see. You're right. Yeah.

[00:04:05]5:30:98, 4:16:98.

[00:04:20]When they talk about sand being present, what is that?

[00:04:24]Your honor, I have a a report from the vet that saw him, which kind of explains sand colic. Sand colic is an accumulation of sand in the intestine of a horse. It takes a while to accumulate.

[00:04:34]On the third page of the >> they get it? From ingesting sand in the desert. When they eat, they sort of Horses are grazing animals and they they sort of ingest the sand off the ground while they eat.

[00:04:46]On page three of that, you'll notice that the vet veterinarian that was on call that weekend specifically states that if the horse truly laid down on October 23rd, which he did, and I have witnesses to that, then he already had was already ill and for sure at time of purchase he had sand colic. What's your answer to that, ma'am? If you read the letter in full detail, it does not say that they cannot pinpoint when the >> Well, wait a minute. It says It says here it is impossible to pinpoint exactly when Little Man's abdominal crisis began. I can tell you without a doubt the intestinal sand accumulation was present upon purchase of the horse.

[00:05:27]This would have been revealed on a pre-purchase examination, which I recommend prior to the purchase of any horse.

[00:05:33]I didn't Did you ever purchase a horse?

[00:05:35]You have once before. Yes. Other than that, did you ever purchase a horse?

[00:05:39]>> Yes.

[00:05:40]I have never gotten a pre-purchase exam, and I would not have gotten one from Valerie because I I know Valerie.

[00:05:47]Okay. The reason I'm suing for vet bills is because I wouldn't have incurred the vet bills if I would have bought a horse that lived more than 49 hours. And in all actuality, we should have put the horse down 24 hours earlier. He suffered greatly. Where are your Where are your bills?

[00:06:03]I would also like to add, if I may. Yes.

[00:06:06]She picked the horse up. She wasn't even supposed to pick him up till the 24th, a Saturday the 24th. She insisted on picking him up on the 23rd on a Friday at 3:30 in the afternoon.

[00:06:16]>> What What What's the relevance of that?

[00:06:18]>> is is that I saw them at 10:00 that night riding him in Lynn Cariss's arena.

[00:06:23]I even spoke with them, all three of them. They never mentioned one word to me that he was ill. I was not notified till the following day at 5:00 in the evening that there was even a problem.

[00:06:35]I saw him that night. I talked to them.

[00:06:37]They never mentioned anything about him going down. They never said anything to me. They were out there riding him in the arena.

[00:06:43]I had brought three horses to the arena that night, and I was loading a thoroughbred in the horse trailer that was banging his head all over the place, and I had help doing that. Um Melanie, my friend, is the one that talked to Val. The only thing I said to Val that night was hello. Val was extremely put out that the horse was going to be sold to Melanie. It was the favorite horse that she's ever wanted. So I She didn't have the money. I paid for the horse, and they were going to pay me back within a month. So, you know, she's the one that talked to Val about it. As soon as she found Val found out that the horse is going to Melanie, she acted all funny and said, "Well, I just think this sounds really funny, and you you can ask Val about >> Cuz I feel like they weren't being honest with me from the very beginning.

[00:07:21]>> does it make who who was going to get the horse?

[00:07:22]>> Well, it would have made a difference cuz I would not have sold the horse to Melanie. Why? Because I don't care for her, um judgment.

[00:07:31]It'd been It was a personal thing.

[00:07:34]What are you here to tell me?

[00:07:36]Um I'm not sure what time they got to my arena on Friday evening. My husband and I left the house at about 4:30 to go to friend's house for dinner. We got back at about 8:30.

[00:07:47]When we pulled into the driveway, Nathan Mel um Melanie's brother was riding the horse.

[00:07:53]How How long did he ride the horse?

[00:07:55]Well, I saw three different people riding the horse.

[00:07:57]>> I object. We have Wait a minute. Wait.

[00:07:59]One at a time. When we first pulled into the driveway, uh Nathan was on the horse.

[00:08:05]The next time I went out there, Jason was on the horse uh no, Heidi was on the horse. All told, how many Three different >> rode the horse for how long? I can't say because I don't know what time they got to my house. Well, the last time I looked out there was 9:30.

[00:08:18]>> the horse?

[00:08:20]Um between 8:30 and 9:30.

[00:08:25]You Your Honor, I never rode the horse.

[00:08:27]I never got a chance to ride that horse.

[00:08:28]>> Neither of you rode the horse?

[00:08:29]>> No, I object. My husband Jason >> want you to object cuz I won't think any different. Just tell me what happened.

[00:08:35]>> My husband Jason was the only one that rode that horse that night. He walked it around the arena once. He didn't want to move and he put him up. Heidi never rode him. She was on another horse and my brother Nathan was on his own personal horse. Jason got on the horse once to go around the arena.

[00:08:52]And that was it. And if I do recall that weekend that Lynn was out of town.

[00:08:58]Yeah, we were told that.

[00:08:59]>> went to California or Arizona.

[00:09:02]Mr. Wapner, if he indeed was called a Judge Wapner.

[00:09:06]>> He was not seen by a veterinarian. I'm sorry. That's all right. He was not seen until 6:15 at night on Saturday night.

[00:09:14]And if this horse they so-called colic, then why did it take them so many hours to get that horse medical attention? I believe that that is what killed that horse.

[00:09:24]>> I can answer that. I can >> was You didn't have a what we would for a human, an autopsy. You didn't have that, did you?

[00:09:29]>> Yes, I had an autopsy. Where were Where are the results of that? It's in that that letter that I just gave you on Blake page two or the last the top of page three. The The I called the vet.

[00:09:39]>> a minute.

[00:09:40]>> On page two of this letter? I believe the top of two.

[00:09:43]>> Okay.

[00:09:43]>> Necropsy report is what it says.

[00:09:46]>> cecal distension with a displaced large colon impacted with sand.

[00:09:52]I have a veterinarian, Dr. Gorman, here.

[00:09:54]She can answer any medical questions you might have.

[00:09:57]You are veterinarian?

[00:09:57]>> Yes, I am.

[00:09:58]Did you ever examine this horse?

[00:10:00]>> I saw the horse Saturday. I was not the vet treating >> the horse?

[00:10:04]>> Yes, I did. And what did you find? The horse had toxic changes Saturday when I saw it, which means that there's a line that goes across the gum. By the time that they have those changes, they're septic. It means that their blood system is basically they're dying from the colic. It's not something that can happen in a few hour period. It's something that's been going >> How long in your opinion had the horse had colic with sand in it?

[00:10:29]Knowing that the horse had colic back in August, the sand had probably never completely cleared out and had continued to build up and the horse had probably been clinically sick for several days.

[00:10:39]Take a short recess. I'll come back and give you my decision. Thank you.

[00:10:45]>> [music] >> I was walking him and Mr. Morales was coming forward. They gave me a shot for tetanus, I believe, and some pills to take.

[00:11:00]>> I hold back the leash.

[00:11:02]So, he he just nipped him in his hand.

[00:11:10]Remain seated and come to order. This court is again in session.

[00:11:22]We've got a situation here where we have a sale of a horse. The horse, apparently, is ill.

[00:11:29]When taken by the plaintiff, she does take a little time to get to a vet.

[00:11:35]Calls the vet.

[00:11:37]And the vet is in an emergency.

[00:11:39]Of course, there are other vets that apparently she could have contacted, but she didn't choose to do so.

[00:11:45]Turns out that this vet that she eventually sees the horse is the vet that you took the horse to in August when it had the sand colic.

[00:11:57]Interestingly, too, and I want to ask you a question, just one question.

[00:12:03]He says in his letter, "All of our clients are advised to maintain their horses on a sand prevention program feeding psyllium at least 7 days out of every month."

[00:12:16]Did he ever tell you that?

[00:12:17]Yes, and he was treated 7 days out of the week every month. Every month? Yes, he was.

[00:12:23]>> any receipts to that effect?

[00:12:28]I don't know if I have any receipts on me, but I know Well, that's the time to have them when you're here in court.

[00:12:36]No, I do not. Okay. The main question here is the cause of death.

[00:12:40]As I read the report, I can tell you without a doubt the intestinal sand accumulation was present upon purchase of the horse.

[00:12:49]And we also have the testimony of another veterinarian who's actually here in court testifying.

[00:12:56]And she, in effect, affirms what this other vet says in the letter.

[00:13:01]As far as I'm concerned, the plaintiff has met her burden of proving that the horse was ill when she purchased it.

[00:13:11]And that was the cause the death was this colic sand in the colon.

[00:13:18]Judgment for plaintiff for 2501.

[00:13:21]>> [music] >> You see, they're claiming it's a coliced Friday night, the night that they bought him.

[00:13:33]Why didn't they call a vet that night? I don't know. The vet There's only one vet on call in in Las Vegas on a Saturday.

[00:13:39]Um and I I called my own vet and I was referred all the way down the line to the vet on call. Sand colic's very prevalent in Las Vegas because we don't have grass there due to the dry temperatures. It just doesn't grow and so most horses are kept on sand and they tend to be grazing animals so they eat the sand all day. There wasn't much hope after the first 24 hours, but I just felt like we really had to try.

[00:14:01]Um and we had to put him down about 5:30. We were acquaintances, but now we don't speak. This is the first time I've ever ever seen or spoken with him since the incident. He was shaken because he said that my dog has never bitten anybody and I could not ever imagine that he would do something like this. And I mentioned that if he it had broken the skin, he might need a tetanus shot.

[00:14:28]The animal court is now in session. The Honorable Joseph A. Wapner, judge presiding.

[00:14:33]I know you've all been sworn. I have read your complaint, sir.

[00:14:36]You claim that this defendant's dog bit you. Yes, sir. And where was it?

[00:14:41]You mean uh >> Where did it happen? In Santa Monica on the street.

[00:14:45]Were you What were you doing there?

[00:14:47]>> I was walking on my way home. Was this the dog that was involved? Yeah, that is the dog.

[00:14:51]>> Okay.

[00:14:54]Was anyone with the dog? Uh Mrs. Resinos was. You were with the dog? I was walking him.

[00:15:00]Was the dog on the leash? Yes.

[00:15:03]And what Tell me what happened.

[00:15:06]Um I used to take uh um Jake for a walk like uh every day.

[00:15:13]>> That's his name, Jake?

[00:15:14]>> Jake is his name. Okay.

[00:15:16]And uh I just was walking him and Mr. Morales was coming forward. He was holding something in his hand. was >> what in his hand?

[00:15:25]He had some papers on his Yes.

[00:15:28]>> Okay.

[00:15:29]He passed uh by Jake and me. And Jake reached forward to him, but I hold back the leash.

[00:15:38]So, he he just nipped him in his hand.

[00:15:42]Which hand was it?

[00:15:43]>> The right hand, Your Honor.

[00:15:46]Do you have any scar there?

[00:15:48]>> I do have a scar. Let me see it. No, not Come up here. You can come up and look at it too if you like.

[00:15:58]Where Where Show me.

[00:16:01]All of that from there all the way to here.

[00:16:05]I mean, what's a scratch? Huh? A scratch, yeah. Scratch? Yeah.

[00:16:10]Well, I It It looks like more it would be more than a scratch.

[00:16:16]But anyway, okay.

[00:16:18]Did you see a doctor? Yes, I did, sir.

[00:16:20]Do you have a report from the doctor?

[00:16:22]>> Yes, I do.

[00:16:23]Uh That same night, Mr. Peter Petersen took me to the hospital.

[00:16:29]>> Just let's do one thing at a time, please. Okay, I do that.

[00:16:32]>> I want to see the doctor's report and the bills that you incurred. Okay.

[00:16:39]Did you take any pictures of your wrist?

[00:16:41]>> No, I didn't.

[00:16:45]How many times did you see the doctor?

[00:16:47]Uh twice. What did he do for you?

[00:16:50]Uh they gave me a shot for tetanus, I believe, and some pills to take.

[00:16:57]What kind of pills? Uh I do not remember, Your Honor.

[00:17:00]What was it What were they for?

[00:17:02]I guess for the pain.

[00:17:04]You guess? Well, they were for the pain.

[00:17:06]Were you working at the time? Yes, I was. I work at a country club. I'm part of the staff, but I also caddy on my own. Did you miss any days from work?

[00:17:14]>> I missed uh I missed a total of 68 hours.

[00:17:18]Were you paid a salary? I'm paid $5.75 an hour.

[00:17:22]But like I said, I also work as a caddy, so that I'm an independent independent contractor and I make about $100 per job, $120 per job. Do you have anything from any of these people that they would have hired you as caddies? I have some of some copies of the vouchers that they signed for me when they pay me.

[00:17:44]This is how much you were paid. Right.

[00:17:47]Doesn't tell me how much you lost.

[00:17:49]Well, I just gave you the receipts for this particular week that I just worked.

[00:17:52]That's just recent. That shows uh It showed you what you did this week. Yeah.

[00:17:56]But you're telling me that you were off a week and you would have earned the same thing as you worked made this week? I probably would have would have earned more than that.

[00:18:06]What kind of dog is it?

[00:18:08]It's a Rottweiler. Rottweiler? Mhm. What is your defense to this then? This is the first time I've I've heard of what he wanted. I see. And I basically wanted to um uh pay his hospital bills with a a release, with a signature of release, so it wouldn't turn into anything bigger at the time. Uh he told me he would wash it off with some Bactine and I mentioned that if uh he it had broken the skin, he might need a tetanus shot and I was the one that drove him to the hospital.

[00:18:36]I drove Mr. Morales and his girlfriend.

[00:18:39]>> there when it happened. No, no, it's my dog. I was at home.

[00:18:42]And uh Gloria was my girlfriend at the time and um What is she now? She's my wife. That's great.

[00:18:49]You didn't hold this against her. No.

[00:18:50]No.

[00:18:54]What do you know about this man?

[00:18:56]Well, um I was with uh Mr. Peterson and with Carlos uh when he was taken to the hospital, the emergency Marina Freeman Hospital. And uh Mr. Peterson agreed that it was his dog that while we were waiting for Juan Carlos uh in the waiting room in the hospital. Was the skin on his wrist broken? Yeah, he was pretty broken. It looked bloody and irritated and um so uh he was taken to the hospital and while we were waiting uh Mr. Peterson said that he was his dog. He was shaking because he said that my dog has never bitten anybody and I could not ever imagine that he would do something like this.

[00:19:33]And uh he said that he will assume all uh responsibilities for paying the bills and taking care of Mr. Juan Carlos Morales. This is um dog bite. The skin was broken, but I'm stressing the um amount of damage.

[00:19:46]Okay.

[00:19:47]Take a short recess. I'll come back and give you my decision.

[00:19:53]>> [music] >> Remain seated and govern order. This court is again in session.

[00:20:12]The reason I took so long is because I There were a couple of documents there from Tijuana. Yes, sir.

[00:20:18]>> in Spanish. Yeah.

[00:20:21]Unfortunately, I don't read Spanish, so I had to find someone who would would read it to me and interpret it.

[00:20:27]The uh scar may be permanent, but uh you take a person as he is or she is.

[00:20:34]Your skin happens to be very dark.

[00:20:37]And the the scar that you showed me blends right in with the with your skin.

[00:20:42]It's hardly noticeable.

[00:20:44]Um and so it's not it's not a something that's going to be ugly.

[00:20:50]At any rate, I'm going to allow you $2,000 for your pain and suffering, uh $1,407 for your total bills.

[00:20:59]The judgment for plaintiff is uh because the dog bite statute is absolute.

[00:21:05]You're absolutely liable for the dog bite and there's no question about it.

[00:21:08]Uh $3,407.

[00:21:12]>> [music] >> You know, when I first talked with Mr. Morales, he said it was a scratch and he was going to put Bactine on it. But, it turned into a lot more and I'm glad that you know, I didn't pay anything until I got you know, here to court because um you know, I I wanted a I wanted a final release anyways.

[00:21:37]So, but I mean I don't know how it how how they got this amount for doctor bills, but I guess if that's how you need to make money, that's fine. Not exactly what I expected, but I'm happy with it. Okay. Yeah.

[00:21:50]I didn't see the bite. I mean, it looked like somebody like I scratched myself doing gardening.

[00:21:55]So, I mean I I just don't understand the impact of this, you know. He's never even you know, barked at anyone. You know, this incident I think he was scared cuz Mr. Morales had something in his hand. I mean, you know, I think he was scared, too. So, you know, but the laws are as they is.

[00:22:12]>> [music] [music] [music] [music]