00:30Sabrina Lilly is suing her former stepmother, Yvonne Rubichet,
00:45for military memorabilia and the return of a Rottweiler.
00:49Court come to order. All rise.
00:53Have a seat, please.
00:54Good morning, Judge.
00:55Good morning, sir.
00:56Case number 1123, Lilly v. Rubichet.
00:59You're welcome.
01:00Ms. Lilly, this case involves the custody of a dog.
01:03Correct, Your Honor.
01:04The defendant is your former stepmother.
01:07Are you divorced yet?
01:08The divorce is still in process, ma'am.
01:11Okay, so she is still legally your stepmother,
01:13but was married to your father.
01:16You're in the military.
01:17As of two weeks ago, I am officially a veteran, Your Honor.
01:21You were in the military for how long?
01:23Yes, five years.
01:24What branch?
01:25Marine Corps.
01:26And where were you stationed?
01:27I was stationed in Camp Pendleton, California for the first couple of years.
01:32From when to when?
01:34From 2017 until 2019.
01:37And then?
01:38I was stationed in Camp Mujuk, South Korea.
01:42From when to when?
01:432019 to 2021.
01:44Sometime while you were in California.
01:48Is California where you live?
01:49No, ma'am.
01:50It's Texas.
01:51While you were stationed in California, according to your complaint, in 2018, you rescued a dog, an elderly dog.
02:00Yes.
02:01How old?
02:02At that time, we were unsure, and we're still unsure to this day.
02:05We were guessing around 8 to 11.
02:08In 2018?
02:09Yes.
02:10And it's a male dog?
02:11Correct.
02:12What kind?
02:13Rottweiler?
02:14Rottweiler.
02:15Tell me where you got him from.
02:16It's Dog Rehabilitation Center.
02:18It's located in Escondido, California.
02:20They pretty much rehabilitate dogs that are on death row. Rocky was one of them.
02:25So, you rescued him from there in what month in 2018?
02:30March.
02:31Who were you living with at that time?
02:33At that time, I had government quarters assigned to me.
02:36Was, the dog's name is Rocky, right?
02:38Yes.
02:39Rocky was living with you in government quarters.
02:41So, I had government quarters assigned, oops, sorry.
02:44That's either a yes or a no.
02:46No.
02:47Where was Rocky living starting in March of 2018?
02:50Rocky and I were both living with James, who was the founder of DRCK9.
02:55Well, you had government quarters, but you weren't living in them.
02:58Correct.
02:59And you and James were a couple?
03:01No.
03:02I volunteered a lot at the shelter.
03:04And so, he offered me a room, volunteered, did a lot of the work, and I essentially got to live there for free.
03:10And when did you do your Marine Corps work?
03:13Daily.
03:14So, I would work, you know, during the day, eight to five, and then from five to about midnight, I was doing the dog shelter.
03:21And I assume that that situation existed until you were deployed to South Korea?
03:27Correct.
03:28In what month were you deployed to South Korea?
03:30I left for South Korea June 2019.
03:33So, at that point, you had Rocky from March of 2018 to June. June what were you deployed?
03:40I left June 13th.
03:41So, a year and a couple of months. Rocky was in your custody.
03:44Correct.
03:45Between March of 2018 and June of 2019, did you always live with Rocky at the shelter?
03:54Yes.
03:55Now, tell me what happened when you were deployed to South Korea.
03:58So, I had gotten my orders.
04:01In what month did you get your orders?
04:03I received orders October 2018.
04:05So, at that time, in October of 2018, you had had the dog for just a few months.
04:11Yes.
04:12When you knew you were going to be deployed in June.
04:14Yes.
04:15Okay.
04:16So, what did you do with the dog to make preparations for your deployment and when?
04:20So, because I was already living with James and he is the founder of the shelter that I had rescued him from.
04:25So, I made the boarding preparations.
04:27He was going to continue living with James because that's what he was comfortable with.
04:31When I brought up the plans of me going to-
04:33Hold on.
04:34Hold on one second.
04:35So, you said he was going to continue to stay with James because you said he was most comfortable with him.
04:42Most comfortable.
04:43He was already comfortable in that environment.
04:45Comfortable.
04:46He was comfortable in that environment.
04:47Yes.
04:48During that time, that brief time that you were with the dog, there is some suggestion in your complaint that the dog was sick.
04:56Yes.
04:57When was that?
04:58I can look through the vet records.
04:59I believe it was June 2018.
05:01So, a few months after I had adopted him, he needed surgery.
05:05And did you do that?
05:06I did.
05:07Did the vet, when the vet did the surgery on Rocky, estimate his age?
05:11Yes, they estimated it at about eight to ten years.
05:14So, they stayed in the range that we were already at.
05:16And that's in 2018?
05:18Correct.
05:19So, now Rocky might be 12 or 13, right?
05:24I would say so.
05:25Just asking you, do you know the lifespan of a dog of Rocky's size, Rottweiler?
05:33You check that for me, Sarah.
05:35From my knowledge, it could be anywhere from 11 to 16 years.
05:38Some can go longer.
05:39Some don't make it as long.
05:41I have an answer.
05:42From Rottweiler HQ, it says that they live eight to 12 years around.
05:47It's pretty good for a big dog.
05:49A larger Rottweiler.
05:51That's from Rottweiler.
05:52Okay.
05:53So, Rocky's sort of coming to the end of his term.
05:55Yes.
05:56So, right now we're at the point where you're going to South Korea.
06:00You certainly can't take the dog with you to South Korea.
06:03I want you to tell me how the dog segues from the person who runs the shelter,
06:10who said he would keep him because you felt as if he were more comfortable there,
06:14to your then stepmother's house.
06:17So, when I had started making all my plans, Yvonne and my dad were asking about,
06:22what am I going to do with Rocky?
06:24At that time, I told him he's going to stay in California.
06:26I'm going to board him there.
06:27It's easier.
06:28I already know what the plan's going to be.
06:30And I know that he's going to be taken care of.
06:32At that time, Yvonne had offered and she said, hey, let him stay with me.
06:35We're family.
06:36Let's keep it in the family.
06:37So, if something happens, he's already here.
06:39After, you know, some thought, deliberation, and speaking with her and my dad, I did agree.
06:44And I said, okay, I'll be able to get him as soon as I come back
06:47and I have a place of my own that I can bring him home.
06:50Obviously, if I don't have somewhere to take him, I can't get him.
06:52So, she had offered and then I let her know if you have any requirements as far as money,
06:57if you need vet bills, food, whatever it is, please just let me know and I will pay it.
07:02She said, nope, this is what stepmothers are for.
07:04Don't worry about it.
07:05We're good.
07:06And then I continuously offered to pay for her services, you know,
07:10throughout the time that he was with her.
07:12And I have that evidence if you'd like to see it as well.
07:15So, you brought the dog from where you were to Texas.
07:19Yes.
07:20Month and day that you left Rocky at your dad and your stepmom's house.
07:26I want the month and the day.
07:28June 8th.
07:29Did you stay there with him?
07:31I did stay there for a few days and then I went to go visit my grandparents before I had left
07:36and I thought it'd be a good opportunity to make sure it was going to be something that worked.
07:39And then I was gone for two or three days and then I came back and then I left for South Korea.
07:44But the dog consistently remained in your father and stepmother's home after June 8th of 2019.
07:52Yes.
07:53And the dog remains in that same place today.
07:58It appears from the vet records in any event since you've been gone that he's been very well taken care of.
08:04Well, I would assume that she would because that was our agreement.
08:07No, no, no, no. I don't assume anything.
08:10Sabrina Lilly claims her former stepmother, Yvonne Rubichet, refuses to return her Rottweiler and her military memorabilia.
08:30Okay. Other than the brief moment that you saw the dog in 2021 when you went to the house unannounced, you have not seen the dog since the 8th.
08:41Correct.
08:42Okay. Between June 19th, 2019 and when you were discharged two weeks ago.
08:50I want you to tell me, other than that brief visit, when was the last time you had communication with the defendant that you can show me?
08:58That I can show you?
08:59From South Korea.
09:00April 27th.
09:02May I see it, please?
09:03Yes.
09:05It's at the bottom there. We had tried calling each other.
09:13What is April 27th? I don't see any message there.
09:16It cut off.
09:17Well, I don't do cut off messages. When was the last message that I could see between...
09:23Then it would be the one above that, Your Honor.
09:25Okay. And that was December of 2020.
09:29Yes.
09:30Your Honor, if I...
09:31Shh.
09:32Okay. You're communicating with her December of 2020, which was the last communication you have that you can show me.
09:41And your stepmother at that time, were you still together with your husband?
09:47No, ma'am. We separated in September of 2020.
09:50Okay.
09:51And I assume that you knew that your father and stepmother had separated.
09:55I didn't find out until October.
09:57Who told you?
09:58My dad.
09:59Did he tell you that he had left the house?
10:01Yes, he...
10:02Yes is the answer.
10:03And that when he left the house, he left Rocky with your stepmother.
10:07Yes.
10:08So it really wasn't your father taking care of Rocky. It was really your stepmother.
10:11Yes. And that was the agreement.
10:13Just a...
10:14And the emails that were changed back and forth clearly suggest that even after your father and your stepmother are separated and you knew that, that you were perfectly comfortable with her having the dog.
10:25Because at the end, he's fat, but I don't know why he follows me everywhere.
10:31And he's basically human.
10:33And then your stepmom says, okay, Sabrina, it's 1230 over here and I have to get up in the morning. I'm sleepy. So you have a good night. I love you. And then you respond, good night.
10:45So that was the last communication you had between December and June. So a six month period elapsed without any communication. Do you want to tell me why?
10:54So at that time, I wasn't able to come home because of COVID. COVID, I was in South Korea, so we were the first wait.
11:01Tell me why there was no communication.
11:03I have a text to kind of show what I'm saying, about to say, she started getting kind of finicky.
11:08When we would talk, she would kind of turn it against my dad and she would try to throw my dad under the bus.
11:13At that point, I had no control of the situation. I couldn't do anything about it at the moment.
11:17So I just kind of kept it light and positive throughout the rest of the time.
11:21I would just like to see those messages light and positive. Anything after December of 2020.
11:27So these are conversations, and then these are Facebook posts and comments.
11:31Okay, great.
11:32So they're separate.
11:42When was the last time you saw the dog?
11:44The day that I left for South Korea, June 13th.
11:47Okay.
11:48This is a post, December 9th, 2020.
11:53And you say, hi, I'm coming home for Christmas.
11:56Yes.
11:57That was you.
11:58I miss Rocky a ton and want to take him for a few days while I'm home.
12:02I'm not too sure on the dates, but I can let you know over the next few days.
12:06December of 2020, did you come home for Christmas?
12:11Yes.
12:12The answer is yes.
12:13Okay.
12:14What date did you arrive home in December of 2020?
12:19December 16th.
12:21Where did you go?
12:22I went to Fort Worth, Texas.
12:24Who lives there?
12:25My sister and my nephew.
12:26How long were you home?
12:27I was home for about 28 days.
12:30In the 28 days, did you see Rocky?
12:34Unfortunately.
12:35That's a yes or a no?
12:37No.
12:38Did you make an attempt to see Rocky?
12:40Yes.
12:41Tell me what attempt you made to see Rocky because I'm seeing, I'm formally inviting
12:45you to spend wine night or a day with me and Rocky, the three of us.
12:49Of course you can take him for a day or two.
12:51So I had driven down to Houston to go see him because that's where he's located now.
12:56And then my aunt passed.
12:57It was sudden.
12:58And so I had to recoup and put all my efforts into being there for my family.
13:02Okay.
13:03You came home for the holidays on December 16th.
13:07Correct.
13:08On what date did your aunt pass?
13:10I could not tell you that at this time.
13:12But you didn't go and see Rocky?
13:14No.
13:15And you were home for a month?
13:16Correct.
13:17Okay.
13:18And you and your husband separated in September of 2020?
13:22Yes, ma'am.
13:23Okay.
13:24Do you have Rocky's vet bills with you?
13:27Yes, ma'am.
13:28I'd like to see them.
13:29It's not included in his cost for dog food.
13:33It's just vet bills.
13:34No, no.
13:35I'm just...
13:39I just want to see how he's been taken care of.
13:41Yes, ma'am.
13:42What kind of pain was he having?
13:44Arthritis pain.
13:45Ma'am, most rut rollers get arthritis in their hind legs.
13:48Okay.
13:49I'm going to tell you the only thing that disturbed me, Miss Lilly, about your complaint.
13:54Because as far as I'm concerned, this is about the custody of a dog that you haven't seen in almost three years.
13:59Who was an old dog and whose time on this earth is, you know, finite.
14:03You never know.
14:04Right now, he has arthritis and he's being treated for his arthritis.
14:08You did say, however, that you showed up in the summer of 2021, I don't know when, at Yvonne's house to surprise her.
14:15Well, that was a big surprise.
14:16You really came there to pick up the dog.
14:18You hadn't made any...
14:19I did not.
14:20You did not.
14:21That was not the plan, no.
14:22Okay.
14:23Well, I suggest that to you because you said, you know, she was getting sort of not herself on the phone after she and your father separated,
14:31so you just sort of kept it light.
14:33That is what...
14:34Yes.
14:35So, one would suggest if things weren't great, you would have given her a heads up that you were coming.
14:40You hadn't seen her in three years.
14:42That would be a fair statement.
14:43And it's just common sense.
14:44But then I look here and you say, he looked horrible.
14:49He was overweight.
14:50Well, I'm looking at the vet records.
14:52And Rocky's vet records don't suggest that he was massively overweight because I see that in 2019, he weighed 106 and a half pounds.
15:05In March of 2021, he weighed 114 pounds.
15:11Most people would be sort of happy with that kind of weight gain.
15:14So, it wasn't that the dog had become obese.
15:17I don't know how much a Rottweiler weighs.
15:19Well, for a Rottweiler, his size and his stature, he should be between 95 and 105 pounds.
15:24Well, all I can tell you was when she got the dog, he was 106 pounds, which means according to what you just told me, he was overweight.
15:33So, that was the only thing in your complaint that actually caused me some concern that he was not being cared for.
15:41But quite frankly, I look at these medical records and he was regularly seen as a vet.
15:47He had regular toenail trims.
15:49He was taken for treatment for his arthritis.
15:51And it appears from the vet records, in any event, since you've been gone, that he's been very well taken care of.
15:58Well, I would assume that she would because that was our agreement, Your Honor.
16:01No, no. No, no.
16:02I don't assume anything.
16:04Seeing your sister was more important than going to spend a week with your dog.
16:10That's not the case, Your Honor.
16:11She was using drugs and she was abusing alcohol.
16:13I can't be around that as an active duty Marine.
16:15Just a second.
16:16That's baloney.
16:17Sabrina Lilly has accused her former stepmother, Yvonne Rubishay, of wrongfully keeping her Rottweiler and neglecting him.
16:37She also claims Yvonne refuses to return her belongings.
16:41Okay, all I know is I have to make a judgment today.
16:45A judgment as to whether because of your actions, and I say this because I understand your position, but because of your actions, I can find a scintilla of evidence that you abandoned the dog to her care.
17:00Because quite frankly, I think it would be cruel to uproot him from where he is now, where he's been for three years without you, and put him in a new place with a new owner for the last sliver of his life.
17:15I actually think it would be cruel.
17:17A really good mother would not want that to happen.
17:21I agree, Your Honor, except she's not in the state to do it.
17:24She's using drugs.
17:25She was drunk every other night.
17:28Like, that's why I stopped talking to her because it's hard to talk to her.
17:30And then on top of that, I get maybe the rep record show one thing, but I saw him in my own, like with my own eyes.
17:36He has fat lumps, like he has three or four fat lumps around his abdomen and on his back.
17:41A dog gets old and gets sick.
17:46This dog is on the tail end of the spectrum of life for a large dog.
17:52I mean, I'm not a vet, but I've had dogs that are at that stage in their life.
17:56He's getting around, he's being treated for arthritis, but they get tumors, they get sick.
18:01Right now, he knows your home, you don't know where he came from before.
18:05And what kind of abuse he had before.
18:07You rescued him.
18:08You rescued him.
18:09He was with you for a year.
18:11Then he hasn't seen you in three years.
18:13It's been two years, Your Honor.
18:14Actually, more than two years.
18:15Two years and 11 days, and I can prove that as well.
18:18No, it's not two years and 11 days.
18:19You said you left in June, where now, tomorrow, tomorrow we start October.
18:23It had been two years and 11 days when I saw him that night.
18:26Not that night.
18:27I'm not talking that night.
18:28I'm talking about since he's lived with you.
18:31That's almost two and a half years.
18:33And it's a long time in the span of a dog's life that just has a little sliver left.
18:38And what I'm suggesting to you is the tough position that I'm in, because is the dog yours?
18:44Technically, did the fact that you came home for a month and failed to see this dog that you want now to uproot from its home suggest to me, as a fact finder, that at that moment, seeing your sister and seeing your family was more important than going to spend a week with your dog.
19:05That's not the case, Your Honor.
19:06That's not the case, Your Honor.
19:07I was active duty military, and from what I'd heard and what I'd seen, she was using drugs and she was abusing alcohol.
19:12I can't be around that as an active duty Marine.
19:14Just a second.
19:15That's baloney.
19:16That's not what you told me a moment ago.
19:18A moment ago, you said you went to your sister's house, you were going to see the dog, and then an aunt died suddenly, and that's why you didn't see it.
19:26So that's a lot of chatter, and it's a difficult place for you to be in, but I think you have to find another rescue dog.
19:35According to what I've read here, you really need a dog that you want to train to be a service kind of animal.
19:41And if that's something that happens in the future...
19:43Just a second.
19:44I'm talking now.
19:45We've out-talked this case.
19:47I said to you, I have to find a hook on which I can hang my hat so that I don't remove a dog that has spent the vast majority of its adult life with this person.
19:59That home is the home that he's known for the longest, and I'm comfortable finding that hook with, you came home for a month, and you were in the same state, and you didn't go and see the dog.
20:10I don't care what the reason was, if I'm in the military, and I have a child that I haven't seen in two years, the first stop that I make is to that child.
20:20Not to my sister, not to a boyfriend, and you were home for 28 days, and you did not.
20:25So, you can't have the dog back.
20:27That's my decision.
20:28What about my military memorabilia?
20:29Medals.
20:30Medals are yours.
20:31No, that's not all my memorabilia.
20:34I'm missing about $300 worth of pictures.
20:37There's a Texas sign with Lily on it.
20:40Would you, just a sec, would you return?
20:42Do you have anything else that belongs, sir?
20:44No, ma'am.
20:45Where is it?
20:46Cause I didn't pick up anything, and you said I did.
20:48Put him outside.
20:49Sir, sir, step this way.
20:50Put him out.
20:51Step this way.
20:55Don't lie.
20:56You think make a laugh at the end?
20:58Do you have anything else in your home?
21:00I do not.
21:01If he...
21:02Oh.
21:03I'm sorry about him.
21:05Ma'am, a moving company picked up all of my husband's belongings, which also had the
21:10big Texas board with the L in it, which actually was a present from her older sister to me and
21:15my husband.
21:16Okay.
21:17But your husband's moving company picked that up.
21:19Yes, ma'am.
21:20I saw it the night that I went to go see Rocky.
21:21All of my stuff is still in her house.
21:23That was in June?
21:24Yes.
21:25Okay.
21:26The moving company that moved your husband's stuff out, when did that moving company come?
21:30I believe it was August.
21:31Okay.
21:32Do you want to ask your father where your stuff was?
21:35He went through it.
21:36I went through it.
21:37So the answer is yes.
21:38Do you know what she's talking about?
21:40Yes, ma'am.
21:41What is she talking about?
21:42Her older sister made me and her dad a Christmas gift one year, and it's a big sign of Texas
21:47with a big L in the middle of it.
21:49Is that what you're talking about?
21:51And it's...
21:52Just...
21:53With additional items, your honor.
21:54What additional items?
21:55I have two picture frames from boot camp, and then I have a glass frame that has, like,
22:00etchings in it.
22:01Do you have that?
22:02No, ma'am.
22:03Was that sent to her father?
22:04Yes, ma'am.
22:05Let's talk to your father.
22:06We're finished here.
22:08Court is adjourned.
22:09It does.
22:10It hurts me very much, because she's my stepdaughter, and I do love her.
22:14I just feel like she's not ready for this dog, and he's on his last leg.
22:18He's basically not going to make it another few years.
22:22I feel great about it, about Rocky being with me.
22:25That was a bit of a stretch there, that decision.
22:29You're right.
22:30And I guess it's because I really think that a loving dog owner would not, at this stage
22:36of the game of the dog's life, which is the end game, want to change for the next six
22:45or eight months or maybe a year what this dog, who's probably had a very traumatic life
22:50anyway, has been through by taking it away from really the only home it's known for almost
22:54three years.
22:55But for the fact that she had come home for that month, December, a year ago, and didn't
23:01make her way to see the dog, for whatever reason, gave me that little hook.
23:05You know, I really think that, you know, ownership of another living creature would take some
23:10responsibility.
23:11You have to take into consideration that, absent an emergency, a dog should have, a pet
