Friday, March 1, 2013
The case was dismissed on a technicality on the way the case was filed.
UPDATE: 1:31pm, Thursday, February 28, 2013 The ongoing dispute over a chihuahua that involves an Easley City Councilman, his wife and an Easley family is over – for now. Judge Tommy Wall dismissed the case in magistrate's court today, ruling that the way the case had been filed against Councilman Dave Watson and his wife – a claim and delivery case - did not apply to the situation. “They have a right to refile,” Wall said, of Keith and Kerri Blanton. The two parties have been fighting over the ownership of chihuahua found in May of 2012. The dog the Blanton family refers to as Lucy went missing over Mother's Day weekend last year. Dave and Trish Watson found the dog on Mother's Day on their porch. The Blantons discovered their dog had …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Attorneys for both parties asked for a continuance in the case which will decide who gets to keep the small dog.
The ongoing dispute between two area families over a Chihuahua will continue for the time being. A hearing in the ongoing dispute between Councilman Dave Watson, his wife Trish and the Blanton family over who can rightfully keep the small dog known as Lucy and Gracie was set for this morning in Liberty, but has been postponed. A sign on the Liberty Magistrate Office’s door said that attorneys for both parties in the dispute have asked for a continuance. A new hearing date has not been set yet. The Watsons found the dog, who they call Gracie, in May. The Blanton Family, the original owners of the dog they call Lucy, say the Watsons are refusing to give the dog back, even though they acknowledge the dog was originally the Blanton’s. Last …
Friday, October 26, 2012
Magistrate will be brought in from outside county to determine outcome of Lucy/Gracie case, as judge rules that local magistrates are too familiar with dispute between Blanton family and Councilman Dave Watson and his wife
An Easley magistrate has granted a change of venue in the ongoing case of a dog that involves an Easley City Councilman, his wife and a local family. At the center of the issue is a small dog – found by the Watsons in May. The original owners of the dog, the Blanton family, say the Watsons are refusing to give the dog back even though they know the Blantons are the rightful owners. The dog is known as Lucy by the Blantons and Gracie by the Watsons. But the change of venue request was not granted for the reason that Councilman Dave Watson, his wife Trish and their attorney had requested. Judge Michael Baker granted the change of venue request, but not because of the publicity the case has drawn. “I had ex parte dealings with the Blantons …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Court date in ongoing dispute over chihuahua slated for Oct. 23 is moved after change of venue request. Mauldin resident writes Watsons are using delaying tactics to avoid having to return disputed dog.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Editor's Note: This letter was sent to Easley City Council member Dave Watson following Watson's request for a change of venue in an ongoing dispute over a dog. The magistrate's court date had been set for 11 a.m. October 23. Dear Mr. Watson: Greetings, salutations, and all that good stuff. I see at the 11th hour you have requested a change in venue for what would have been court today due to your new lawyer having another case. Let me add — yet another law was broken: The change of venue statute, § 22-3-920, provides the means by which either party in a civil action, believing for a substantial reason that he would be unable to secure a fair trial from the magistrate before whom the matter is to be heard, may have his case moved to …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Speakers urge Watsons to return Chihuahua to Blanton family.
Residents continue to call on Councilman Dave Watson and his wife to return a dog to its original owners — and on Monday night, they were joined by Watson’s colleagues on Easley City Council. A large audience came out to discuss the growing controversy, calling on the Watsons to return the dog they’ve been caring for since Mothers Day to its original owners, who have been looking for the dog since it escaped while they were out of town. The Watsons have not returned the dog to the Blanton family and now, the matter is headed to court. Mayor Larry Bagwell said he and every member of council had received “lots and lots” of phone calls and emails about the situation, wondering “why the City of Easley has not stepped in.” “We have gone …
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
In a letter, Debbie Griffen Brown writes about her own personal experience with a dog that had strayed from home.
- OPINION
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Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Dear Easley City Councilman Dave Watson, Please be kind hearted enough to return Lucy to the Blanton’s. I know your family became attached to Lucy, but can you not feel the pain the Blanton’s are going through by losing a family member that they’ve had a lot longer? Let me tell you a story that happened at my home a couple of years ago. A beautiful Springer Spaniel found its way to our house after walking thought our neighborhood. Not sure why he picked us, but he did. We have a dog and a cat who typically don’t like other animals. Even our (at the time) 9 year old kitty took to this dog and after having it around for several days we were going to keep it if we couldn’t find the owners. While the dog was dirty we could tell that it was a …
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Letter Author urges Watsons to give dog back to former owners.
Editor's Note: This letter was sent to Dave and Trish Watson Dear Mr & Mrs Watson: This last week I am sure has been one of the craziest of your lives. I am sure when Lucy came into your lives you never imagined it would end up this way. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the excellent care you have provided for her during your time with her. However, now is the time to say your goodbyes to her and let her go. You stated in your interview on WSPA Channel 7 that you knew she belonged to the Blantons, and now you believe that she is yours. Maybe she will always be yours in your heart, and that is fine. But, the fact remains that she was the Blanton’s, they did abundantly more than you could imagine to try to locate their …
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Letter's author says Dave and Trish Watson are being vilified for doing the right thing and caring for found dog for five months
In a nutshell, in case you’ve been living in a cave and don’t already know the story, a Chihuahua named Lucy by her original owners, escaped from the yard of the friend who was minding it and ran off, eventually finding her way to another home where she was taken in and cared for. The dog had no identification of any kind. The finder tried to locate the original owner, without success, and adopted the stray pup, naming her Gracie. After nearly 5 months, the original owner spotted the dog, and is now demanding her return, vilifying the new owner in the process. As with so many issues, people are making up their minds, or rather, jumping on a bandwagon, with only one side of the story. Seeing so many comments and letters from friends and …
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Letter's author says dog dispute paints ugly picture of Easley.
Dear Sir or Madam: In May of this year, my friend Kerri let a friend that lives on Glenwood Mill Hill watch her teacup chihuahua Lucy while her and her family went on vacation. While watching the dog, it was able to escape out of the friend's house and ran off. Kerri spent weeks and weeks looking for the dog, posting pictures and scouring the internet trying to find where her dog could possibly be. Kerri has 5 children. Meri is 3, Will is 4, Madilyn is 11, Zach is 16, and Shane is 23. So you can imagine the devastation of her children at the loss of a treasured part of their family. Kerri has never given up looking for the dog. Then she saw the story on the Easley Patch about the city council meeting about the dog ownership/…
An Easley woman claims City Councilman Dave Watson and his wife are refusing to return her dog, but the Watsons say the dog is now theirs after having cared for it for months.
A chihuahua is at the center of a dispute between an Easley family and Easley City Councilman Dave Watson and his wife, Trish. Kerri Blanton said that her dog went missing on Mother’s Day weekend. Blanton and her family had left Lucy in the care of a friend while on vacation and Lucy slipped through a hole in the privacy fence of the friend’s home on Blue Ridge Street. Upon returning home, Blanton and her family looked for Lucy for several hours in the rain, then returned the next day and canvassed the neighborhood. But the family saw no sign of Lucy until Saturday. One of Blanton’s sons said he saw a dog that looked like Lucy at Easley Responsible Dog Ownership Day. Love Easley Patch? Like us on Facebook. “We made flyers and hung them all…
gene vinson
11:39 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
Oh be nice. Responding to me can't be anymore of a time waster than anyone else has already spent on the matter. Anyone involved in a court case over a dog can't be very good at managing time & priorities anyway. My comments are absolutely nonsense - reach a little higher if you missed the irony. More importantly, this is a TERRIBLE exercise in teaching children about loss and conflict resolution… more ›