Courts

State appeals court rules in La Crosse County dispute over pet dog

Published

3 years ago

April 29, 2021

Whose dog are you? A Wisconsin appeals judge decides that question, in a La Crosse County case where a man and woman both claimed to own the same dog after they broke up.

The man, identified in the appeals court ruling as Ronald Greenwood, originally owned the dog named “Todd,” and former girlfriend Shawna Hathaway said Ronald gave her the pet, and she took Todd with her when they split.

Ronald says he didn’t seriously give Todd to Shawna, and reported the dog stolen after he wasn’t returned by Shawna.

Judge Rachel Graham agrees with the local ruling from small claims court that evidence, including paying the dog license fees, establishes Shawna as Todd’s legal owner.

In court, Ronald said that he had told Shawna the dog was hers to make her feel better.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.