As many in our church are aware, we have a small claims lawsuit we have filed against our neighbors down the street because their two dogs got loose and killed a few of our chickens. We ended up having to shoot the dogs to prevent other chickens from getting injured or killed.
The defendants in the case have filed a counter-claim against us, and not only did I suspect they would do that, I was hoping they would because this is only going to help our case.
Without going into too many details, we have three eye witnesses to the event. We have the eyewitness testimonies of the deputies who were on the scene just after it all happened. We have eyewitnesses to testify that they were harassing Lorraine's employees, and to prove that they lied to the authorities about it to avoid citations. (I am also in the process of getting photographs that were taken by deputies.) We have a the documentation of a court case in 2010, in which the male defendant was prosecuted for eight counts of animal neglect/abandonment, of which we have been told that in order to avoid jail time, he made a plea deal with the judge to never own animals again in Shelby County.
We are now being counter-sued by the defendants for almost $3,000, and though I appreciate all the prayer towards this matter, there is very little to be concerned about here because Lorraine and I were laughing at their counter-claim. For an explanation of damages, they wrote:
"Loss of two dogs. We had 2 Husky dogs that counter defendant Christopher Johnson shot + killed. He lurd [sic] them in his yard + shot them. No evidence they killed his chickens."
Lorraine and I started laughing because they did not even bother to look up and read the Sheriff's report! The judge is probably going to scold them for wasting his time.
All the eyewitnesses to the event will be on our side of the courtroom. There was a woman on Facebook who made a comment insinuating that we "lurd" (i.e. lured) the dogs onto the property, but when the deputy investigated, she backpedaled because she said she did not see anything at all. (i.e. The town I live in is a rumor mill.)
But now they are suing us for damages, pain & suffering, AND lost wages. When I mentioned "lost wages" to Lorraine over the phone when I told her about this, she literally responded: "WHAT?!" ... and then we laughed.
I need to contact the courthouse and see if I am allowed to audio record the hearing because this is going to be comical. Although I always get nervous and shaky anytime I have to speak publicly, I am looking forward to this. The court date is set for Sept 29 at 1:00pm.
