Dog fight lands women of Niles in TV courtroom

BY AMANDA GARRETT
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A 31/2-year-old missing black Labrador retriever and a $50 reward have landed two Niles women an appearance on the "Judge Joe Brown" television show.
Arvona A. Miller and Jacklyn Franks will be flying to Los Angeles this afternoon to argue their case in Brown's Hollywood, Calif., studio.
At the heart of the case Brown will be hearing on Tuesday is Franks' black lab Rosco, whom Miller found last April.
Miller is suing Franks for $143, which includes a $50 reward for finding Rosco plus the price of gas for six or seven failed attempts to get the reward from Franks.
Franks said although she did try to pay Miller $15, she never promised a $50 reward, and doesn't feel she owes Miller anything.
Brown will have to decide whether this is a case of a good deed gone unrewarded or someone looking for some free cash, but here are the details of the stories Miller and Franks plan to tell the judge.
Miller's story
Miller's tale begins when she spotted a black Labrador retriever wandering around her neighborhood April 5.
Not knowing who the owner was, she gave the dog to the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County.
Two days later her sister told her that Franks had a missing black lab and was offering a $50 reward for his return.
Miller said she went to Franks' workplace and informed her that Rosco was at the league shelter and asked for the reward.
Miller said Franks put her off and continued to do so on six or seven more trips Miller made to retrieve the reward money.
Eventually, Miller said Franks told her that she didn't feel she owed Miller any money because she returned the dog to the shelter and not to Franks personally.
Miller then filed a lawsuit in Niles Municipal Court for the $50 reward plus court costs.
Miller said she sued not because she needs the money, but because she feels Franks' behavior was wrong.
"I'm not looking for the money," she said. "It's the principle of the thing. If you find a missing animal, you take them to the authorities first, not where they live."
Miller said she plans to donate any money she receives in the case to the Animal Welfare League.
Franks' story
Franks said she did go around her neighborhood asking about Rosco and offering an unspecified reward.
Franks never offered anyone $50, she said.
"I make $6 an hour," she said. "I don't have that kind of money. I already had to pay $65 to get Rosco out of the shelter."
Franks said she did leave Miller $15 to pick up at her workplace, but the money was either stolen or mislaid.
National spotlight
"Judge Joe Brown" show employees discovered the case through an Internet database which searches national court records.
The show hears small-claims cases for amounts no larger than $5,000.
Brown, a self-described "common-sense" judge, rose to prominence after he presided over the reopening of James Earl Ray's trial for assassinating Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Judge Joe Brown" airs locally weekdays at 4 p.m. on CBS affiliate WKBN 27.
Miller had never really watched Brown's show before she received a phone message from a staff member asking about her case.
"I like 'Judge Judy' and 'The People's Court'" she said. "I wish Judge Judy would have heard my case, but Judge Joe is OK, too."
Unlike Miller, Franks is a big fan of Brown.
"I love Judge Brown. He comes on right after my soaps." she said. "When my husband heard I was going he said, 'Oh my gosh, you're going to have to get an autograph.'"
agarrett@vindy.com