He’s a Charmer : Custody Battle for Tiny Terrier Ends Out of Court

Smokey, the Yorkshire terrier who became the subject of an unusual custody battle, is headed back to his elderly owner as the result of an out-of-court settlement reached Monday.

While the return of the 8-year-old Yorky will be Karoline Nachary’s gain, it represents an emotional loss for Bill Evans and Barbara Fulford, the couple with whom the terrier has lived the last five months.

Evans and Fulford agreed Tuesday to return Smokey in exchange for Mrs. Nachary’s promise to buy them a new terrier. Mrs. Nachary, who had said she could not live without Smokey, filed suit in Orange County Superior Court in an attempt to win him back.

Mrs. Nachary is a resident of a senior citizens complex in Huntington Beach that has a strict rule against pets. For some time, a nearby friend had provided a home for Smokey so that Nachary could be close to him without breaking the rules. But last October, the friend was hospitalized, and Mrs. Nachary--through mutual acquaintances--contacted the Evans and Fulford.

She asked them to make a home for Smokey, Evans said, and he thought that meant he and Fulford would be able to keep Smokey for good. But within three weeks, Mrs. Nachary asked for the dog back. The widow eventually sued for possession, claiming that Smokey had gone to the couple on a trial basis.

The misunderstanding had profound consequences, according to Mrs. Nachary’s psychologist, Dr. Wayne Brown.

She was suffering “a severe depression from being deprived of the dog’s companionship, a depression so severe that Mrs. Nachary shows a pattern of suicidal ideation in connection with the dog’s absence,” according to a sworn statement by Brown submitted in the case.

Brown wrote that “Mrs. Nachary has had a series of misfortunes in her life, including the death of her husband and a severe rift with her daughter, and the dog is presently the only family that she has.”

Evans said he doesn’t find it hard to understand the attachment.

“Oh, certainly,” Evans said. “Barbara and I are in the same position. We’re attached to the little guy. And it didn’t take long--he’s that type of a dog.”

But he said that he feels deceived and that he would never have taken Smokey if he had known that Mrs. Nachary might take him back. “She gave us the bed, the belongings, the papers on the dog,” Evans said. “She said she knew the dog would have a good home because her late husband’s name was Bill, and my name is Bill. It was really an emotional thing.”

Evans, a court bailiff in Santa Ana, said the case is an example of “frivolous” litigation flooding the courts. He said the matter would have come to the same conclusion, for a lot less money, in small claims court. He said the lawsuit makes “everyone involved look stupid and foolish.”

Evans said the swap was first proposed Monday and added that he and Fulford were eager to accept.

“If that had been suggested a long time ago, there wouldn’t have been any problem,” Evans said.

Neither Mrs. Nachary nor her lawyer, Stuart M. Parker, could be reached for comment, and it could not be determined where Smokey will be housed once he is returned to Mrs. Nachary. However, Parker has said in the past that Smokey once again would stay with a nearby friend if returned to Mrs. Nachary.

Evans said he will return Smokey by today.

But he will keep a snapshot of the terrier, along with him and Fulford, on his desk in an Orange County courtroom.