Windsor dog owner sees light at the end of the tunnel after legal battle

Separated from his black Newfoundland dog going on four years now, Greg Marentette is feeling better about his chance of being reunited with Lemmy.

Samantha Roberts was scheduled to be in court Friday to answer to criminal charges of disobeying a court order and theft under $5,000.

"There's no not guilty with the evidence we have. We got three court orders from civil court saying she's in contempt, not to mention she stole the dog," said Marentette.

Roberts was hired to dog-sit Lemmy in 2016. Three years later, the relationship came to an impasse with Roberts refusing to return Lemmy. Samantha Roberts says she depends on Lemmy as her service animal in Windsor, Ont. on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. (Michelle Maluske/CTV Windsor)

Marentette wanted to be at the Ontario Court of Justice Friday to see the proceedings. What he didn’t see was Roberts. When Marentette inquired why, the judge told him Roberts had retained lawyer Bob DiPietro, who spoke to the case earlier in the morning.

Marentette was not impressed with the unexpected turn saying, "This is just another stall tactic for more time with the dog which she doesn't need obviously because she's hiding him and she's not even with him."

The judge told Marentette Friday's appearance was supposed to set the court process in motion saying it could take several months before a resolution or trial.

Frustrated, Marentette went directly to the Crowns office one floor below following the proceeding where he was told they have an interest in moving the case forward to expedite a resolution. A crown representative explained they would reach out to DiPietro and ask for a deadline to return Lemmy.

“If they don't give us the dog back then they're going to proceed and the Crown is going to prosecute and ask for jail time."

Roberts is schedule for another court appearance Oct. 14 at 9 a.m.

"This is not a game anymore," said Marentette.