Windsor dog walker who won't return pet faces arrest after not showing up for criminal trial

Published Sep 19, 2023 • Last updated 14 hours ago • 2 minute read

Greg Marentette is shown at the Ontario Court of Justice in Windsor on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, where he continues his legal battle to get his dog Lemmy back. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

A Windsor dog walker charged with theft for refusing to return a client’s pet — despite repeated losses in a strange and prolonged custody fight — now faces an arrest warrant after failing to show up for her trial.

An Ontario Court judge issued a bench warrant Tuesday for Samantha Roberts. She is charged with theft under $5,000 for refusing to return Lemmy, the Newfoundland dog she was hired to take for daily walks.

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The criminal charge and arrest warrant follows a drawn-out civil case launched by Greg Marentette, who bought Lemmy as a puppy in 2016, that went all the way to Ontario Court of Appeal.

“It’s beyond frustrating,” said Marentette, who has spent four years and about $45,000 trying to get his dog back. “How many times do you have to win something? But there’s nobody there to take action. I don’t want my dog back in a box.”

“I’ve been worried about that since the day she took him.”

Greg Marentette leaves the Ontario Court of Justice in Windsor on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, where he continues his legal battle to get his dog Lemmy back from Samantha Roberts. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

The criminal case was scheduled Tuesday morning for a four-hour trial starting at 10 a.m. But when Roberts’ name was called, she didn’t appear. A judge issued the bench warrant at 10:02 a.m.

“I don’t have an explanation of why she’s not here,” defence lawyer Robert DiPietro said in court. “I don’t expect her to show.”

He said outside court he hasn’t heard from Roberts in months.

Marentette tried several times over the last year to track down Roberts and get Lemmy back with the help of the sheriff, a government official who executes and enforces court orders. But each time they showed up, Roberts and the dog were gone.

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Marentette bought the puppy from his sister, a dog breeder, in 2016. He named the dog after the lead singer of Motorhead, one of his favourite bands.

He hired Roberts to look after the dog while he was at work. But after doing the job for about three years, Roberts decided one day in August 2019 that she was keeping Lemmy.

Marentette launched a small claims case in hopes of getting the dog back. He won. But Roberts repeatedly appealed. Each time, she obtained a stay of the order to give up Lemmy pending the outcome of the appeal.

Marentette won a third victory in August 2022 when Ontario’s highest court rejected Roberts’ bid to overturn previous judgments against her.

But Roberts still didn’t return the dog. In August 2022, Marentette filed a “private prosecution” by going to court and giving testimony in support of filing the charges. A justice of the peace immediately issued a summons for Roberts to appear in court.

Roberts’s criminal trial was supposed to begin Tuesday.

Despite his repeated wins, Marentette has only seen Lemmy once since August 2019, in a courtroom on the first day of the small claims trial.

“We won everything all the way through,” he said. “And still, no action. So it goes to criminal now. Now she’s avoiding to even show up to court because she knows if she comes here she will lose the dog.”

“But it’s only a matter of time now. There’s a warrant out for her arrest. She will get caught.”

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