Civil small claims gets you nothing.

When I found out that I had hit the top of the reserved list for low income housing in Eugene, I was thrilled, but ill-prepared. I had been told it would be up to 2 years, and some were a 5 year wait. I was informed I had 3 days to decide.

I had already been trying to sell my horse and goat for the last 6 months or so. I didn't want to sell them, but I knew I had to before I could move. I had a couple people visit, but no takers until Dena Vinson. Remember that name - she is a thief! I had visited her barn which was very nice. She had another horse in one stall. They were huge stalls and they had very green hay. I still had some reservations about Dena, but she assured me Ginger would be fine. I had been told I would be in my apartment by 11-28-18. It was now 11-21-18. I had very little choice, so I transported my animals to her barn. I had her complete the bill of sale which included a payment plan. Although I had trouble reading Dena, I decided to trust her. I guess that was my first mistake.

11-28-18 came around and went. My apartment would not be available until 12-15-18. I had not yet received any money for my animals. I continued to try to contact her with virtually no success. I finally moved in to my apartment on 12-28-18. On January 5, the date she said she could pay, she was not there, my horse and goat were gone and I had no payment. Then I got a text saying I was trespassing.

I filed a small claims report. Paid $55 for the paperwork, $45 for the sheriff to serve her and got nothing from Dena in the stipulated 14 day window. So, now I was out $500 for my animals and $100 for the small claims. I put a notification out on Facebook in every horse site I could. I heard back from a number of people who echoed my experience with Dena. She has apparently doing these small time thefts for years.

So, I called the District attorney. They said call the Sheriff. So I called the Sheriff. They said unless it is theft by way of a debit card or something, it would be a civil matter. In effect, I have no recourse, nor do all the other victims. We just get screwed over by this woman and the law is ineffectual, and pawns it off as our responsibility to collect. But no harassment. Call an attorney to find out your recourse. More money. AAAAGH!

My final recourse? Ya got me. Guess I traded $600 bucks for hard lesson.