PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Mr. Big's show days might be over, but the 10-year-old prize winning Norfolk terrier is of great value to the two people who know him best.
And Judge Judith Savage has ordered Mr. Big's handler, Lori Pelletier, of Exeter, to return him to his owner, Jayne Dubin, of New Jersey.
Dubin sued Pelletier after she refused to return Mr. Big following his final Westminster dog show in 2009. Pelletier countersued, arguing Dubin said she could keep the dog at his retirement dinner.
Savage rejected Pelletier's claims that her continuing care of the dog, who lives and sleeps in her home, was in his best interests. While acknowledging Pelletier's "wonderful care" of Mr. Big, Savage said she had not overcome Dubin's presumptive right of possession.