A nearly four-year-old legal battle — that stemmed from a woman who claimed that PAWS Animal Adoption Center refused to return her dog to her and that it led to the canine being traumatized — appears to be ending with the woman dropping the case.
And the judge warned the woman — who goes by both Tiger and Eva Morris — that her comments to the court in that announcement were risking a contempt filing.
“The Court cautions the Plaintiff that although cordiality has slowly eroded from society over the years, the court is the last bastion of civility and when addressing the Court, court staff, opposing parties or their counsel in communications, filings or on the record, litigants shall behave civilly or risk the possible consequences of the summary contempt process,” Justice Patrick Larson stated in a Jan. 8 order.
Justice Larson was referring to a Jan. 5 email to the court in which Morris stated “Upon much thought, I’ve realized there are far better ways to make nonprofit PAWS face what its (fat and ugly) Director and (fat and stupid) Manager did to my (truly beloved) Bloodhound ‘Fabio’ and I, and to other people too.”
“Yes, there are much better ways to pursue this, in the public realm, rather than wasting four years of my time treading (dirty) water in Knox Co. court with two (loser, low-life, absolutely shameless) attorneys and a (totally compromised) Judge Lawson who nods and does anything they tell him to. So I will not be at this hearing or any in the future. Now I’m released!, to really tell this story, and tell it I will,” Morris said in the email.
A pre-trial conference had been scheduled for Jan. 8. Justice Larson gave both parties 30 days to file docket entries in the case or he would formally dismiss the lawsuit.
Justice Larson had issued a partial summary judgment on Sept. 29, 2025, in the lawsuit filed in April 2023 by Morris against PAWS, then Executive Director Shelly Butler and then Co-Shelter Director Meghan Austin.
On Feb. 8, 2022, a woman brought a dog she found on the Youngtown Road in Lincolnville to the shelter. Austin posted a photo of the dog on the shelter’s Facebook page, seeking the owner.
From Feb. 9 through Feb. 15, the woman going by the name Tiger contacted PAWS many times but the judge noted she did not provide any documents with the name Eva Morris, the name she initially provided to PAWS nor any documents with the name of the dog Fabio.
Butler emailed Tiger and told her she needed to provide documentation in order to get the dog. Butler also informed Tiger of the $25 per day boarding charge and sent an invoice,
On Feb. 15, the shelter agreed that Tiger for the first time said her real name was Tiger and provided documentation of ownership of the dog. But, Tiger refused to pay for the boarding of the animal. Tiger was informed that if she left without paying, the dog would be considered abandoned and PAWS would take custody. She was given 10 days to pay the invoice or she would lose custody of the animal. That 10 days passed on Feb. 27.
PAWS heard nothing until Tiger filed a small claims case in court against the shelter on June 23, 2023.
The shelter is represented by attorney Jonathan Liberman. Tiger/Morris represents herself in the lawsuit.
Tiger had also filed a federal lawsuit against the shelter. The court dismissed that lawsuit in June 2025.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.
