Claire Monsman Petty

Almost 3 years ago my house caught on fire and my husband of 19 years died in that fire! His two dogs survived, 1 pregnant with her litter. we were in temporary shelter with my husbands 2 dogs, 2 weeks after his death we had his memorial service, 1 week after that, the dogs dug under the fe...nse and got out the yard, 1 dog bit someone and both dogs were shot and killed by the police, the female dog left behind 8 two week old puppies was now bottle feeding. 1 week after this incident I was charged with 2 class c misdemeanors for the dogs getting out and fined 600$ which I paid. A few months later I finally take my daughter on a trip to clear our minds, her father had died and she was 16 in high school and this was tearing her apart. I took her to the Bahamas and she tried to have a good time. On the flight back to United States I was immediately arrested by customs and Houston pd as soon as I exited the airplane. Had no idea why and my 16 year old daughter was in total shock she's stuck at the airport 4 hours from where we live in Collin county and her mom was in jail. I was told that Collin county had s warrant for my arrest for 3rd degree felony carrying 2-10 years in prison!! Here's the charge "Dog bite with serious bodily injury". This was the first I had heard of anything other than the 600$ fine. 3,000 I paid to a bail bondsman and hired an attorney to fight for my freedom! While on bond I receive a knock at the door from a server, whose serving me a civil law suit from the lady who was bitten. They wanted everything I had.. my freedom my livelihood. I was the sole provider for my daughter,the primary medical insurance holder for 3 of my children and had been on my job for 15 years. Now I'm facing prison, loss of my job and being sued all while grieving the tragic death of my husband! I felt like Job!! Jesus this is too much! I was stuck and didn't know how to move forward the load was so heavy! Claire attended my civil mediation even though she wasn't my civil attorney she wanted to ensure that nothing was done or said that may hurt my criminal case. The civil case settled out of court and my homeowners insurance company paid the lady directly. The criminal case all the way up until the day of the trial Claire fought tooth and nail for fairness and ready to war at trial if needed. On the day of trial she negotiated along with me and the outcome I got was outstanding. No felony, a misdemeanor deferred probation with early release possibility, minimal probation requirements, she saved my job, my freedom, from prison to deferred probation meaning no conviction so I keep my job and the take care of my family!!! Claire worked hard and never gave up on the possibilities and this was a great outcome!!!