International custody battle over L.A. dog ends as ex-couple settles lawsuit over ‘Crumpet’

A cross-border legal dispute over possession of a small dog has ended in a settlement.

The attorneys for Paul Wallace and Alexandra Wells notified Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa Beaudet on Thursday that the case was resolved. No terms were divulged.

Wallace, a Toronto advertising executive, was vying with Wells for permanent custody of “Berryhill Thinkingmans Crumpet,’’ the name given the smooth-coated Brussels Griffon that Wallace said he bought in July 2011 for $1,237 from a well-known Canadian breeder.

Wallace posted the female pooch’s face on Instagram, and the canine has made numerous other appearances on social media.

Wallace started the litigation by suing Wells, of Los Angeles, in June 2015. He said Wells paid him for her interest in the pet, but later relinquished her ownership claim. Wells maintained she was always the dog’s sole owner.

The Brussels Griffon breed, also known as Griffon Bruxellois, is a stock of toy dog named for Brussels, Belgium. Wallace and Wells dated from August 2008 until May 2013 and lived together in Toronto, according to his suit. In April 2012, Wells said she was temporarily moving to Los Angeles for five months, but would return, while Crumpet remained in Toronto with Wallace, his court papers said.

But Wells did not return, and in May 2013 she told Wallace that she would remain in Los Angeles, but missed Crumpet and asked that she be allowed to have the pet for a while in the Southland, according to his suit. Wallace says he declined the visitation, but later that year agreed to Wells’ request that Crumpet spend time with her for two months while he would be traveling. The parties agreed that the dog could stay with Wells until February 2014, then be returned to Wallace in Toronto, but that never happened, according to his lawsuit. Wells countersued in July 2015, alleging assault, battery, domestic violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and stalking.

According to the countersuit, Wallace and another man grabbed Crumpet from Wells’ grasp in May 2015 in Sherman Oaks. She alleges that Wallace twisted her arms and wrists and banged her body against a wall, leaving her with bruises and scratches, and also shouted profanities at her before he and the other man left with the dog.

Wells obtained a restraining order against Wallace about two weeks after the Sherman Oaks incident. He was ordered to return the dog to her, according to her suit, and the canine has remained with her ever since.