He’s getting Cash back — for now.
An ugly tug-of-war between ex-lovers in Chelsea over a Doberman named Cash shifted this weekend when the ex-boyfriend got temporary custody of the prized pooch.
Noah Szubski, an executive with Mail Online, was reunited Friday with the 5-year-old dog that his ex, Chelsea Conrad, insists is hers.
The exchange was made on W. 22nd St., where Szubski and Conrad live separately a block apart.
Conrad — daughter of the “Wild Wild West” star Robert Conrad — moved out of Szubski’s townhouse last October, but didn’t take the dog to live with her permanently until mid-February. Conrad continued to visit the dog regularly, take her for walks and babysit for her in Szubski’s apartment when he was out of town on business.
“The cordiality of the separation was sundered on Valentine’s Day 2015” when Conrad arrived at the townhouse to pick up Cash for a walk and found her ex with three women, according to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Wright.
That’s when Conrad’s mother, Lavelda, who was visiting from California, put her foot down and refused to return Cash. Lavelda Conrad had originally purchased the 85-pound pooch for her daughter when she was living at home in California.
In deciding to return Cash to Szubski, Wright noted that Cash has lived almost 60% of his life with Szubski, who says he has paid all the dog’s expenses since he and Conrad moved to New York in 2013. He even bought a French bulldog, Bernie, to keep Cash company.
When the couple broke up last October, Conrad rented an apartment down the block with a backyard and put Cash on her lease. She says she always intended to have Cash live with her full time, but she was afraid of Szubski’s temper and his threat to retaliate if she tried it.
Wright said he didn’t believe that argument. He said Conrad’s petition to Family Court on Feb. 19 for a protective order was full of “conclusory statements, none of which demonstrate any personal peril” to Conrad.
“The Family Court proceeding, in the context of this action, seems contrived,” Wright said.
He ordered Conrad to return Cash to Szubski until there is a full hearing on the issues on April 3 to determine permanent custody.
Conrad’s lawyer, Mia Poppe, said Szubski’s legal right to the dog is weak because Conrad never gave him the dog.
She said courts in the past have decided pet custody issues when there was a divorce involved, but note this couple was never married. There “is no precedent” for the courts to decide “who is able to keep personal property — including animals” in a boyfriend-girlfriend breakup, she said.
Poppe said Conrad doesn’t want to spend the next year litigating the matter in court, but she was “the victim of domestic violence.” She says Szubski has thrown water in Conrad’s face and pushed her.
“Now he’s abusing her through the legal system,” Poppe said. “We’re reviewing our options.”
Szubski’s attorney, Stephen Silberfein, did not return a phone call.
