Ranger Cleared in Tasing of Dog Walker
Last January, Gary Hesterberg of Montara took his two dogs for their usual romp at Rancho Corral de Tierra in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). A new leash-only policy had gone into effect in December, when the National Park Service assumed management of the Rancho Corral property, and GGNRA rangers were on hand to educate community members about the policy shift.
Hesterberg’s lesson, however, proved unexpectedly harsh. When a park ranger attempted to cite him for letting his 13-pound Rat Terrier, Jo-Jo, off-leash, Hesterberg started to leave the scene. The ranger stopped him by shooting him in the back with an electric Taser gun. Hesterberg, who did not sustain serious injuries, was jailed briefly and charged with three misdemeanors, which were dropped later. Witnesses returned Jo-Jo and the second dog to Hesterberg’s wife.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) asked the Park Service to investigate whether the use of a Taser in this situation constituted excessive force. In late August Speier released a letter she’d received from GGNRA superintendent Frank Dean confirming that the ranger had been cleared of disciplinary charges because her use of the stun gun on an uncooperative dog walker was “within policy and consistent with the training she received.” Speier says she will attempt to change Park Service policy governing Tasers so that rangers have less discretion over when to use the weapons.
Hesterberg has filed a $500,000 federal claim against the GGNRA in what could be a precursor to a civil rights lawsuit.
Hound Hunting Ban on Governor’s Desk
Legislation prohibiting hunters from using dogs during bear and bobcat hunts passed both houses of the California Legislature in August and was on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk at press time. His signature is needed by September 30 to make it law.
Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) authored SB1221 on the grounds that “hound hunting” is inhumane. Amendments to the bill added exemptions that permit using dogs to track nuisance animals, for research purposes, or to protect livestock.
You can urge the governor to sign SB1221 by calling 916-445-2841 or emailing gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php.
Dog Attacker Must Pay for Emotional Distress
A California court has acknowledged for the first time that our pets are worth more to us than the mere price of their purchase. The Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana ruled in September that a pet owner may be compensated for emotional distress suffered when a pet is deliberately injured or killed.
Although the court continues to define pets as “property,” the ruling confirms that the intentional damage or destruction of someone else’s property can cause emotional as well as financial harm.
The case stems from a 2009 incident in Orange County involving feuding neighbors. John Meihaus used a baseball bat to strike his adversary’s Miniature Pinscher, Romeo, who had wandered onto his property. Romeo survived but was injured. A jury ordered Meihaus to compensate Romeo’s guardians for the actual cost of veterinary treatment plus $50,000 to cover their emotional distress.
In upholding the damages, the court rejected Meihaus’s claim that he had acted in self-defense against the 12-inch-tall, 15-pound dog. More importantly, the court noted that because Meihaus’s actions were intentional, they differ from earlier rulings denying emotional distress damages to pet owners when an animal’s injury or death was caused by unintentional negligence.
Meihaus is considering appealing to the California Supreme Court.
Rescue Pit Steals Show at Shakespeare Fest
Six years ago, Michael was a deaf Pitbull who had been caught running loose in Reno and sent to death row at an overcrowded shelter. This summer, he was performing Shakespeare – and cracking up audiences – at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival.
In his debut as Crab the dog in “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” Michael was acting against type, according to his guardian, Michelle Okashima of Incline Village. She calls Michael, a registered therapy dog, her “big lump of brown sugar” – while Michael’s “master” in the play, Launce, calls Crab “The sourest-natured dog that lives.” While Launce, in a famous comic monologue, lamented that apathetic Crab “has no more pity in him than a dog,” Michael often brought down the house with his well-timed yawns and scratches.
Okashima thanks the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe for rescuing Michael in the nick of time, and the festival for casting her Pitbull, a breed, she says, that faces rejection “all the time.”
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Main article photo by: www.dogumentarian.com
