Justice Department Settles Lawsuit

The Justice Department has settled a lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act with Wal-Mmart Stores, Inc., including the treatment of people with service animals. "Many of the complaints alleged that persons with disabilities were denied access to Wal-Mart stores or were denied an equal opportunity to shop, free of repeated challenges by Wal-Mart staff, because they were accompanied by service animals. Service animals are dogs and other animals that are individually trained to work or perform tasks for persons with disabilities." You can read more about it here. They were given a Service Animal Policy they must follow within 30 days of the settlement.

The photo above is of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) with his dog, Fala, from the Roosevelt Library. Although Fala wasn't technically a service dog, he did provide valuable companionship for the President, who was confined to a wheelchair. The beautiful, unusual FDR memorial in Washington, DC pays tribute to their relationship in one of the outdoor "rooms."

Time for Change

The winds of change need to blow through all kinds of government, not just Washington. Cochise County has had to stop calling so many potential jurors because the courts are so full and it is costing so much. Now that's not actually a bad thing for us law-abiding citizens, but I was following a case today of a Pinal County man who was arrested in August for dragging a horse with a pickup truck. He also beat the horse with a pipe, and his 13-year-old daughter kicked it in the head. You can read the horrendous details at here.

I had received an e-mail he was going to be sentenced today, but it turns out it was a hearing to set a court date. This case has been dragging through the system with a bunch of what appear to me to be technicalities (although I'm not an expert on the court system).

Event Date Event Description Party
1/13/2009 CAL: REVIEW
12/29/2008 NTC: RULING MOTION UNDR ADVIS D 1
12/23/2008 ME: SET/CONT REVIEW HRG D 1
12/10/2008 ME: SET/CONT REVIEW HRG D 1
12/10/2008 CAL: TRIAL RESET
12/9/2008 CAL: JURY TRIAL
12/8/2008 CAL: MOTION/PULL FOR JUDGE
12/2/2008 REPLY D 1
11/20/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
11/13/2008 RESPONSE TO MOTION P 1
11/12/2008 ME: SET/CONT HRG PENDING MOTNS D 1
11/12/2008 CAL: STATUS REVIEW
11/12/2008 MOTION TO REMAND TO GRAND JURY D 1
10/24/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
10/22/2008 REQ TO OR FOR D 1
10/17/2008 AFF OF SERVICE D 1
10/10/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
10/6/2008 TIMELY DISPO COURT REMOVAL D 1
10/6/2008 MOTION D 1
10/6/2008 CAL: PLEA
10/6/2008 ME: SET/CONT JURY TRIAL D 1
9/24/2008 TRANSCRIPT GRAND JURY PROCDNGS D 1
9/18/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
9/17/2008 RECEIPT D 1
9/15/2008 NOTICE OF DEFENSE/WITNESSES D 1
9/15/2008 MOTION/REQUEST FOR DISCOVERY D 1
9/11/2008 RULE 15 DISCLOSURE P 1
9/5/2008 NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE P 1
9/5/2008 DETER RELEASE COND & ORDER/JP D 1 0
9/5/2008 ORDER TO APPEAR D 1
9/5/2008 TIMELY DISPO COURT INDICATOR D 1
9/5/2008 CAL: ARRAIGNMENT
9/5/2008 ME: ARRAIGNMENT D 1
8/21/2008 NOTICE APPEAR/NOT GUILTY PLEA D 1
8/19/2008 SUMMONS RETURNED D 1
8/15/2008 NOTICE PROSECUTNG ATTY ASSGNMT P 1
8/14/2008 INDICTMENT D 1
8/14/2008 ME: GRAND JURY INDICTMENT D 1

I can't even imagine what this has cost so far, not to mention the horse is being held by the Department of Agriculture. I don't even know how it (gender is unknown) can trust another human again. Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary in Green Valley has stepped up and offered him a permanent home, but who knows when it will be released. Plus there is only one charge, animal cruelty, but at least that is a felony in Arizona. (Associated Press photo)

UPDATE ON JANUARY 21, 2009: According to the State Supreme Court Public Access Web Site, a hearing is set in February, and the jury trial will begin on March 17. So it continues to drag through the system.

Joy to the World

"Marley and Me" is tops at the box office for the second week in a row, so I thought I would post a picture of the damage from Katya before I understood what separation anxiety was. My mom nicknamed her "The Destroyer." She went through two couches (gee, you'd think I would have learned from the first one) and all the screens before I understood she did not want to be left outside, even with Joey's companionship. Once I left her inside during the day, she only tore a few sheets and bed covers.

John Grogan, the author of "Marley and Me" has gotten some comments on his blog about not taking him to obedience training (he did attend one session according to the book). I did not even consider getting rid of Katya even with the damage she did. Far from Marley, she is a very shy dog. I now know that she could have benefited from training after working with my trainer on my collie.

But the thing is, collectively all my dogs, with all the problems, heartaches, and good times, have given me more joy than anything else in my life. And I really don't want a dog that acts like a puppet, no matter how entertaining it may be to others. I want them to be the best they can be without fear or anxiety, but I want them to be themselves because they bring out the best in me.