Woman Gets Criminal Record for Petting Dog
03/12/04 - Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - All Tamar Sherman wanted to do was pet a dog and give it some water. Sherman's act left her with a criminal record.

A few months ago, Sherman was walking near her South San Jose home and encountered a dog left outside in the cold while its owners were inside.

Sherman, a member of a national group called Dogs Deserve Better, decided to pet the dog on a few occassions and once gave it water. That didn't please the dog's owner.

``When I went out there to fill up the dog bowl, this woman was standing in my back yard,'' attorney Ron Berki told the San Jose Mercury News. ``My response was, `Who ... are you?' She told me, `I'm here to pet your dog.'''

For that, Sherman pleaded guilty this week to two misdemeanors - trespassing and prowling - and was sentenced to 75 hours of community service and a year of probation. She also was ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from Berki's home.

``I just wanted to find out if a dog that seemed to be in distress was OK,'' Sherman told the paper. ``I do not think my actions were a crime in comparison with abuse or neglect of animals.''

Berki denies that his dog, Bailey, was abused or neglected, saying the dog sleeps inside with him every night.

``If Miss Sherman was so concerned about my dog, it would have been easy to come to my front door and speak to me directly,'' he said.

The things that can only be done in America....................

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wow! well, being a property owner myself i REEEELLLY get TICKED off when folks tresspass, so from that standpoint i can see how the owner pressed charges but wow they sure gave a stiff fine; i guess she in the dog house now huh? lol

Aye sah. Dat is all mi have to sey.

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Your best can be someone else's worse!

Jus goes to show you should let sleeping dogs lie!

That's a mess what happened to the woman. But I also see from the owners point of view.

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Excuses are Tools of the Incompetent!