Adventures as a pretend attorney

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Pooky gets a pass

Californians like their dogs.

Yesterday I read a case in which two homeowners got to keep their dog, Pooky, in spite of the by-laws of their homeowners' association. The homeowners, who suffered from depression, said that Pooky helped with their symptoms, and therefore should be admitted as a medical service animal. The association didn't buy it, saying that Pooky was just a dog and wasn't trained as a service animal, and so he should go.

The court said, "Bah! Who needs training? The dog makes the people happy, let it in!"

Okay, so the court didn't say those words exactly, but it did say this, "[I]t was the innate qualities of a dog, in particular a dog's friendliness and ability to interact with humans, that made it therapeutic here." (citation omitted)

Your tax dollars hard at work, folks.

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