Tamar Sherman has a criminal record -- for petting a dog.
A couple of months back, Sherman reached out to a dog she said was neglected, a dog left outside in the cold while its owners were inside. She petted the dog on several nights. And once she gave it water.
Just one problem: The dog was on private property, behind a gate in a side yard. And the owner insists that the dog, a chocolate Labrador named Bailey, was just fine.
``When I went out there to fill up the dog bowl, this woman was standing in my back yard,'' said Ron Berki, a San Jose attorney. ``My response was, `Who in the hell are you?' She told me, `I'm here to pet your dog.' ''
Sherman, a member of a national group called Dogs Deserve Better, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors this week -- trespassing and prowling. Sherman, 32, was sentenced to 75 hours of community service and a year of probation, and was ordered to stay 100 yards away from the Berki home in South San Jose, several blocks from where she lives.
The plea came just before jury selection was to begin. Sherman said she pleaded guilty because she feared being sent to jail if a judge disagreed with her philosophy on how dogs should be treated.
``I just wanted to find out if a dog that seemed to be in distress was OK,'' Sherman said. ``I do not think my actions were a crime in comparison with abuse or neglect of animals.''
Full Story from the Mercury News
A couple of months back, Sherman reached out to a dog she said was neglected, a dog left outside in the cold while its owners were inside. She petted the dog on several nights. And once she gave it water.
Just one problem: The dog was on private property, behind a gate in a side yard. And the owner insists that the dog, a chocolate Labrador named Bailey, was just fine.
``When I went out there to fill up the dog bowl, this woman was standing in my back yard,'' said Ron Berki, a San Jose attorney. ``My response was, `Who in the hell are you?' She told me, `I'm here to pet your dog.' ''
Sherman, a member of a national group called Dogs Deserve Better, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors this week -- trespassing and prowling. Sherman, 32, was sentenced to 75 hours of community service and a year of probation, and was ordered to stay 100 yards away from the Berki home in South San Jose, several blocks from where she lives.
The plea came just before jury selection was to begin. Sherman said she pleaded guilty because she feared being sent to jail if a judge disagreed with her philosophy on how dogs should be treated.
``I just wanted to find out if a dog that seemed to be in distress was OK,'' Sherman said. ``I do not think my actions were a crime in comparison with abuse or neglect of animals.''
Full Story from the Mercury News