Dogs can be trained to obey a lot of commands: sit, stay, roll over, play dead. But how about “dial 911”? Well, that would probably be a foreign command for most dogs. Luckily, it wasn’t for Buddy, an 18-month-old German shepherd who remembered his training and saved his owner’s life. Joe Stalnaker of Scottsdale, Arizona, sustained a head injury during a military training exercise 10 years prior to the incident. Because of that injury, he suffered from seizures. Normally, a condition like that would make it unwise for him to live alone, but Stalnaker valued his independence and wanted to find a way to lead as normal a life as possible. Joe adopted Buddy from a Michigan-based organization called Paws With a Cause when the pup was just 8 weeks old. Paws with a Cause trains assistance dogs, and after adopting him, Joe trained Buddy to
dial 911 until an operator was on the line in the event that he had a seizure.
A year and a half later, that training saved Joe’s life. One day, Joe began seizing when he was home alone with Buddy. Buddy rushed to the phone and dialed 911, whimpering to the dispatcher. Even if they don’t hear anyone on the line, dispatchers are required to send police. When police arrived at Joe’s home, they found him and Buddy, who was barking loudly. They took Joe to the nearby hospital, where in a few days, he made a full recovery. Some might say that Buddy was just following his training, but this heroic act goes far beyond just sitting and rolling over for treats. Even the veteran dispatchers hadn’t heard of a dog dialing 911 before. Buddy knew it was his mission to keep his owner safe, and thankfully, he knew exactly what to do under pressure — because that’s what heroes do.
HOW ONE DOG SAVED HIS OWNER BY DIALING 911
IN CALIFORNIA, THERE CAN BE HUGE CONSEQUENCES Considering Skipping Court?
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Unfortunately, a California traffic ticket or failure to appear (FTA) does not just disappear because you ignore it. Therefore, a forgotten or ignored traffic ticket could come back to haunt you years later. Suppose you were out of state for several years. Now, you want to reestablish your residency and drive legally in California. You should consult a California traffic attorney to assist you in removing the bench warrant, if any, and resolving the FTA and the original ticket. A traffic attorney can ask the traffic court judge to suspend administrative and late fees that have accumulated. However, the ultimate decision lies with the judge. HOW CAN AN FTA AFFECT YOUR REPUTATION AND RECORD? According to the CA Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 40508, Release Upon Promise to Appear makes your FTA a misdemeanor crime. It states, “A person willfully violating his or her written promise to appear or a lawfully granted continuance of his or her promise to appear in court or before a person authorized to receive a deposit of bail is guilty of a misdemeanor …”
There are specific instances where the FTA for a ticket could be quickly resolved with the help of a traffic attorney. Did you notice how the traffic code says willfully violating? That leaves some circumstances open to the judge’s discretion regarding whether or not you willfully violated your promise to appear. If you were incarcerated, hospitalized, deported, or serving in the military away from the court where you were to appear, you did not willfully FTA. Therefore, the first step to clearing an FTA is for your traffic attorney to build your defense for either of two scenarios: You did not willfully FTA, or you were not able to appear due to an emergency outside the court’s jurisdiction. WHAT IF THERE IS AN ACTIVE BENCH WARRANT? A warrant authorizes the police to arrest an individual who has an outstanding bench warrant. To avoid an ugly situation, a traffic attorney can clear the warrant, begin procedures to remove the FTA, and challenge the original ticket.
An attorney can clear your FTA without your appearance in court, so don’t wait to give our office a call!
2 | www.bakersfieldtraffictickets.com
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