The motive
These are some pictures I took back in April up in Little Cottonwood Canyon just before the sun rose over the mountains. Not much to look at, but the reason for posting them is to tell a story that will hopefully help others from making the same mistake I did.
Evidence of the crime.
A picture I took of my dog Ruby while we were waiting for the sun to rise over the mountain tops so that I could capture it on camera to add to my photo collection.
The story behind the pictures.
This is the quick version of the story. I had written up a very entertaining story with all of my crazy thoughts and more details, but just after it was finished I lost it all when the computer froze up. It took me two hours to write and I don't have the time or the patience to write it all up again, so this will have to do. My apologies, it really was a funny story.
I woke up on April 27th at 4:30AM and couldn't get back to sleep and I am rarely ever up that early so I made the whimsical decision to go up to the canyon to catch the sun rising over the distant ridges. The catch 22, I live with my 85-year-old grandma and have two dogs that are major pains in the ass. They bark like freaking maniacs when they are outside and out of courtesy to her I decided to take them with me so that she wouldn't be cross if they should wake her up. The thought crossed my mind that they may not be aloud in the canyon, but I wasn't sure, so I loaded the in the car deciding that I would watch out foe signs on the way up and leave them in the car or just go take pictures from the car. So off the the canyon I went. I was about a mile for home when I realised that I had forgotten my glasses I don't see very well in the dark without my glasses and am supposed to wear them to drive, but I am very stubborn, and once I set out to do something there is no detouring me from my goal. Not wanting to miss the opportunity I went on without them. If I had known the consequences of this decision I would have turned back to get them, but I told myself that it would be fine and that I would just have to drive slowly up the canyon so read the signs. I can still read street signs I just have to be right on top of them before I can read them. When I got up there I read every sign I cam across and didn't see any signs that said "NO DOGS" so I went on and when I was satisfied that it was okay I pulled over to park. I popped the trunk to grab some poop sacks just in case and up the canyon we went in search for the perfect spot. Both dogs were leashed and I neither of them so much as peed up there, but that didn't matter to the cop that spotted me only five minutes later. there. I had only snapped a few pictures, the ones you see above when he spotted me and informed me that dogs where strictly prohibited in both the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons because the entire salt lake valley gets their supply from the run off. I apologised and told him that I didn't know. He told me that there were signs posted all over the entrance to the canyon and that I should have payed better attention. He also said that he was obligated to write me a ticket regardless because the law was strictly enforced. So I made the hike back to my car and waited for him to write the ticket feeling like a compete idiot. How could I have lived in Utah my entire life and not know that? Shouldn't they teach you that in school or something? If I had even so much as suspected that I could potentially contaminate the entire valleys drinking water I would never have even dreamed of taking them up there with me. When I had though that dogs may not be aloud in the canyon I was thinking that it was more along the lines of disturbing the wild life or keeping a public area clean like in a park, but not this. I was both shocked and extremely embarrassed that I did not know this. I apologised again and even thanked the officer and went on my way with my "tale between my legs." When it came time to pay the ticket I didn't have any money to pay it and hadn't been told how much the fine would be, so i waited until pay day to pay it. After all, you can't pay a ticket with money you don't have. Payday was 3 days after the ticket was due, but when I went to pay it I was told that I was going to have to meet with a judge first. I made the appointment with the judge. The soonest I could get in was June 7th at 1:15PM. I showed up on time, plead on contest due to ignorance in a room filled with 30 other people most of which were there for DUI, assault, or theft charges. It was humiliating, but I did what I had to do, payed the $100 fine in full that day and went on my way taking the whole thing as a lesson learned the hard way. I thought that the who thing was behind me, but little did I know that it would come back to bite me in the but. Several months later when it came time to do a regular back ground check for the job I have worked at for over 11 years, I ran into a snag when I had to mark the yes box for the first time under the question, "have you ever been charged with a misdemeanor or felony." A little known fact, having your dogs "in a water shed" AKA up in the canyon is a type B misdemeanor. At least it is if you don't pay the fine on time. Still not sure on that one, all I know is that when I went to court I was told that it was a heath code violation which is a type B misdemeanor. Anyway, the form said that I needed to attach the Court docket, which I did, after having to drive clear up to the court house again to get a copy of it. I had misplaced the copy they sent home with me. I though I had put it in with all of my other important documents, but when I went to look for it I couldn't find it. So I went up to the court house on my day off to get a copy and hand delivered everything to the main office myself. Again, I though that was that, but no. More that a month goes by and my boss informs me that the main office had called her and told her that my back ground check came back denied. and that I couldn't work with the clients unsupervised until further notice. Apparently the board of licencing needed more information surrounding the criminal charges and until they received it and reviewed the information I was not to be trusted to work alone with children or vulnerable adults. Well, I work at a group home with 8 mentally and physically disable adult women, so I had to explaining this to the other staff I work with and boy was that fun! It was seriously humiliating! I couldn't believe what was happening! I had made the stupid, but honest mistake of having my dog up in the canyon and didn't have the money to pay it on time, so I wasn't safe to work around vulnerable people unsupervised? To me, it didn't make any sense. I may be stupid, but come on people, I am not a pedophile! That is what I felt they were treating me like. It was like I was guilty until proven innocent. That is kinda ass backwards isn't it? So I ended up having to write a hand written letter explaining what had happened in detail. It took me hours to do and I revised it three times to make sure the wording was right and that it didn't come off as being too emotionally charged which was really hard because I was really sick about it. The one thing that I hate most is being accused of something I didn't do and though that isn't exactly what they were doing, I know that it was just a precaution and that they had to fallow procedures, but I couldn't help it! I felt like I was being accused of some heinous crime. Tell me that you would not have felt the same way if you had been told that you couldn't be left unsupervised with the people you had cared for for more than 11 years until a hearing was held by a comity of socially workers to review your case. Three weeks, that is how long I had to work supervised, three weeks! It seemed like the nightmare that would never end. I was told about this right after Thanksgiving. The letter was due by the 6th of December but the review wasn't until the 15th at which time a decision was to be made about weather or not I was okay to go back to work unsupervised or if I would have to find another job. Of course giving the nature of my crime I was confidant that I was going to be okayed to go back to work, but until then, work was just not the same. Well, today is December 17th and I am sure you are wondering what the verdict was. I PASSED! After all of that I was finally okayed my the board to go back to unsupervised duty at work! It is such a relief to have that whole ordeal behind me! I am sharing this story with you all in hopes to prevent this from happening to someone else. Please don't make the same mistake I did! Research the area before taking your dog or any pet for that matter to any public place weather it me a canyon, a forest, or a beach, what have you, take a few minutes and RESEARCH it first. Oh, and for peat sakes if you have a corrective lenses restriction on your Drivers licence don't forget your glasses! If you do forget them, go back and get them ASAP ! LOL! Trust me, it isn't worth the risk!
