When a good samaritan realized that someone's dog had chewed the bark off of more than a dozen trees in a Chicago park, he sprayed them with tree pruning sealer in order to help protect them from further damage. And for his conscientious efforts he was fined $225.
Asher Thomas, who regularly brings his own dog, Dixie, to the park, received the hefty ticket from the Will County Forest Preserve for "altering flora." Which is ironic, since the trees were actually "altered" by a dog.
From AP:
"The whole purpose was to prevent trees from being lost," said Thomas, who works for the U.S. Coast Guard. "What if I saved the trees? What if the other nine I did not spray died and the ones I treated lived?"
He said a "tree is worth more than gold" in his native state, Colorado.
Thomas said he'll ask a judge to dismiss the ticket for "good Samaritan" reasons.
Image by Michael Kappel / Flickr
