Dangerous Dog Hearing Tonight: Why I Love the Last-Minute Call
The dangerous dog hearing was in three hours. The town was two and a half hours away. I was walking up the stairs to the hearing room while my client talked as fast as she could.
"Keep going," I told her. "Tell me everything."
Then we walked in, and we had a great hearing.
That's not how I'd design a case. But those last-minute calls are some of my favorite moments in this work.
Why Dangerous Dog Hearing Notices Come With So Little Warning
Cities and towns often don't give pet owners enough notice of a dangerous dog hearing. A notice can show up on a Monday for a hearing on Tuesday, sometimes at night. Suddenly people are scrambling, trying to figure out what's at stake and who can help.
Then they find us, and the phone rings.
Always ready to go
We're in court so much that I look forward to the gaps in my schedule. That's when I catch up on calls and case work. But a gap almost never stays a gap. The phone rings, and someone needs us right now.
So I'm always ready. Years ago, a case taught me a lesson I still follow:
My car always has a full tank of gas.
My briefcase is always packed, with paper, pens, a copy of the dangerous dog law and the red book I bring to every hearing.
My phone is always charged.
There are snacks in the car, because some nights dinner doesn't happen.
When that call comes, it's like being a firefighter sliding down the pole. I've run out of the house holding my suit jacket and my shoes, and finished getting dressed in the car. Thank goodness for GPS, because my sense of direction is terrible. Inevitably I decide I know better than the app, and inevitably I'm wrong.
How I Prepare for a Same-Day Hearing on the Drive
The toughest part is that I usually have no paperwork. So the drive becomes the preparation. I'm on the phone with my client the whole way:
What happened, and what are the complaints?
What has your dog ever done before?
What's your neighborhood like?
Will neighbors come to the hearing, and will they be angry?
I'm gathering everything I can before I walk in the door.
Why I'm not nervous
I've handled more than 200 dangerous dog hearings. There's very little I haven't seen. When a client tells me their story on the drive, I can filter it through all of those hearings and know how to respond.
That experience is what lets me pivot when a board member, a police chief, or a hearing officer asks a question I didn't see coming, and still keep my answer specific to my client's situation. It's the 10,000-hours idea. Every one of those earlier cases prepared me for the next one.
So when I get a last-minute call, I'm not scared. I'm excited. I know we can make a difference even without much prep time.
There's always a Plan B
Sometimes a hearing isn't going well because there simply wasn't time to prepare. When that happens, I know the steps to take to protect my client's rights, so we can come back and present more information. We can make strong arguments for why a client is entitled to more time.
We go into every hearing with a Plan B and a Plan C. That comes from years of learning exactly what the right next step is.
Why it matters to me
For a long stretch of my career, I practiced in an area of law where I never heard from the people my work affected. I didn't feel like I was making a difference.
Now someone calls, and for that moment I'm the most important person in their life. That's a huge responsibility, and I never take it lightly. I respect the trust people place in us, and I understand what's at stake for them and their dog.
Facing a Dangerous Dog Hearing on Short Notice in Massachusetts?
We don't need every case to be an emergency. But when it is one, we're ready. Boston Dog Lawyers provides emergency representation for dangerous dog hearings across Massachusetts.
If you’ve received a hearing notice, call us right away at 844-364-2889, even if the hearing is today. The sooner we talk, the more we can do.
