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Jan. 30, 2026

When a good dog makes bad law

The Pasadena City Council's acceptance of a donated police tracking dog without scrutiny reflects a dangerous, well-documented pattern in which unreliable canine scent evidence--often amounting to junk science--has led to wrongful arrests and convictions, as shown by cases like Josh Connole's and others where dog alerts supplanted rigorous proof and nearly destroyed innocent lives.

William M. Paparian

Email: bpaparian@aol.com

Southwestern Univ SOL; Los Angeles CA

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When a good dog makes bad law
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The Pasadena City Council recently followed the old proverb "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" when it accepted the donation from the Pasadena Police Foundation for a tracking and trailing dog for the Pasadena Police Department without considering the documented cases where canine scent evidence has contributed to wrongful convictions.

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