11/13/2025
We all deserve to be seen, heard, and supported!
He was told he couldn't bring the dog into the courtroom. He refused to leave him.
Now he stood before the judge, ready to accept any punishment, as long as they didn't take away the only family he had left.
For three years, Herbert and his small terrier mix, "Chance," have been inseparable.
Herbert, 62, has been on the streets since he lost his job and his apartment. Chance is his shadow, his companion, and the one living soul he protects.
Last night, a cold front brought a bitter, freezing rain.
Desperate, Herbert broke the lock on a gate to a construction site, just so he and Chance could huddle under a tarp, out of the wind.
He was found in the morning and arrested for trespassing.
Today, he stood in Judge Mariana Diaz's courtroom for his hearing.
A bailiff had tried to stop him at the door, "Sir, no animals."
Herbert, his voice shaking, just clutched the little dog tighter. "Then I can't go in. He's all I have. He stays with me."
The commotion brought the proceedings to a halt. Judge Diaz, seeing the terrified man and his shaking dog, waved him forward.
"It's alright, let him approach."
Herbert stood at the podium, his clothes still damp, his voice rough with emotion.
"Your Honor," he began, "I... I know I was trespassing. It was just so cold, and he was shaking..."
He looked down at the dog, who was nuzzled into his coat.
"He's all I got, ma'am. He's my boy."
Judge Diaz, a 20-year veteran of the bench, looked at the pair. She didn't see a criminal.
She saw a man trying to protect his family.
She leaned over the bench, her voice soft.
"And it looks like he thinks the same about you."
She looked at the prosecutor. "This isn't a crime. This is a cry for help."
She dismissed the trespassing charge on one condition: that Herbert meet with a city social worker who was waiting in the hall—one she had already confirmed would find a shelter that accepts both of them, together.
"We'll figure this out," she said. "You're not alone in this."
He was told he couldn't bring the dog into the courtroom. He refused to leave him.
Now he stood before the judge, ready to accept any punishment, as long as they didn't take away the only family he had left.
For three years, Herbert and his small terrier mix, "Chance," have been inseparable.
Herbert, 62, has been on the streets since he lost his job and his apartment. Chance is his shadow, his companion, and the one living soul he protects.
Last night, a cold front brought a bitter, freezing rain.
Desperate, Herbert broke the lock on a gate to a construction site, just so he and Chance could huddle under a tarp, out of the wind.
He was found in the morning and arrested for trespassing.
Today, he stood in Judge Mariana Diaz's courtroom for his hearing.
A bailiff had tried to stop him at the door, "Sir, no animals."
Herbert, his voice shaking, just clutched the little dog tighter. "Then I can't go in. He's all I have. He stays with me."
The commotion brought the proceedings to a halt. Judge Diaz, seeing the terrified man and his shaking dog, waved him forward.
"It's alright, let him approach."
Herbert stood at the podium, his clothes still damp, his voice rough with emotion.
"Your Honor," he began, "I... I know I was trespassing. It was just so cold, and he was shaking..."
He looked down at the dog, who was nuzzled into his coat.
"He's all I got, ma'am. He's my boy."
Judge Diaz, a 20-year veteran of the bench, looked at the pair. She didn't see a criminal.
She saw a man trying to protect his family.
She leaned over the bench, her voice soft.
"And it looks like he thinks the same about you."
She looked at the prosecutor. "This isn't a crime. This is a cry for help."
She dismissed the trespassing charge on one condition: that Herbert meet with a city social worker who was waiting in the hall—one she had already confirmed would find a shelter that accepts both of them, together.
"We'll figure this out," she said. "You're not alone in this."
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