You know when you were a kid and your dad told you that owning a dog would teach you responsibility? Walk him, feed him, clean up after him, keep him on a leash. One California dog walker found out last Sunday that the penalty for non-compliance is a good stun gunning.

A park ranger allegedly stun gunned a man who was illegally and insidiously walking his dogs without a leash. (The park had apparently been a leash-free zone until last December.) According to witnesses, the ranger detained Gary Hesterberg and his "two small dogs" without telling him why, even after he asked her repeatedly what was going on. So he did what any lawbreaking but even-tempered citizen might do: he gave the ranger a fake name and tried to just walk away. Wrong move, perp.

The rest went about as you'd expect: Ambulances were called, hands were wrung, witnesses were as confused as the rest of us, and Hesterberg didn't comment to local newspapers. But a spokesman for the local park service did leave us with this gem of an explanation: "The ranger was trying to educate residents of the rule."

Editor's Note: Now if only they used this on Killiney Beach to keep the rabble in check? :)