A Chicago-area woman received a $50 ticket in the mail last week- all because of a comment she wrote on Facebook.
Christine Adamski, of Bolingbrook, received a citation from the Will County Forrest Preserve District regarding her alleged use of a dog park without a permit, the Chicago Tribune reported. The ticket included a copy of a Facebook comment that authorities said was her "admitting her guilt" for unlawfully taking her dog to the park.
"I laughed," Adamski, who runs a pet-sitting company, told the newspaper on Thursday. "I was like, this is totally untrue. Obviously I'm not going to pay this."
Adamski, 25, wrote the comment on Whalon Lake Dog Park's Facebook page in response to concerns about an illness spreading among some of the dogs at the park.
"I was feeling bad that I haven't bought a pass and been bringing Ginger there but I'm pretty glad I havent," she wrote according to the Chicago Tribune. "So not going to worry about it until later. I hope all the doggies get better soon."
An employee with the forest protection district noticed the comment and notified a superior official. A citation was issued to Adamski, claiming she "knowingly entered a dog park without a valid 2014 permit," the newspaper reported.
The citation included an application for a dog park permit.
"That's dead wrong!" Adamski later wrote on the dog park's Facebook page. "I haven't gone there since 2013!"
Marcy DeMauro, executive director of the Forrest Preserve District, told the Chicago Tribune that they do not look for violators on social media and a citation should never have been issued based on a Facebook post alone.
"We would go to the dog park to see if that individual is actually there and using the dog park without a permit," DeMauro said.
Adamski's ticket has since been rescinded. She said she will return to the dog park in the future, but added that she has to pay more for a permit because she lives outside the district.
