After all, she’s a lifelong animal lover and advocate. And, she and her husband launched the organization, Game Dog Guardian, which helps rehabilitate pit bulls and find them homes. As well, she lobbies for the Best Friend Animal Society in Kansas.
At the clinic, she and animal cruelty investigators from the Humane Society, and police and prosecutors will work together to follow cases to the end. According to Barnett’s research, the clinic may be the first one like it in the country. In the April 17th ljworld.com article, ''KU law student organizing animal cruelty prosecution clinic'', she was quoted as saying: ''This is the chance for me to give the animals a voice and a place in the justice system.''
Several years ago there were several highly publicized animal cruelty cases in the area. It was around this time Barnett began looking into how to launch the clinic. Part of her research included speaking with city and state agencies to ensure their support. In addition, she rode along with police, and accompanied animal cruelty investigators during their work. She also spoke with various organizations all over the United States, including Lewis & Clark Law School’s Center for Animal Law Studies and the Humane Society of the United States.
In the fall of 2011, the first student will begin working in the program. ''I’m doing a trial run to see how everything works,'' Barnett was quoted as saying. ''I’m getting out all the kinks and really tailoring the position so everyone knows what to do. There’s never been a person to collect everything.''
Westerbeke was quoted as saying that: ''Many law students do clinical work already, and designating one to specifically coordinate and keep track of the animal cases would be beneficial for all involved. It would save the Humane Society money and be terrific experience for the student.'' He also explained that other counties may be interested in starting similar programs if this one succeeds.
According to statistics at buzzle.com, in 2007, there were 1,880 animal abuse cases reported. Of these around 1,200 dogs and 340 cats were reported in association with animal cruelty cases. Unfortunately, the numbers only continue to grow.
