Latest news with #Clery
Newsweek
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Owner Not Prepared for What Causes Dog's 'Herding Instinct' To Kick In
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. On a farm in Oregon's Willamette Valley, one Australian shepherd dog is redefining what it means to be a working canine by herding the newest member of the farm crew: an automated lawn mower. Four-year-old Australian shepherd Aussie was quick to assign herself a role when the Clery family introduced a robotic mower to their land. In a heartwarming viral video, she was captured when her "herding instincts" kicked in, following the mower like her life depended on it. "We had just gotten the automower when we realized that Meadow had started to see it as maybe one of the other animals on the farm," her owners, who remained anonymous, told Newsweek. "Actually, how the dogs would react to our new robot friend was a big question: would they chase it, bark at it? But it has this very friendly vibe, and everyone, including the cats, likes to watch it slowly and methodically do its thing," the owner said. Meadow the dog taking her herding duties seriously with the automower. Meadow the dog taking her herding duties seriously with the automower. @cleryfarm/TikTok On Instagram, the video has been viewed more than 280,000 times as Meadow followed the machine. After hours of patiently shadowing the mower as it trimmed its route, Meadow even guided it back toward its charging station. "The little head-flick, though, when Meadow seems to be trying to tell the mower, 'Go on, into your charging spot,' was particularly touching and hilarious," her owner said. "Animals are so smart." Australian shepherds, often affectionately called "Aussies," were officially recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1991, and today, they are the 12th most popular breed in the U.S. Contrary to their name, Australian shepherds were not developed in Australia. They were primarily refined in the American West in the 19th and early 20th centuries when ranchers and farmers needed intelligent, energetic dogs capable of herding livestock across rugged terrain and vast ranch lands. Today, while many Australian shepherds still work on farms and ranches, many others have found roles in agility sports, obedience competitions, search-and-rescue missions, and even therapy work. This isn't the first time Meadow has leaned into her instincts. When the farm first introduced goats, she quickly took on the role of evening wrangler, nudging them gently into their pen at night. And when the younger family dog—a spirited rescue named Maple—snatched a bird from its nest, Meadow swiftly intervened, taking the feathered animal and protecting it until her humans could safely return it. "She's strong, fast, fearless and incredibly intuitive," her owner said. "But more than anything, Meadow just loves having a job to do, even if that job is babysitting the lawn mower."
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Yahoo
Lawsuit filed against CT private school alleges IT administrator ‘sexually exploited' students
Former students have brought a class action lawsuit against a private college-preparatory day and boarding school in Connecticut alleging that the school's former IT administrator exploited them through his access to their electronic devices and the school's computer network. The lawsuit was filed Monday in Bridgeport Superior Court against Kent School, a coed boarding school in Kent, that employed Daniel Clery in its IT department for more than 15 years. The lawsuit was brought by New Haven-based attorney Joel Faxon of the Faxon Law Group. The six plaintiffs in the lawsuit include four Connecticut residents, a New York woman and a woman from Hong Kong that attended the school between 2017 and 2022. The complaint also alleges that there are 'potentially many hundreds of former Kent School students and employees who are victims of Clery's invasion and sexual exploitation and the misconduct of the Kent School. …' The school is the only defendant listed in the class action lawsuit. A spokesperson for Kent School did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Multiple attempts to reach Clery were unsuccessful Tuesday. 'Parents placed their children in Kent's care,' Faxon said in a statement issued Tuesday. 'The school completely failed to implement rules, policies or procedures to protect the Kent community and vulnerable children from hacking, cyberstalking, theft, computer voyeurism or sexual exploitation. This misconduct is absolutely unacceptable and we're confident a jury would agree.' Faxon alleges that Clery, who worked at the school from 2007 until February 2023, was 'allowed to troll every part of the school's network with no oversight, enabling him to take whatever images and/or information he desired from every personal electronic device used by the students.' The lawsuit alleges that Clery 'cyberstalked, surveilled and sexually exploited' students by accessing their electronic devices. According to the lawsuit, students were required to use the Kent School network, which gave Clery 'unrestricted access' to their 'sensitive personal information,' including 'intimate photographs and videos, credit card information, social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, birthdates, financial information, educational history and medical information.' Faxon contends in the lawsuit that Kent School officials failed to put an appropriate cybersecurity safeguard in place to protect students and that they did not properly monitor Clery's activities. It also alleges the school failed to notify students once the data breach was discovered. According to the lawsuit, the school sent out an email in February 2023 notifying individuals that officials discovered Clery 'accessed and may have copied personal photographs and/or videos' from their computers and that of nine current students, seven current employees, four former employees and 59 recent alumni. In October, the lawsuit alleges, the school acknowledged that Clery was allowed to access 'really all software and other systems that allows our network to operate' and that school officials committed a 'massive shortcoming' in putting safeguards in place. It further alleges school officials admitted the school's cybersecurity controls 'were not good enough,' that the school committed an 'error' and that their protocols violated the 'industry standard.' The counts laid out in the lawsuit include those of alleged negligence and invasion of privacy, saying students suffered claimed 'sexual exploitation, emotional distress, personal injuries and economic losses.' The lawsuit seeks punitive damages, attorney costs, money damages and other relief in excess of $15,000. According to Faxon, Clery has been arrested on two felony counts of computer crimes, charges that remain pending in Waterbury Superior Court. Judicial records indicate the criminal case has been statutorily sealed. According to a LinkedIn page, Clery did IT work for Yale University after his time with Kent. A spokesperson for the university said he was hired by a contractor that was retained by Yale, and that the contractor had conducted a background check. 'Immediately upon learning of this issue, the university ended the engagement with the contractor,' the spokesperson said, adding that Clery was never employed by the university. 'This person did not work with or interact with students.'
