Sparky the Alabama Municipal Court Canine Judge has Died.....

Montgomery, AL -  Sparky, an Alabama dog first sworn in as a Montgomery municipal court judge in 2008, has died.

Sparky, a lifelong Republican, shown here at a 2016 fundraiser for Donald Trump

"Sparky will be missed around here," Montgomery city council president Cornelius Calhoun revealed. "As a judge, he never wavered in his faithful commitment to justice, demonstrating impartiality, independence, rationality, fairness, and reasonableness in every judgement. And as a dog, he was a good boy. A damn good boy."

First appointed in 2008, Sparky remains the only dog in United States history to have served as a municipal judge, and his judicial career was frequently controversial. According to Alabama historian Muskrat P. Coltrane, Sparky's behavior frequently pushed the envelope of courtroom decorum. "He may have been able to tell a good guy from a bad guy, but he sniffed a lot of crotches and left a lot of puddles in the process. And frankly, I'm still not convinced that it was a good idea."