Yesterday I came out of Sam's Club and walked toward my car, noticing that a car parked nearby (a shiny, new-looking, white Mercury Marquis) with the cutest little black poodle sitting on the rear window ledge, panting, with its tongue hanging out. (It looked just like the picture at right.) I circled the car and saw that only one window was open, and less than two inches.
What to do, what to do.
I had another errand to do at the end of the plaza, and decided that if the dog was still there when I was done with that errand, I would do something.
While it wasn't a really hot day, when I got in it, my own car was damn hot after sitting there for only ten minutes.
I came back ten minutes later, and the dog was still there. I took down the license number and went back into Sam's Club. The woman at the door said, "there's nothing we can do legally." Oh yeah? I told her I would go to the service desk and report it anyway. And I did. The woman on duty took down the information, got on the public address system and said, "Will the owners of the white Mercury Marquis, Licence number XXX-XXX please go to your car. Your dog needs assistance." She repeated the announcement.
I thanked her and went back to my car.
And waited.
After another ten minutes, I called nine one one.
Then I waited some more. In fact, I waited another twenty-three minutes. During that time, the little dog got pretty agititated, panting a lot harder. And I got a lot angrier.
The woman I'd originally spoken to at Sam's Club came out after 15 minutes from my call and asked, "Is that dog still in the car?"
I told her "yes."
Needless to say, the police didn't show up. When the older woman and her husband came out to the parking lot, I asked her, "Is this your car?"
"Yeah."
"I just want you to know I've called nine one one and gave them your license number. Your dog has been locked in that hot car for at least 43 minutes that I know of."
She said, "Mind your own business," and walked to the car, took the dog out, then helped her husband unload their cart.
The woman from Sam's came out again. "Did you confront her?" she asked.
"Yes, and she blew me off."
She shook her head. Now she was almost as upset as me.
The older woman abandoned her cart (why is it people can't put their carts in the return--and doesn't this say more about her (lack of) character)) and kissed her little dog.
"You're kissing your dog now. But what if he'd died in that hot car?"
"I've been checking on him every five minutes since I went into the store."
Somehow, I refrained from yelling: LIAR!!! Instead, I said: "I've been standing here for over twenty minutes and you have not been out here once."
This time she screamed at me, "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS."
The whole ordeal was incredibly upsetting. That thoughtless woman does not deserve to have a wonderful little dog like that.
What should I have done differently?
You did everything you could have done, in fact, you did more than most people would have. Short of smashing the car's window, there really isn't anything else you could have done!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so angry. How can people be so clueless? In my years of working at veterinary clinics, I've seen several cases of heat stroke, and it's absolutely devastating, because it can happen so fast.
I think tone is really important when confronting someone who has done something wrong/dangerous. No matter how upsetting, the situation was a teachable moment. If you had quietly explained that a little dog is in danger after just a few minutes and affirmed that the lady loved her dog, she might think twice about doing it again. I say this because it happened to me. I left Moxie for 15 minutes and the person who approached me used that technique. I thanked him and have never taken a dog in my car if I knew I'd have to leave the car for more than 2 or 3 minutes. Milk runs, basically. Even people can learn! I know this case was much more extreme and you certainly didn't mishandle it. Let's hope the lady modifies her behavior.
ReplyDeleteSmash in the window.
ReplyDeleteWe lost our beloved dog because she somehow got into the car one August afternoon when the temperature was 106F. We had extra kids here that day, and I was absorbed with watching the pool, making sure the kids were okay. We thought Lovey was just hiding out from the noise, as she often did. Later, we couldn't find her for supper. Eventually we did find her, dead. In our own driveway. There was no sign that she had tried to escape. Somebody, probably meaning well, opened the door for her to get into the car and then shut her inside.
I would have welcomed a smashed window if it saved her life. So I say, DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO. Windows can be fixed.
Thanks for the powerful post.
I think you did all you could, and more than most. The store should have done more, and should also have offered a way to get the dog some water. I'm sure if the dog had been in enough distress to require more than what you did, you would have done your best--the truth is, she was stressed and uncomfortable, but you were right there to see that it was no more than that.
ReplyDeleteDon't discount that you might have done some good with this woman in spite of her confrontational response. She was probably feeling really defensive and in the spotlight. She'll probably talk about it for days and think about it for even longer, though, and even if she never says out loud that she was wrong, maybe she'll think twice about doing it again.
Besides, you came here and wrote a follow-up, carrying on the message! You rock!
--Doranna
ConneryBeagle's Mom
Good for you for even caring, let alone trying to do something to save that poor dog. And with all the nastiness in the atmosphere these days, you are lucky the perpetrator simply yelled at you.
ReplyDeleteI encountered a similar situation a few weeks ago at the local Target store. I went inside and told the manager about the dog in the car, but was told they could do nothing. So I hunted for a phone book to look up the number for the local police only to be told it wasn't their problem. Then I called the local pet shelter and was given a number to call to report the situation. By the time I was able to get through to someone with the authority to do something, the perpetrator had left. I should have stationed myself out by the car as you did, but it was a hot day and since I had had a heat stroke myself a few years ago, I could not stay out in the sun. I stayed inside the Target store and tried to watch through the front window as I was making all these calls. And I couldn't report the license plate since I had nothing to jot it down on and I was so upset I couldn't remember it all. I felt like I had failed that little dog all the way around.
But I'll not fail the next time. And you know there will be a next time, unfortunately. I now have the Animal Control number programmed into my phone and I keep paper and pen in my purse at all times so I can write down the license plate and any other info I need to.
We do this at the store I work at, whether with children or animals. We page the person, if they don't answer, we start down the aisles questioning people about their car/license plates. I'm in a small town, and the store isn't that large, so we find them fairly quickly. In the case of a child, we call the police first and page the customer second. Our local police are good about coming out for those calls and talking to the customer about child and animal safety and child abduction.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Betty. Animal Control is better equipped to handle a situation like that, plus they can usualy lay charges if they see neglect. At the very least she wouldn't be yelling at them to mind their own business, since animal welfare IS their business and they're used to dealing with abusers.
ReplyDeleteYou did all you could, Lorraine, and frankly many people wouldn't have cared enough to wait around the way you did. That poor poodle's owners are disgusting, unconscionable people. And what was wrong with this police in this case?! They share the blame. Year ago I knew a woman who left her dog in her roommate's care when she went on vacation. The roommate left the dog in the car IN JULY while she went boating on the Charles River. It ended as badly as you might imagine, and was devastating for all.
ReplyDelete