Veteran arrested for saving dog

[rainforests1]

Veteran Arrested for Saving Dog Trapped in Car : People.com

 

[Joe]

Perhaps the wrong ***** was cooking in that hot car.

 

[Dropkick]

Not to take anything away from the veteran in the story but several years ago I actually had a "do-gooder" raise a fuss about me leaving my dog in my car while I visited a thrift store.

While it was a hot summer day I had actually only been in the store for less than 5 minutes (it's a small store), my dog was in a car with the windows rolled down, and we had come directly from the dog park where I had sprayed her down with a hose and she'd drank her fill of water just before we left.

The "do-gooder" refused to listen to this, insistent that my dog was in the throws of overheating and that she was saving her from inevitable death. She was too involved in playing the hero to listen to reason, even when another thrift store customer came to my defense and told her I'd just entered the store.

I finally had to order her away from my vehicle and my dog (I didn't trust her near them) so I could return to the store to pay for an item I wished to purchase.

She was still in the parking lot yelling at me as I left the store and drove away.

My dog was fine.

 

[Joe]

Is there any kind of guide or listing on the web summarizing what the law is in each state about (1) breaking into a car to rescue a child and (2) breaking into a car to rescue an animal?

Note: The above material was originally posted in another thread by mistake. Sorry.

 

[RascalsMom]

Charges were dropped

 

[Joe]

Charges were dropped

Good!

Here's the story about the dropping of the charges.

Charges dropped against vet who saved dog from hot car

I wonder what would have happened if this did not receive all the media attention that it did.

I'm afraid that I would have left the animal to its fate rather than risk arrest, apart from calling the police myself.

 

[Dropkick]

Other than having some indication of the vehicle being too hot (i.e. windows rolled up, in full sunlight, vehicle not running- no air conditioner) it would be hard to tell if a dog was in danger of overheating (at least for me).

The lady in my story (above) kept saying "Your dog is overheating, she's hyperventilating!" and I kept replying "No she's just panting - she's a dog, dogs pant."

Panting isn't a true indicator of the dog's temperature as all my dogs have had occasion to pant in every type of weather, be it sunny, cloudy, hot, or cold. In the middle of winter when we are out in the snow and the temperatures are below freezing they pant. They pant inside the house or outside of it, after exerting themselves or after taking a nap, they will pant quite often with no apparent cause whatsoever that I can tell.
-More annoying is when they hear a noise at night, wake up, raise their head, start panting and shaking the entire bed (my dogs sleep in bed with me --- actually I think it's more accurate to say I sleep in the bed with them.)

Without being able to feel it's temperature, how warm it's breath was, and being able to tell if it was lethargic I wouldn't know what indicators to look for.

 

[dormouse]

Somebody visiting my apartment complex right now seems to be keeping their dog in their car. The same car was here a few months ago, when the weather was cooler, and the car left after I reported it to the property management. It's a holiday weekend now, and it will reach 85 degrees today. We left a note on the car last night saying that if we saw the dog in the car today, we would contact the police. This morning, the note was still on the windshield but the dog was gone.

Other than having some indication of the vehicle being too hot (i.e. windows rolled up, in full sunlight, vehicle not running- no air conditioner) it would be hard to tell if a dog was in danger of overheating (at least for me).

The lady in my story (above) kept saying "Your dog is overheating, she's hyperventilating!" and I kept replying "No she's just panting - she's a dog, dogs pant."

Panting isn't a true indicator of the dog's temperature as all my dogs have had occasion to pant in every type of weather, be it sunny, cloudy, hot, or cold. In the middle of winter when we are out in the snow and the temperatures are below freezing they pant. They pant inside the house or outside of it, after exerting themselves or after taking a nap, they will pant quite often with no apparent cause whatsoever that I can tell.
-More annoying is when they hear a noise at night, wake up, raise their head, start panting and shaking the entire bed (my dogs sleep in bed with me --- actually I think it's more accurate to say I sleep in the bed with them.)

Without being able to feel it's temperature, how warm it's breath was, and being able to tell if it was lethargic I wouldn't know what indicators to look for.

Panting is the mechanism by which dogs cool themselves. This isn't necessarily a medical issue if you're outside with the dog, jogging or walking, but inside a hot car, the dog is not going to be able to cool itself by sucking in hot air.

Panting can also be a sign of anxiety or nervousness in dogs.

I would say if a dog is panting but hasn't been exercising, that indicates the dog is uncomfortable or distressed.

I'm glad that your dogs were not hurt when you left them in the car, but it's not a good idea to leave them there, even for only a "few minutes." In less than half an hour, on a warm day even with the windows cracked, the temperature inside a car can surpass 100 degrees and kill a dog or cause other internal damage. Also, by doing that, you're putting animal advocates and concerned people in a tough situation where they have to wonder whether or not to act or call animal control. Even though it sounds like the woman you dealt with was not being entirely reasonable, it IS reasonable for people to be concerned because dogs die every year from being left in cars. I see it in the local news too often. Just walking by a car, you don't know if the person will be gone 5 minutes or three hours (as happened in one Walmart parking lot here where the dogs unfortunately died.)

 

[RascalsMom]

Rolling windows down does NOT cool off a hot car that well AT ALL. Dogs have died in cars with the windows down.

 

[ledboots]

I live in Florida. Can't leave a dog in the car here, ever, as it heats up in the time it takes to buy a loaf of bread and a quart of soymilk.

 

[Joe]

Is there any kind of guide or listing on the web summarizing what the law is in each state about (1) breaking into a car to rescue a child and (2) breaking into a car to rescue an animal?

Note: The above material was originally posted in another thread by mistake. Sorry.

To answer my own question, there is a website that reviews the laws of each state with regard to breaking into vehicles to rescue animals (possibly) in distress.

Table of State Laws that Protect Animals Left in Parked Vehicles | Animal Legal & Historical Center

The problem here is two-fold. First, these laws exist in only 16 states. Thus, the majority of states offer the animal no protection.
(For example, my state, Tennessee, offers no protection for the animal nor for the rescuer.) Second, almost all these laws authorize breaking into the vehicle only by police officers, firefighters, animal control officers, humane association employees, and other such "official" persons. They provide no protection from prosecution to John or Jane Q. Public nor to people like the "veteran" in the news story in the original post in this thread.

 

[Mischief]

Meh. If I saw a dog or other animal (including a human child) in distress inside a hot vehicle, I would break in and face the consequences later.

 

[kibbleforlola]

Other than having some indication of the vehicle being too hot (i.e. windows rolled up, in full sunlight, vehicle not running- no air conditioner) it would be hard to tell if a dog was in danger of overheating (at least for me).

The lady in my story (above) kept saying "Your dog is overheating, she's hyperventilating!" and I kept replying "No she's just panting - she's a dog, dogs pant."

Panting isn't a true indicator of the dog's temperature as all my dogs have had occasion to pant in every type of weather, be it sunny, cloudy, hot, or cold. In the middle of winter when we are out in the snow and the temperatures are below freezing they pant. They pant inside the house or outside of it, after exerting themselves or after taking a nap, they will pant quite often with no apparent cause whatsoever that I can tell.
-More annoying is when they hear a noise at night, wake up, raise their head, start panting and shaking the entire bed (my dogs sleep in bed with me --- actually I think it's more accurate to say I sleep in the bed with them.)

Without being able to feel it's temperature, how warm it's breath was, and being able to tell if it was lethargic I wouldn't know what indicators to look for.

Have you ever sweated on a cold day? I have, because I was overheating, despite the weather ( shoveling snow is serious business). When a dog pants, same thing. So you may think, "oh, it's cold out, she's just panting for the sake of it, she's fine"' but that's not the case.

And for the record, I would have sided with the lady. She didn't know if you would be gone for five minutes or an hour. And really, there is absolutely no excuse to leave your dog in the car in the summer.

 

[dormouse]

Somebody else ended up calling Animal Control regarding the dog in the car. We saw the ACO's truck pull in and went to see if we could assist or provide more information. Another neighbor came out and said that she had confronted these dudes two months ago when the same truck was here (I think it belongs to a visitor, not a resident.) She knew where to find the owner, and the ACO went to talk to him. I haven't seen the dog in the car since. We're fairly certain that he was keeping the dog in the car overnight! I have no idea why on earth somebody would do that unless they were homeless and sleeping in the car too.

 

[Calliegirl]

I wish he had made her sit in the car like she claims, she deserved it and more.
Woman: Cop punished me like a dog | KOB.com

 

[Calliegirl]

 

[Mischief]

I wish he had made her sit in the car like she claims, she deserved it and more.
Woman: Cop punished me like a dog | KOB.com

Good for that officer!