Take A Closer Look

I'm upset and I'm sure that there will be those who read my post and judge me as irresponsible and cruel

just like my accuser did. Nevertheless I am going to share my experience here because it bothers me that society condones so many knee-jerk uninformed decisions. In condoning those decisions we have strengthened the everyone's confidence in taking uniformed actions. Though this situation upset me, I'm glad that when others were in my situation I sided with them and approached the situation with an open mind. I hope that in sharing this experience,

you will be motivated to take a closer look before you react.

In the next few paragraphs I will describe an incident that took place

as well as some of my subsequent research.

 

I took my dog to the park and it started to rain, so I headed home but then decided to stop at Wal-Mart to pick up 3 items. Obviously, I left Canon, my dog, in the car. Literally just as I headed to the register I heard a page on the loud speaker, "will the owner of a Black Mercedes..." with my license plate number please go to your car.  I already knew what happened so I placed my items at the register and went outside where my suspicion was confirmed. An irate man stood in front of my car and proceeded to yell at me about how irresponsible he deemed me and informed me that if he saw my dog in the car again that he planned to break my window. At which point I told him that the police would arrest him for vandalism. Even after showing him that my sunroof vent was open, he said that if I went back in the store without opening my windows that he planned to break my window. I am adverse to conflict so I just left. I tried to end the exchange positively, thanking him for his concern but he was still yelling so I just closed my door and drove away; I didn't even go back in to purchase my items.

 

Canon had been in the car less than 10 minutes at near room temperature conditions. Let me give you a few facts about the day. Like I said, it had started raining so it was overcast. According to the national weather service the day's high would be 83 and the temperature gauge in my car read 80° at the time. (To put things in perspective, the current temperature in my house is 78°.) I recently purchased a camera to clip on Canon onto Canon's collar when we go on walks. I had taken it off of his collar and clipped on the back seat. It was set to take a picture every minute. When I got home I downloaded the pictures to my computer and between the time that I left the car and the time that the man approached my car only 8 pictures had been taken. That means that he had been in the car alone for 8 minutes. If I had a chance to check out, then that would have been about 2 more minutes.

 

First picture of  "good Samaritan".

Even with the news of "good Samaritans" breaking windows to "free" animals I never thought twice about leaving Canon in the car while I grab a few items. But I've been stewing over this situation since it happened and decided to research Texas Animal laws.

 

According to a post written by Ben, J.D. on JustAnswer.Com, it is not unlawful to leave a dog alone in a parked car with the windows rolled down slightly for any amount of time no matter what the temperature is outside in the state of Texas. He says that none of the aforementioned conduct "is unlawful per se". He goes on to explain that Texas has no statute addressing leaving animals in a vehicle. There is a general "animal cruelty" law.

 

There was a case,  Leonard Lopez, Appellant, v. The State of Texas, where the court convicted the defendant of cruelty to animals where the defendant left his dog in the car on a hot, sunny, dry day with the windows only cracked an inch and a half while he watched a movie at a theater. His action was deemed "transporting or confining animal in a cruel manner." That day the high was 93 and the low was 75. I was unable to find anymore details but I'm pretty sure that my actions today don't even come close to that standard.

 

I decided to share this experience as a cautionary tale for dog owners and "Good Samaritans".

 

"Good Samaritans", should you happen to notice a dog in a parked car don't let your emotions get the best of you. You don't know the background of this situation. The "good Samaritan" went on about how irresponsible he deemed me and directed me to take better care of my dog based on less than 15 minutes observing my life and less than 2 minutes of interacting with me. Now, I believe that everyone can do better in any situation but anyone who knows Canon knows that we spoil him rotten and that he visits the doctor more than we do. (Please follow Canon on Instagram). Take a closer look at the situation and recognize that you just met this person and this dog. You know very little about the situation, even less about the dog, and nothing about the person. Not everyone is a monster.

 

Dog owners, there are people who are being empowered by society to act on dangerous impulses. If you get into a confrontation with one of these "good Samaritans" remove yourself from the situation. I know that if your dog is in your car then you love that animal. Remember to open the vent just so air is flowing and if you plan to be away from the car for long leave a cup of water. Try to park in an area out of director sunlight but in plain view. I parked in the front so had he done anything or had he called the police there were several witnesses and security cameras; the witnesses would have been able to verify what actually happened and there would have been camera evidence. You've taken care of your dog for years and were only stopping by the store to grab a few items. Not everyone will understand.

 

Well that's all for now!