Just this past weekend I was in a local grocery store parking lot when I see a tiny chihuahua in a SUV with the windows cracked maybe half an inch. And this is during a Texas summer with the temperature hovering at the 100 degree mark. As I'm pulling out my phone to call 9-1-1 I see a lady walking to the car with a grocery cart full of bags. I knew that this lady didn't run in for just a few things, but had spent at least 30-45 minutes shopping while her dog was suffering in the hot car. Those of you who know me would be very proud of me. I calmly walked over to her and with a sweet smile on my face I said, "That's an adorable dog you have in your car." You could see the confusion cross her face as she is trying to decide if I am complimenting her dog or if she is going to get a can of Texas whup-ass opened on her. I continued through gritted teeth, "You know, if you don't want to take care of it, I'd love to find it a home with someone who WOULDN'T DO SHIT LIKE THIS!!!" (Ok, I lost it at the end, but the lady deserved it). When she told me she was going to call the police, I told her not to bother, because I had already pushed 9-1 on my phone and I would be more than happy to push that last "1" if she would like for the police to show up. I told her if she would start her car and put the air conditioning on full blast for the poor dog, we would call it a day. Thankfully she did and I left....but I have that lady's car burned in my memory and you can guaranty that if I see it again in town I will stop and make sure that dog has not been left in the car.
As if this wasn't bad enough I had another experience a few weeks ago when I was lucky enough to go on a road trip with a close friend. At one of our pit stops, I hear my friend say with dread in her voice, "Please tell me they have the air conditioning on." Looking at the car next to me I see a huge Husky dog in a dark car with the windows barely cracked and NO A/C on!!!! Immediately I feel sick to my stomach and I get out of the car to see if the other car's a/c is running. As luck would have it, it's not and me and my friend stand in the parking lot looking around helplessly. A couple of minutes pass and I dial 9-1-1 to explain what was going on. In the meantime I go into the gas station we had stopped at to buy a bottled water. (I was prepared to pour the water through the crack of the window and suffer the almost certain wrath of the car owners when the came back to the car). In the meantime, the police car pulls up before I make it to the car window and I explain to the officer that I was the one that called and the dog had now been in the car for at least 15 minutes. The police officer was surprisingly empathetic and said something to the effect of "that is pathetic," with a look of disgust on his face. As we were speaking, the owner of the dog walks out to the car and I make my way to my own car. As we pull away I notice that the police officer is still staring down the owner of the car. And as a matter of fact, as we pulled into the Sonic next door, we could still see the cop parked by the car watching it. I think the dog's owner knew what was going down and therefore we had a stand off on our hands. The car wouldn't leave the parking lot for fear of being pulled over and the cop was not budging. At least 5 minutes later as we leave Sonic, the car is still there as well as the police officer. As I pulled away, I envisioned the car finally pulling out of the parking lot, the police car's lights flashing and those idiots being pulled over. Hopefully the idiot had a warrant for his arrest and he went to the clink and the cop took the dog home to live happily ever after. Of course, we know "happily ever after" doesn't always happen...so please DO NOT LEAVE AN ANIMAL IN A CAR WHEN IT'S HOT OUTSIDE!!!
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