What a terrible tragedy

[Little Bo Boop]

Unreal. He's a Freakin' K-9 officer? and he leaves his dog to die in a car? In Freakin' Phoenix!!! For gods sake. Sorry there is no excuse for this. I hope they throw the book at him, he loses his job and whatver else they can do to him. Just makes me sick.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070906/ap_on_...ice_dog_death_2

[kelpiegirl]

I wonder if this was a police car? They have specialized sensors that set the alarms off if it gets hot- and they have the cars running with a/c. If it wasn't a police car, then, well, he is too stupid for words. Regardless, it is a senseless waste.

Julie

 

Unreal. He's a Freakin' K-9 officer? and he leaves his dog to die in a car? In Freakin' Phoenix!!! For gods sake. Sorry there is no excuse for this. I hope they throw the book at him, he loses his job and whatver else they can do to him. Just makes me sick.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070906/ap_on_...ice_dog_death_2

[Guest WoobiesMom]

Wow, reminds me of the police dog I saw left in a sweltering vehicle. Next time I will call 911 from a pay phone and be anonymous. Sheesh! What an idiot! Where did he *think* the flipping dog was????

 

That's the county with the sheriff who makes the inmates where pink coveralls and work on chain gangs, etc. I hope he makes him do something terrible and degrading like cleaning outhouses with his nose or something!!!! Aaarrggghhh!!!

[juliepoudrier]

I think the whole problem was that he *wasn't* thinking. At least we can hope that no one ever lets him have a police dog again, and besides whatever other punishment he might recieve, he surely should be required to pay for the replacement of the poor dog. And be booted off the force. That kind of irresponsibility just doesn't quite mesh with the idea of a public safety officer.

 

J.

[Kat's Dogs]

That makes me sick. I can't even think of how someone could do that.

 

Yeah, your are setting a wonderful example there buddy. Rest in Peace Bandit.

[Guest LJS1993]

K-9 officer or not, anyone with common sense should know not to leave a dog in a car like that.

[Dixie_Girl]

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after reading that one. I can't imagine leaving a dog for 12 hours in a car on a COLD day! They should lock him up in a hot car, just till he starts puking his guts out, and they should send him to the "sheriffs camp", the tent city! No A/C!! What really got to me was the way he WHINNED that "with the sheriff railing on me, it's kinda hard to make a comment". Good Lord, I hope he is never allowed to own an animal again, and gets the boot.

[sweet_ceana]

I am not standing up for the guy, that poor dog should have never had to suffer and die because he was left in the car, but (since Chris is a PO) the word in the agencies is that he had recieved a call that his son was in an accident when he left the poor dog in the car. I do not know if that was true, and it deffinetly does not excuse his actions, but I think that frame of mind set would indicate that he may not have thought of that dog as "unimportant" as the media portrays. I hope he feels horrible, and I hope justice is done.

[sweet_ceana]

OOPS!

[Guest pax]

You know, for the first time EVER someone approached me about leaving my dogs in the car on a hot day.

 

She started out all aggressive and mean as I walked toward the car, pointing at it and yelling at me. The two corgis were panting in the back seat, I had picked them up at the vet and stopped and had to go inside to pay for gas. The credit card processing thing was flubbed up.

 

Anyway, I showed her the car was locked, still running, with the AC on, with a second set of keys in the ignition and she got all tongue tied. I told her not to, that she was right, if I HAD locked those dogs in the hot car I would have deserved to been yelled at and more. Anyway, it turned into a Hallmark moment, yadda yadda.

 

That story doesn't say WHY she was locked in the car. Was this normal SOP for him or did he really just forget?

[Beth G]

OMG I am just speechless. There is NO excuse EVER to do that to an animal!!!

[Brandon M]

On the same day there was also a child who was left in the car in the same town, which I believe is on the outskirts of Pheonix, who also died. I'll see if I can find the story online.

[M.L.]

It is not the first time an officer has done this in Arizona, either. How do you forget about your dog in the car?

[Brandon M]

I wonder if this was a police car? They have specialized sensors that set the alarms off if it gets hot- and they have the cars running with a/c. If it wasn't a police car, then, well, he is too stupid for words. Regardless, it is a senseless waste.

Julie

 

...the word in the agencies is that he had recieved a call that his son was in an accident when he left the poor dog in the car.

 

"The sheriff's investigation showed Bandit was in Lovejoy's patrol car from about 9 a.m. to shortly after 10 p.m. Aug. 11. During that time, the investigation found, the officer ran errands, napped and ate out with his wife. Lovejoy later found the dog dead in the car."

[iluvlucy]

i'm glad this subject came uo, because i have a question. is there a time frame for leaving a dog in a car?

 

my sil who used to work at a huge shopping mall, seems she told me 15 minutes or maybe that was just her time frame. if the dog was in the car for 15 minutes alone she called the police.

 

does anyone know?

[sea4th]

If this guy really did receive news that his kid was in an accident, that's one thing, and I think he would still deserve some sort of disciplinary action. If the guy left the dog in the car while he went to do other things, then he is an idiot and my question would be is how the h-ll did he ever become a k9 cop? In that case, they should throw the book at him. He can probably be disciplined on more than one level. Not only did he put a living being through an immense amount of suffering which resulted in death, but since k9's usually don't belong to the handler but are owned by the municipality where they work, and paid for by taxpayer dollars, he should also be answerable to the taxpayers as well.

 

There have been a couple of cases over the years where kids have died in a hot car, who had been forgotten by the parents. In one case around here a few years ago, a little girl died. One parent thought the other parent had her. She was in the father's car when he drove to work and after working all day, he came out to find the body of his child still strapped in the car seat. All along, he thought the baby was with his wife. He was prosecuted but they found him not guilty. What punishment could exceed what he'll be living with the rest of his life anyway?

 

Then recently, I think down in Cincinatti, a principal of a school left her child in the car and forgot about her while she went in to attend a meeting. That was just recently. so I'm not sure if charges against her are still pending, -- so I guess in this hectic way of life most people live, minds are so preoccupied with other things that it's possible to forget.

 

During the cooler weather here, I take my dogs to work sometimes (although, not all at once). 65 degrees or under, I'll feel comfortable with. I work in the city, so when I do this, I'll park in the attached garage, where the window by my desk overlooks the top floor of the garage, and I can see the car. During my lunch hour, I'll go out and walk the dogs. They are in the car for the duration of a work day, but they love it when they are singled out to come to work with me. I usually park under an overhang where they are still in the shade the entire day and they know the routine. and are quite content. Anything over 65 degrees, shade or not, I'm uncomfortable with.

 

But to be left to suffocate in a hot car -- what an awful way to die.

[Guest pax]

FWIW, the figure I've heard is that the interior of the car can climb 15 degrees in 10 minutes.

 

I have a thermometer in the back of my car attached to Starr's crate. If the dogs are in there (like at a trial) I check it repeatedly. I've been amazed how freaking hot it can get in there.

 

And even with the AC on in the car, it can be considerably warmer in the back near the crates. I often leave the back seat down to make sure there's good air circulation.

[nancy in AZ]

When the story was on local TV news right after it happened they reported that the officer had come home after working a double shift and found that his son was in an accident and had been taken to the hospital. I don't kow if that turned out to be the case or not. It seems that if it were true the guy is getting an awful lot of backlash for what would appear to be extenuating circumstances. There was also a follow up in the newspaper that noted that the patrol cars do have a sensor, but they only work when the engine is on. Just very sad, anyway you look at it.

 

Along the lines of what Julie wrote, earlier this summer a baby girl died when her Dad left her in the car in their driveway in Phoenix. Usually when we hear about these stories locally, it typically involves a parent or babysitter who is on drugs or left the kid in the car to gamble at the casino or drink in a bar. Really low-life types generally. In this case, he simply forgot he had taken her along because she fell asleep in the backseat in her carseat. When I first heard about it my reaction was anger and disgust. Then I saw the guy's next door neighbor interviewed on the news. He was distraught and went on about what a responsible father the guy is, a really engaged family man and just a fine overall human being who will suffer the rest of his life from this tragic mistake. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. And given how prone I've become to distraction and memory lapses, I could almost relate.

 

I also read a news report that noted a significant increase in incidences of children who have been left in cars and died since infant carseats have been designed to be positioned in the back seat of the vehicle.

[INU]

I leave my dogs in the car often, and sometimes longer than 15 minutes. But I don't do it during the day when it's hot. I always leave all windows down and 2 sunroofs open (not wide enough for anyone to reach in or for the dogs to jump out). I made 2 large signs with my cell number - in case of emergency...dogs might be on board...etc - and hang them in the back and on the dashboard. On the back of the signs, it also have more detailed contact info, pics of my dogs, list of emergency vets in the area, info about the dogs and permission to treat in case of emergency. I made them for emergency but I use them when I have to leave the dogs for a quick errands.

[mbc1963]

I think it's a horrible story, but...

 

I forget stuff ALL the TIME. Like, my father agrees to pick me up after I drop the car off at the car place, and I forget to bring my car up, and my father is sitting there thinking I've been in an accident, because (in his words), "She's not the kind of person who would forget something like this!"

 

It never used to happen when I was younger - started when I hit around 38. I would like to think I would never leave my kid or dog in the car, mindlessly, thinking he was safe. But I wouldn't put it past myself, either. It's easy to sit in judgment of someone who does something like this, but... "There but for the grace of God go I."

 

All it takes is one memory lapse, one glance away from the road when driving, one single slip-up, and there's a tragedy.

As in the case with a kid left in the car - certainly there's nothing worse we can do to this guy than what he's already feeling.

 

Mary