BigBendFishing.Net

I really got my collar steamed yesterday. On the way back from the beach we stopped at Granddad's barbecue in Thomasville to eat an early dinner. My daughter has a little lap dog. We rolled down all 4 windows about 3 inches and went in to eat. Not long after we were seated we look out and there are two sheriff deputies peeking in the car. I walked out and asked what was going on. The deputy there were a lot of animal rights activist in town and that one called in a complaint of an unattended dog left in a hot vehicle (on a cloudy day). He said he came and looked and called the dispatcher back to say it was a false complaint, the dog was fine.

I asked him who made the complaint. He said he didn't know and radioed his dispatcher. Seems the call came from the city police and it was autonomous. Called the dispatcher and he said that he didn't know who to look at the call logs. I told him to be sure those logs didn't get destroyed because if necessary I was getting a court order to go after those who made this false claim.

Went back in the restaurant and my kids pointed to two young college aged kids and said they probably called it in, because the moved outside when the deputies came up. I asked them and they were very arrogant, but denied calling. One of them said he was in law school and what did I think was done wrong. I told him that if he was the one who called in a false complaint that I was going to see he got some real time court experience. He again denied it, but asked what right did I have to leave the dog in the car. I told him that if he didn't call in, that it was none of his business and that he obviously knew nothing about taking care of an animal. He made some other smart comment and I assured him that if he had done this, it would look real good when he went to take the bar exam and found himself disqualified for making false statements. I am pretty sure these two smart alecks are the perps. I got their tag number before I left.

This same thing happened about 6 months ago. I had a cop come in a Valdosta restaurant hollering my name. When I went to him and asked him what in the world did he think he was doing, he said someone had complained about a dog in a car. I pointed out that the windows were rolled down, there was no crime and he had no business interrupting my dinner or calling out my name in a restaurant where everyone now thought I had done something wrong. I called the chief the next day and he assured me that it would not happen again.

I am calling a bud in the DA's office tomorrow and I am going to push for an investigation and the filing of charges of this false report. These idiots have got to be stopped.

I notice a pattern of leaving the dog in the car....tie the dog to the bumper, problem solved...ezpz

Chalk wrote:I notice a pattern of leaving the dog in the car....tie the dog to the bumper, problem solved...ezpz

Just be sure to untie him before you leave.

I thought this was going to be a post about some crazy PETA anti-fishing thing. As a proud parent of 3 dogs, I am very careful not to overheat them. I'm a lawyer and not a vet, but I do know that dogs do not have sweat glands, and that means they have almost no way to cool themselves. Even though your heart was in the right place, its not radical to be concerned about a dog sitting in a car in the month of July. With it being so hot, I wouldn't leave my dogs in a hot car if I was ordering a meal from McDonald's.

The fact that this has happened before should throw a red flag towards your behavior rather than a criticism of animal rights activists.

Oh boy its own know.

Thats typical of people here in Thomasville. Hell, the county here does not even have air conditioning on the school buses with a bunch of sweating kids, but if you leave a dog in the car, you will get reported and be surrounded by the swat team, the FBI , the local police and even maybe a few plantation rent-a-cops.

WaltDawg, maybe you need to pay the Thomas County School system a visit with the same enthusiam you gave to being critical of MudDucker. I mean, kids ARE more important than dogs.....right

There are some screwed up priorities in Thomasville........

CairoTrout wrote:Oh boy its own know.

Or is it on now?

And who is autonomous anyway?

WaltDawg wrote:I thought this was going to be a post about some crazy PETA anti-fishing thing. As a proud parent of 3 dogs, I am very careful not to overheat them. I'm a lawyer and not a vet, but I do know that dogs do not have sweat glands, and that means they have almost no way to cool themselves. Even though your heart was in the right place, its not radical to be concerned about a dog sitting in a car in the month of July. With it being so hot, I wouldn't leave my dogs in a hot car if I was ordering a meal from McDonald's.

The fact that this has happened before should throw a red flag towards your behavior rather than a criticism of animal rights activists.

I am a lawyer as well. I've owned and carried for animals/dogs for years. I worked for and with vets as a teenager. Dogs are in no more danger in a well ventilated vehicle in the mornings and afternoons than in an outside kennel. It is not just my heart, it is my YEARS of experience. Your reply shows me you have no clue. It is radical when there is NO BASIS for the complaint other than an assumption. The car was not significantly hotter than the outside air. The deputy even checked it. So counselor, my behavior is not the problem. The problem is ignorant people who make assumptions like the one you admitted made in your reply.

Dubble Trubble wrote:Thats typical of people here in Thomasville. Hell, the county here does not even have air conditioning on the school buses with a bunch of sweating kids, but if you leave a dog in the car, you will get reported and be surrounded by the swat team, the FBI , the local police and even maybe a few plantation rent-a-cops.

There are some screwed up priorities in Thomasville........

Amen!

Point taken. I know your a lawyer, that's why I said I was. I didn't think that you were some idiot who routinely leaves his dog in a hot car, however, those "kids" were probably really worried about the dog and not making a personal attack against you. Some people don't know any better and wouldn't think twice about leaving a dog to overheat.

Opinions are like a**holes, so you may as well ignore mine. The way you described the situation did not make me feel any sympathy for you because it sounded like their concern was justified. I am not an animal activist, but I don't want our comments on this site to add fuel to their fire.

I think I just heard a gauntlet smash

dolphinatic wrote:I think I just heard a gauntlet smash

Carefull your Avatar would get some eyebrows raised, who knows the deputies may show up at your house next.

Youre a better man than me MD. I m afraid I d of had to tell em to take a hike. I agree with you on this one MD, I think the kids were trying to be a little smarter than they actually were. Happens alot with the Gen Y'ers!!

I figure sometimes it must just suck to be a dog.
I'll crack the windows on both sides, park in the shade, and check on him 3-4 times during the meal.
He'll pant and I'll give him free food, vet service, clean up his crap, and throw him sticks.
I figure sometimes it must be great to be a dog.
5:22am.
I'm going fishing (to catch some fish).
I'm gonna eat a sausage biscuit too.

I wouldn't take my dog on car rides for one.
And what is the difference between leaving a dog in a car and a stainless steel dog box in the back of a truck.
I look at it like this, "Would I want to be left in the car?" Folks are looking out for your dog, and I would reflect on how to avoid this in the future. Like not bringing the dog, but if you insist then someone has to be responsible and sit out under a shade tree with the dog while everyone else eats. Everyone knows not to leave a dog in a car and whether it was hot or not when you left, the perception is that you don't care. I did not start this perception, but you should recognize it for reality. It is the perception of most people when they see an animal in a car, while the family dines.
Next time hit a drive thru if that dog has to ride.

If you spent as much time realizing this as you spent trying to figure out how to screw some college student you PERCIEVED called the law, you would not get all worked up. Then you confronted him and expected him to cow tow or back down and he didn't and your pride got hurt. Its best left as a learning experience, and make a different decision in the future. Your pretty lucky, he might have been some kid that fights in the Octagaon, and egged you into a fight, then beat the crap out of you in front of your family and then your pride would really be hurt. Your day really could have been worse if two different officers showed up too. Just write that off as learning expereince. It actually turned out to be a pretty good day with your family, and you came home safe, be grateful for that.

This is a message for everyone, not just you. We can all learn from this experience.