upsetting story, animal lovers beware

[Guest Emtdaddy1980]

I can't help but think that anyone else who DOESNT wear a badge would be in jail for this.
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/22629513/ga-police-dog-found-dead-in-handlers-car

[LagerHead]

You know, you're right. What a damn shame. Those dogs are great police dogs too. 

[ted]

So sad .

[Spots]

He needs to be fired and have his ass kicked. I wish someone would have busted that window. Poor dog.

Sent from the backwoods of Nowhere

[Guest Emtdaddy1980]

I became physically sick reading the article. When I was 19 and fairly new to TN and naive to the fact of how many people are armed, I watched a guys parked car in a parking lot for about 15 minutes in close to 100 degree heat before I'd finally had enough. The asshat came out of the Walmart at about the moment I put the tire iron through the rear window and provided some much needed ventilation for the lab inside. I was Young and reckless and thought I was invincible, wouldn't exactly handle it the same way today. I can't help but think that dog lived because of me though.

[Raoul]

Well not to mention the fact that the going rate for those dogs these days is about $12,000 trained.

[Pain103]

The story doesn't really mention much information other than the dog died. People are going to assume that he was left in vehicle that was not running and the windows up. I would guess with him being an experienced handler his vehicle was running but died. Still should have periodically checked on him. If it is found he was reckless and negligent he should be charged and disciplined.

I am a k-9 handler and I'm very protective about my partner as are most handlers I know. If I have to be out of the vehicle away from him I make sure to make checks on hm and tn ensure the vehicle is running with air circulating. Would be nice to have one of those k-9 alarm systems to warn the handler of excessive temperature but many departmemts wont pay for them. Edited June 19, 2013 by Pain103

[Guest AmericanWorkMule]

Not pertaining to this article,
but instead of breaking a citizen's car window on our own, if we called the police, would they come out for a dog locked inside of a citizen's car?

 

found it.......
 

If you see a dog left alone in a hot car, take down the car's color, model, make, and license plate number. Have the owner paged in the nearest buildings, or call local humane authorities or police. Have someone keep an eye on the dog. Don't leave the scene until the situation has been resolved.
 

If the authorities are unresponsive or too slow and the dog's life appears to be in imminent danger, find a witness (or several) who will back up your assessment, take steps to remove the suffering animal from the car, and then wait for authorities to arrive.

Watch for heatstroke symptoms such as restlessness, excessive thirst, thick saliva, heavy panting, lethargy, lack of appetite, dark tongue, rapid heartbeat, fever, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and lack of coordination. If a dog shows any of these symptoms, get him or her out of the heat, preferably into an air-conditioned vehicle, and then to a veterinarian immediately.

 

 

http://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animals/dog-hot-car.aspx

 

Edited June 20, 2013 by AmericanWorkMule

[npgunner]

I'm no attorney, but I'm not sure an online PETA article would cover you for breaking into someone's car. Maybe someone can offer some insight into what (if anything) TN law says about this.

Also ... If I came out of Wal-Mart and found you smashing my car window and grabbing my dog; Im not sure "PETA sad I could" would do anything to make me less angry or "on edge" to protect my stuff.

[Patton]

I heard the officer is not handling this well. It sounds like the officer intended to leave the air on, got distracted and then forgot the dog was in the car.

[Guest AmericanWorkMule]

I'm no attorney, but where in the online PETA article did it state: "PETA said I could smash your car window?"
 

 

 

I'm no attorney, but I'm not sure an online PETA article would cover you for breaking into someone's car. Maybe someone can offer some insight into what (if anything) TN law says about this.

Also ... If I came out of Wal-Mart and found you smashing my car window and grabbing my dog; Im not sure "PETA sad I could" would do anything to make me less angry or "on edge" to protect my stuff.

[Sam1]

Last time I checked those dogs were considered cops and if you accidentally killed a cop, you would get a little bit more than a paid vacation

[Guest Emtdaddy1980]

I'm not advocating smashing someone's window, like I said I was a hot headed 19yr old kid at the time. I was just trying to express how passionate I am on this particular type of abuse. I'm sorry if it came across like I was endorsing that course of action.

[Guest Emtdaddy1980]

I heard the officer is not handling this well. It sounds like the officer intended to leave the air on, got distracted and then forgot the dog was in the car.

Him feeling bad doesn't make his partner less dead. Sometimes "I'm sorry" or "I made a mistake" just doesn't cover it.

[Guest sL1k]

[BigK]

At a former job, I saw a dog in a kennel in the back of an SUV. This was in a parking garage where we had to go, if we wanted to take a smoke break. It was nearly 95 degrees that day and I couldn't believe some asshole would leave their dog in the car during an 8 hour work day, shade or not, windows cracked or not.

I took the description and tag number to the bldg mgmt and then went to wait to give Mr/Ms asshole a piece of my mind. After 15 or 20 minutes nothing, so I went back to the bldg mgmt office to ask that they call the police. By the time I got back the car was indeed gone...about 150' to a new spot around the corner where you couldn't see it.

Needless to say, I called the police and told them what happened. When they showed up, I swiped my card to let them in the garage. The officer said he had let his partner out around front to talk to the bldg mgr and told me it was under control and I "needed to go on upstairs and let them handle it from here". I did, but would love to have known what happened.

[TMF]

It is very possible the vehicle died. It's hard to fault the officer if that is the case. It is pretty normal practice to leave a working dog in the handler's vehicle with the vehicle running so that the handler can conduct business free of the canine. I have a hard time immediately accepting that this was gross negligence due to his 9 years experience as a working dog handler.

[Oh Shoot]

It is very possible the vehicle died. It's hard to fault the officer if that is the case. It is pretty normal practice to leave a working dog in the handler's vehicle with the vehicle running so that the handler can conduct business free of the canine. I have a hard time immediately accepting that this was gross negligence due to his 9 years experience as a working dog handler.

 

Not much info in the story, and the many others all pretty much parrot it, but it suggests he left the dog in the car at his home?

 

- OS

Edited June 21, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[TMF]

Not much info in the story, and the many others all pretty much parrot it, but it suggests he left the dog in the car at his home?

- OS

Could have been home on lunch break. My father used to come home for lunch all the time if he wasn't otherwise engaged. He may have left the car on and it died while he was inside. I don't know, perhaps he was just negligent and left the dog in there while it was off, but there would need to be more info released before I would assume he did something negligent. Leaving a working dog in a running car is standard; sometimes cars will die for various reasons.

[Guest TankerHC]

TMF is right. According to the Cherokee Ledger News out of Woodstock, the car was equipped with a heat alert sensor. But the sensor only works when the car is running to alert the officer the temperature is rising in the vehicle.

 

I absolutely do not believe this Officer was negligent and let this dog just die. The reason I say that is I also found on article on this Officer and his dog Spartacus. 9 years on the Force, 7 in K-9, he was considered one of the best dog handlers in Georgia. And he took second with Spartacus in obedience, another officer on the K-9 team took 1st in explosive detection, another one took first in Criminal Apprehension. That three man K-9 team took number 1 overall in K-9 Units (Out of 72 handlers) at the South Georgia K-9 Training and Certification Workshop Competition.

 

I think TMF is right, plus is doesnt take long at all for the temps in a closed vehicle to reach temps that can kill, especially for dogs. These guys are serious about thier K-9 team and thier dogs.

 

As for PETA and their article, screw PETA. All PETA shelters are kill shelters. PETA has killed over 300,000 of the animals it took in, in the last 11 years while adopting out less than 5000. When PETA said that was a lie (And SNOPES was reporting it as an urban legend)  the Virginia Department of Agriculture released their numbers. Animals euthanized in Virginia have to be reported to the Virginia Dept of Agriculture.

 

EDIT: Will just add Virginia Dept. Of Agriculture final numbers. From the last half of 1998 to the end of 2012 (Virginia ONLY) PETA Shelters Animals recieved : 33,658, Transferred: 704, Adopted:3,178, Killed: 29,398 (92.4% euthanized, most within 24 hours, they didnt even attempt to adopt them out).

 

PETA's response "PETA spokeswoman Jane Dollinger said in a statement that the allegations are financially motivated, calling CCF an industry group whose “goal is to damage PETA by misrepresenting the situation,” according to LiveScience. The group maintains that while many animals did have to be euthanized, the 90% figure was higher than PETA’s internal numbers. But of course she was too late, VA had already released the numbers.

 

And she says (Basically) that adoption no kill shelters are a farce and that those adopted dogs would be euthanized eventually anyway.

 

Well that would surprise me, because where I just left there are 3 no kill shelters. We looked into adopting a dog last year, they cant keep a dog. And CARA's rules require your house be inspected, that if you dont want to keep the pet within 2 years your required to turn it back over to CARA and those animals, dogs, cats and anything else, are VERY well taken care of and monitored for the first 2 years after adoption.

 

PETA is a POS.

Edited June 27, 2013 by TankerHC

[Guest Emtdaddy1980]

My reaction to this initial story was a very emotional one. I am and always have been a very ardent dog lover and advocate for animal welfare. It seems in light of some of the preceding responses that I may have been misguided in villafying the k9 officer. For that I am sorry.

[tnguy]

I heard the officer is not handling this well. It sounds like the officer intended to leave the air on, got distracted and then forgot the dog was in the car.

 

Cars stall, shit happens. I'm not going to tell anyone how to look after their animals but think ahead a little if you value your pets (and children, come to that).

[tnguy]

TMF is right. According to the Cherokee Ledger News out of Woodstock, the car was equipped with a heat alert sensor. But the sensor only works when the car is running to alert the officer the temperature is rising in the vehicle.

Something doesn't sound right about that. If the car is running, the temperature is unlikely to be rising so it wouldn't make sense to wire it that way. Also, if the car stalled for some reason while running, the accessory position is still likely to be powered which is what such a device is likely to be switched by.

 

But without more info, its hard to say. I wouldn't necessarily rule out negligence even with all the other stuff you said.

[Guest TankerHC]

Well thats what it says. Can only go by the news report. Have no idea first hand how that works.

 

"Woodstock Public Information Officer Brittany Duncan explained that while the K-9 patrol cars are equipped with a heat-alert system, the device is designed to function while the car is running."

 

http://www.ledgernews.com/news/weekly_news/k--death-investigations-under-way/article_a8835942-dd94-11e2-bef8-0019bb30f31a.html

 

 

Here is the article about their 3 man/dog K-9 team taking 1st place in that Competition.

 

http://www.ledgernews.com/news/weekly_news/k--unit-was-top-dog-at-competition/article_3113b5d6-38ae-11e2-80ba-0019bb30f31a.html

[TMF]

Something doesn't sound right about that. If the car is running, the temperature is unlikely to be rising so it wouldn't make sense to wire it that way. Also, if the car stalled for some reason while running, the accessory position is still likely to be powered which is what such a device is likely to be switched by.

But without more info, its hard to say. I wouldn't necessarily rule out negligence even with all the other stuff you said.

I just think it is quick to assume he did something negligent without further information. I have a friend who was a working dog handler that ended up shooting his own dog while on mission. Lotta folks talk smack about it who weren't there and didn't digest the circumstances to understand that it wasn't the move of a half-wit handler, it was a split second decision that had to be made and unfortunately it turned out bad. Nonetheless, it didnt stop folks who weren't there from running their suck about it; meanwhile this guy is having one of the worst days of his life.