I wish people would not rush to judgement when trying to do good, it created a bad situation on Monday in the Evergreen parking lot. My husband at the medical clinic, I needed to be there with him, but we also had to take our pup along. He was neutered on Friday, is wearing a buster cone, and it wasn’t possible to leave him home alone. We have a sun roof on our car, which was open, and the window was cracked open an inch. The temperature was mild, not scorching hot, and the pup curled up on the seat for a nap.
I was hauled out of the medical center which made my heart jumpy, we love that pup so very much. I was met by a police officer who said I had to release my pup from the car, they had two phone calls complaining about a dog locked in a car and the animal control officers had been notified, ready to come and take our pup away. I explained best I could that we had no choice about bringing the pup along. The officer suggested we leave him with a family member, but we have no other family in Sooke. Then he suggested doggie day care, but in his condition the pup is not allowed to be around other dogs for two weeks.
I opened the car to show the officer that the car was no warmer than the outside air, he stuck his head in to verify that. He saw that the pup was just fine, happy, tail wagging. Nevertheless, he said we would be hearing from Animal Control, and made me promise never to leave him in the car again. I said OK, but life’s not like that. Emergencies do happen. This made me feel as though we’d done a criminal act, while in truth, the pup was in no danger, not overheated, not complaining at all, and absolutely no harm was done to him. Since when is it a crime to have your dog wait in a well- ventilated car on a warm, not hot morning?
Yes, we all want to prevent suffering for animals, but there was no suffering here, no discomfort for the pup, and the sun wasn’t right on him. The idea that our pup could be taken away is just horrendous to us. Our appointment took just over 20 minutes, the temperature was 17, maybe 18 degrees.
Please, be reasonable about when to call in the police, surely they have more important stuff to deal with. We have to bring the puppy sometimes for his own safety, he bashes into everything with that cone on his head. He’s very well cared for and very beloved.
Trix Boyd
Sooke
Not
