One woman got punched in the head, twice, another got grabbed by the throat and had claw marks down her chest. Another went to jail.
The dog, however, emerged uninjured.
As the weather warms up and people leave pets in the car while they run errands, and other people keep an eye out for those pets lest they perish in the car, an incident last week over a dog left in an SUV shows how volatile and aggressive humans can be when it comes to dogs.
A Poulsbo woman who routinely patrols parking lots looking for dogs in distress applauded the women who removed the dog last Tuesday, as well as the Bremerton Police officer who said the dog removers acted “in good faith” and were not cited. However, she thinks lawmakers need to write a law making sure good Samaritans are protected.
Here is what happened:
A 52-year-old Port Orchard woman took her friend’s teenage daughters to a show at the movie theater on Fourth Street in Bremerton. She left her dog inside her car. She cracked the windows and left it a bowl of water.
Meanwhile, employees of a nearby business believed the unseasonably warm weather and direct sunlight was putting the dog in distress (A National Weather Service meteorologist said the high for the day was 61 degrees). They called police for a check on the dog, but nobody arrived. They tried breaking the window, to no avail.
One of the employees – the one who got choked – has skinny arms and she was able to reach into the SUV and unlock the door, releasing the dog.
When the 52-year-old Port Orchard woman returned from watching a movie, all hell broke loose. At first she thought the dog had been stolen, so she called 911. While on the phone, the employees approached her with the dog.
The employee said the Port Orchard woman was calm at first, but then attacked her. The Port Orchard woman said she felt threatened. During the punching, the other employee tried to intervene, the report said, but that’s when the suspect grabbed her by the throat. The two teenage girls were shocked by what they saw and refused to go with the woman.
The Port Orchard woman’s husband came and said he would take the dog, the teenage girls and the SUV. The woman was arrested for two counts of fourth-degree assault. When she inquired about the removal of her dog, the officer said, “It appeared that it was a good faith effort for the safety of the dog,” according to the report.
Last summer I wrote about Sandra Crump, who almost instinctively roves parking lots on hot days looking for dogs left in cars.
She knows how quickly those confrontations can escalate. She has never been punched or grabbed by the throat, but one time an “elderly gentleman” started swinging his cane at her, using “filthy and vile language.”
“He limped through parking lot after me, his wife was aghast,” she said, who has a sense of humor about herself, and has called her fixation on looking for overheated dogs a “curse.”
It can also lead to violent encounters. You never know who you might be upsetting, or what kind of frame of mind they might be in when you confront them.
“I guess they are embarrassed,” she said of those she has confronted. “People don’t want to be told don’t beat your kid. ‘It’s my kid.’ People don’t want to have others interfere with their property. But (a dog) has rights.”
Crump believes state lawmakers should clarify that a residents will not be subject to prosecution, although local law enforcement officials have said if one acts in good faith to save a life — dog or human or otherwise — they are unlikely to get in trouble for breaking a window or entering somebody else’s car.
Aside from legal protections, Crump said a new law would raise awareness and might help eliminate the practice of leaving dogs in cars entirely.
She said she was relieved to hear about the people who freed the dog last week, saying it made her feel less lonely.
“I’m not the only nutcase out there,” she said.
I think the law is actually pretty clear here. Animals are personal property. The women left necessitates for the dog. The employees should have been arrested for theft, car prowling, and disturbing the peace. Not saying leaving the dog in the car was the best choice, however…
Wait…WHAT? The dog was FINE!!! 61 DEGREES? They tried to break her window…..and we’re not arrested? Wth?!?
…your comment is right on target dj.
The weather was NOT to hot. Nosey people need to research before they start breaking into people’s cars. My dog loves to sit in my car. They should be arrested for theft.
Good job of writing.
I had a woman call the police on my wife after she parked her car, with our dog in it, in the shade with the windows cracked and the sunroof open with a bowl of water clearly visible on the seats. I was there when animal control arrived and it was cooler inside my wife’s car than it was in my car which was running with the AC on (officers have an IR thermometer they use to check for safe temps). If you’re concerned call the authorities and don’t try breaking in to (or just plain breaking) another person’s car.
Depends on if it was in there for a couple of minutes versus hours. I had someone try to break into my car in the time it took me to walk into the store and drop off a movie, to come out and see someone trying to get into my car. Meanwhile my dogs were fine although they were barking at the person trying to break into my car. They likely would of gotten bit trying to get my dogs out.
They want to make a difference have them fight to legalize dogs in ALL stores.
Animals aren’t allowed into stores because of sanitation reasons. You have no idea how mad some people can get about a dog’s butt being in the same seat section of a carriage as a human butt…. LOL
I work at a Wal-Mart where we allow service animals. We are not allowed to question an individual on weather or not they are in fact a service animal. So the other day one woman flipped out because she saw a dog sitting in the seat of the carriage and how unsanitary it is. “That’s where my child and good goes!”
And I’ve seen children who have blown out their diapers in those seats as well… you think that for sanitized after? LMAO!
It seems really silly .. but people like that are the reason animals can’t go shopping with us. (Also, people do have allergies)
If I came out to find someone attempting to break into my vehicle they would soon be waiting face down on the pavement for law enforcement and I would be pressing charges for vehicle prowl.
If my dog is left in my vehicle it will have food, water, shade, and the windows will be open for air (there will also be a fan on for air circulation which you may not see).
61 degreesfor the high of the day. Most likely in the 50’s at that time. The authorities did not come in the first place because there was no way it was more than 80 in the vehicle, more than likely less than 70 with the windows down. So the dog was not distressed, therefore making it a crime of breaking and entering and possibly attempted theft. What about this?
A movie is hours…and the dog should have been left at home. 61 degrees out, with the windows cracked is essentially a bad environment for the dog..maybe not death, but not ok, for the time it takes to watch a movie. And the legislature right now has a bill on the table that prohibits dogs to be left unattended in cars at any time, thanks to people like this woman who uses bad judgement. The officer made the right call. and the woman should not have made such a fool out of herself, and she would not have gotten arrested. I take mine for quick trips only, and only if the weather is acceptable…..but now soon we won’t be able to do that….I could see in Heat and Cold conditions, but it is sad that some people ruin things for others.
A movie is hours…and the dog should have been left at home. 61 degrees out, with the windows cracked is essentially a bad environment for the dog..maybe not death, but not ok, for the time it takes to watch a movie. And the legislature right now has a bill on the table that prohibits dogs to be left unattended in cars at any time, thanks to people like this woman who uses bad judgment. The officer made the right call. and the woman should not have made such a fool out of herself, and she would not have gotten arrested. I take mine for quick trips only, and only if the weather is acceptable…..but now soon we won’t be able to do that….I could see in Heat and Cold conditions, but it is sad that some people ruin things for others.
People need to mind there own dogs,they have no right to brake into another person car,we have a number for them to call,911,these people will come and decide if smashing a window is required.I for one am tired of micro managing nut case’s driving around making a problem where one dosen t exist ,the patrolman that was called to this brake in should have checked the temp of the car,if the windows were rolled down ,and did the dog have water,at a high of 61 for the day its safe to say the dog wasnt going to be cooked,so yes a few people who dont have a life are going to decide for everyone,because your to dumb,to decide if its safe to take your dog out.