Back in June I
pondered the question
karma in my life.
This weekend, I once again
found myself in the right
places, at the right
times.....
Saturday morning
my sweet friend Rosemarie
and I were shopping
Good Will for
silent auction baskets.
As we left the store,
we noticed two big dogs
sitting in a car near mine.
we noticed two big dogs
sitting in a car near mine.
After we'd both
oohed and ahhed
at how cute they were, we
almost simultaneously gasped,
There are no windows
rolled down!
It was 90 degrees
and sunny outside.
Maybe because autumn
is almost here and the
mornings start out
cooler, the owner of
these animals didn't think
about cracking the
windows....
But, according to
weather.com, your car is
like an oven and even on a
mild sunny day the temperature
in the car can get as hot
as 120 degrees!
Dogs only perspire
through their paws and through
panting. In close quarters like
an automobile, they then expel this
extra heat from their bodies, making the
air around them even hotter.
Well, I zoomed up to GW's
front door, lickety-split and
Rosemarie ran in to have the
check-out clerk make an announcement.
After five ~ yes, FIVE ~ whole minutes
a young woman came out clutching
a bag, head down, doing a walk of shame
as Ro and I gave her the stink eye. After
she hurriedly jumped in and drove away, we
wondered if we'd done the right thing by not
calling the police?
I pray that girl won't
make this mistake again.
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| google images |
Yesterday, my son and I headed
out to Costco. At the light before we turn
into the store driveway, I glanced over
to see how busy the parking lot looked.
At the end of the lot farthest from
Costco {and closest to us} was a pickup truck
that had backed into its space ~ almost to
the railing that separates the lot from the busy
road, about ten feet below.
I saw a dog in the back of the pickup,
front paws on the railing, poised
to JUMP!
My heart began to pound as I imagined
the grave danger this dog would be in
if he went through with
his getaway plan....
When the light turned green I found myself
like Mario Andretti, once again, peeling into
that lot and parking next to the truck.
I leaped out of the car just in
time to see the dog's rear legs
and tail disappear behind the pickup.
Sick with fear, I approached the railing
to see what had
happened.
Turns out there was about
one foot of space
between the pickup
and the railing.....
.....and the dog had
been tethered
by the neck
using two leashes, lashed to
each side of the truck bed,
about three feet from
the back.
With only one foot on the
ground, the poor guy was
dangling ~
by a choke chain ~
over the back of
the truck!
A pinch choke chain.
The kind with one and
half inch spikes.....
pointing towards the
dog's neck.
A pit bull.
If it had been a lab or a collie
or a mixed breed I would have
freed him, myself. But there has
been so much bad press
recently about pit bulls,
that I was afraid to touch
him in this condition.
Afraid.
I left my son next to
our car in case the owner came back ~
he could flag the person down ~
and I high-tailed it through that
parking lot like you wouldn't believe....
in flip-flops!
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| google images |
I burst through those automatic doors, up
to customer service and blurted out this
pathetic crisis in a loud voice.
One of the of the managers said
Take me
and we were off,
scrambling for the pickup.
As we got closer, the
screams from that dog
were just awful. Because
the owner had parked so
far away from the building
{and other cars}, my
son was the only one
to hear it. He's eleven.
He said he could hardly
stand it.
As we crooned to the
dog It's okay, buddy, you're okay.....
we approached him from
both sides and unraveled
the knotted leashes keeping
him tethered to the truck.
As his other three paws touched
terra firma, he wagged his tail and I swear,
his eyes were
all gratitude.
Since Costco has no
announcement system
in their stores, this manager
stood outside {it was 90
degrees} with her grateful charge.
Another employee had been
sent for water for the dog,
which he drank and drank.
She sat out there with
the dog for 40 minutes.
When the owners left
the store, they were surprised
to see this young lady, who
I now know is called Kate,
with their dog. When she
told them how their dog
nearly choked to death,
the woman barely muttered
Sorry.
Kate and I both shook our
heads sadly when she related
how this pup's adventure ended.
Maybe I should have called
the police she said mournfully.
I assured her that she'd
gone above and beyond
the call of duty and that
hopefully, his owners had
learned a lesson.
Hopefully.
According to the Humane
Society of America, the
only way to transport a
dog safely in an open
pickup truck is in a heavy
travel crate. They know
of no restraints that are
safe in this situation and
say there have been cases
where dogs tied down with
leashes or harnesses have
been strangled or dragged
after being thrown from a
truck bed.
So please, keep
your eyes open for this
type of plight....You might
be the next person to
be in the right place,
at the right time, to help
an animal who cannot
help himself.
An animal's eyes have
the power to speak
a great language.
~ Martin Buber
Okay, now on to
a lighter subject:
The winner of my
CSN giveaway!
According to Random
Generator.com, it
is
True Random Number Generator 137
True Random Number Generator 137
Sally
Divine Distractions
Divine Distractions
Congratulations!
[image 1 Privet and Holly
image 2, 6, 8 google images
others: flickr ~ click each
for attribution]
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