Dog left in car (Dallas, Mart: credit, homes, college)

[mSooner]

I went to the crappy Wal-Mart Market near downtown yesterday (near Hall St.) and parked next to a partially smashed up car that had a pit bull locked up in it. It was about 95 at that point, but I decided to wait and see if the owner was just running into the store and see if the car was still there when I got out. (Not that leaving a dog in a hot car is acceptable at all!)

I was out in 15 minutes and the car was still there. The poor dog was curled up on the floor at this point and gave me the most pathetic look. I'm not a bleeding heart animal lover, but jeez...the poor thing was obviously not doing well.

I honestly didn't feel comfortable confronting the owner (not the right area of town, I was alone, and I'm pregnant), so I left and starting calling every number I could think of to see who could rescue the poor dog. I called the Dallas PD, they told me to call 311. After listening to a list of options for 10 minutes that got me nowhere, I looked up the number for Animal Control, who sent me to their "Rapid Response" line. All I got was a recording telling me to call 311. Finally, I called the Wal-Mart and asked if they could go check and see if the poor thing was still there. To their credit, they immediately did go check and told me the car had left.

Now I wish I had just called the store or went inside and found a manager to begin with, but who should I be calling if I come across this situation again?

What kind of dingbat leaves their dog in a hot car???

[talkispoison]

People make me so mad

[LQQKOUT]

people like that don't deserve a dog. or any other animal for that matter. Sick- sick people.
Even the dogs stuffed in the back yard on a hot summer day- or even the ones in the yard tied up on a short rope with no shade......don't get me started. I am a total animal lover.

I would have went into the store customer service and had them page the entire store who the owner was and them gave them a piece of my mind.

[stan4]

Someone left their dog in the car in a parking lot near here and came back out and the dog was gone. Serves her arse right.

Now she's putting up lost dog signs everywhere. Yeah, right, lady.

[BigDGeek]

I'd have dialed 911 and gone from there. I'd go to the press and local humane groups with the runaround you got, personally. People need to know who to call to get a quick response.

[skids929]

Originally Posted by mSooner

What kind of dingbat leaves their dog in a hot car???

Anyone who thinks its a good idea to own a breed bred specifically to kill other dogs shouldn't have a high expectation set upon them of sound judgement and common sense.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by skids929

Anyone who thinks its a good idea to own a breed bred specifically to kill other dogs shouldn't have a high expectation set upon them of sound judgement and common sense.

That's not fair; I know two pitbull owners, both college-educated professional females, both own two of them, and neither of them have ever had any problems with their dogs.

[LQQKOUT]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

That's not fair; I know two pitbull owners, both college-educated professional females, both own two of them, and neither of them have ever had any problems with their dogs.

I agree- I had a pit when my daughter was a baby - into a toddler. And he was a sweet boy- when the ex and I slipt he got the dog.

Our daughter would sit on him, pull his ears, feed him by hand and he did nothing bad to her or anyone in the family. I believe the only bad thing he ever did was wang his tail- which could be used as a whip- when he was happy to see you or excited to play watch out for that tail

boy do I miss him...RIP

[skids929]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

That's not fair; I know two pitbull owners, both college-educated professional females, both own two of them, and neither of them have ever had any problems with their dogs.

Thats great..There are alot of successful stories of owning Pit Bulls I am sure, but just remember it's in their DNA to kill other dogs and to be aggressive. Kind of like a large Mountain Cat has DNA to kill and hunt. I am not comfortable leaving the well being of my family in the hands of some potential idiot who just might be curious enough to know how powerful their Pit Bull can be by encouraging undesirable behaviors. I know that at the stage in life I am in, I would NOT be comfortable living next to anyone who owned those dogs, especially the way homes are zoned in DFW.

I am a dog owner, and I often ponder what kind of personality would be generally attracted to owning that breed. As I see it there are two reasons to own dogs, 1) the companionship and family aspect, and 2) being interested in the breed itself, history, purpose etc. What ANYONE sees in a dog that was bred to fight and kill, not just assert control (like a Guard Dog) but to KILL is beyond my comprehension. Not a good pet, sorry.

I say all of this as a person who is passionate about Dogs, I have been around Dogs all my life and I KNOW what it takes to rear a good dog-I speak from many years of love and experience with Dogs. In fact I own a Terrier, a go-to-ground Terrier but a Terrier nonetheless (Cairn Terrier)...Pit Bulls are a liability for two reasons, their overall breeding, and the Owners. For me that is enough to generalize that they aren't worth owning and to question the motives of anyone who wants to own one.

I see enough bad owners out there who screw up breeds that aren't considered aggressive, who if I had my way wouldn't have Dogs because they treat them like children rather than Dogs. It just scares me that those same owner types could own a dog like that.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by skids929

Thats great..There are alot of successful stories of owning Pit Bulls I am sure, but just remember it's in their DNA to kill other dogs and to be aggressive. Kind of like a large Mountain Cat has DNA to kill and hunt. I am not comfortable leaving the well being of my family in the hands of some potential idiot who just might be curious enough to know how powerful their Pit Bull can be by encouraging undesirable behaviors. I know that at the stage in life I am in, I would NOT be comfortable living next to anyone who owned those dogs, especially the way homes are zoned in DFW.

I am a dog owner, and I often ponder what kind of personality would be generally attracted to owning that breed. As I see it there are two reasons to own dogs, 1) the companionship and family aspect, and 2) being interested in the breed itself, history, purpose etc. What ANYONE would want a dog that was bred to fight and kill, not just assert control (like a Guard Dog) but to KILL is beyond my comprehension.

I as this as a person who is passionate about Dogs, I have been around Dogs all my life and I KNOW what it takes to rear a good dog-I speak from many years of love and experience with Dogs. Pit Bulls are a liability for two reasons, their breeding, and the owners. For me that is enough to generalize that they aren't worth owning and to question the motives of anyone who wants to own one.

Any breed of dog can snap and become aggressive enough to kill. It's not just pits.

My point stands. To say that all people who own pits are cruel or somehow lacking in the common sense department is unfair and untrue.