Kinehora: The reverse curse

[TuMicks]

This term is Yiddish and I don't know the exact definition. A Jewish friend of mine said it's like the Evil Eye, if you mention the bad thing, you bring it on yourself. I had previously posted my misgivings about "right to rescue." Well, it happened to me and Rocket Dog.

We'd been out training WAY south of Reno on a farm... over an hour's drive from our house. My grandson was going to play in a Little League All Star game in Carson City at 5PM, about halfway home. So I decided that I would take it easy, find a nice spot near the ball fields, feed, water and air the Rocket Dog and then go watch the game. I found a nice tree under which to park, did the dog care stuff... then crated her up in the back of my expensive new ride under the expensive new truck cap. Windows wide open. Nice breeze blowing. A WONDERFUL day for baseball.

It was still well in advance of the game and I thought I should reconnoiter to find the field the Reno All Stars would be using. Naturally, the one farthest away. But that's fine. I walked back to my truck and as I got closer I saw what looked to me like a bag lady on a motor scooter next to my truck using her cell phone. (She looked just like Madame Defarge would look in Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities.) As I come closer I hear her say into the phone... "here she comes now." And when I got closer she starts both yelling at me and talking into her phone. DID YOU KNOW YOUR CAR IS LOCKED? DID YOU KNOW THERE'S A DOG IN THERE? YOU CAN'T LEAVE A DOG IN A CAR! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE STUCK BACK THERE?

To which I replied:

Yes. I did lock my truck (and the cap).
Yes. I do know there's a dog in the back of my truck.
I wouldn't mind being in the back of my truck in the shade. Would you like to join me?

To which she complains into the phone "Now she's cracking wise with me!" (I was NOT taking this as seriously as she thought I should.) And frankly, I had the feeling this lady was sorta unbalanced. Then she tries to describe the truck to the dispatcher. I helped her...

It's a white Ford F-150 with a white cap. Which she repeats into the phone. Her phone conversation completed, she keeps haranguing me and I stop making eye contact with her, turn my back, just basically trying to de-escalate the situation. I REPORTED YOU TO THE POLICE! YOU CAN'T LEAVE A DOG LIKE THAT!!! When I didn't engage, she put her generous butt on her motor scooter and took off. I called the dispatcher, asked to speak to animal control, told them where I was, who I was, and left my phone number. (I also put it on a piece of paper on my dashboard.) and went to the game.

Stop: Keep in mind, this woman had no leash. She had no vehicle except her scooter. She was not from anyplace nearby. She clearly intended to simply release Rocket Dog. Period.

Second inning (Reno All-Stars ahead by 3 runs) my phone rings. "Animal Control" is asking me to come to my truck. Well, Animal Control is run by the Humane Society in Carson City. They have a KILL SHELTER. (How humane.) Anyhow, the guy says... you can't leave a dog in a truck. I told him, that was news to me and asked him for the relevant statutes so I could check them out when I got home. He pulls out a book with Carson City regulations and Nevada Revised Statutes. Both say "... cannot endanger a dog" and then states "... such as a closed vehicle." I asked the "officer" if he had a thermometer. It was like these thermal scanners. He checked the ambient temp and it read 113 degrees (and over 200 little boys are playing baseball not far from us.) He checked the inside of my cap and got a reading of 83 degrees. His instrument was very poorly calibrated.

So, boys and girls, even going by his measurements... he wanted me to take the dog out of an environment of 83 degrees and expose her to one that was 30 degrees hotter. Because "you can't leave a dog locked in a truck." This is absurd. He then said... " well, I can't ticket you, but consider this a warning." I turned my back on him and went to watch baseball. (We won!)

So, long story short... the rescuer had no plan to help my dog. Only release her from my truck. The "Animal Control" officer has no clue what the statutes specify, so he's making then up as he goes. He's using an instrument that is badly calibrated, OR one that is calibrated to read too high. (And per the Weather Service, our high temp was 87. Not 113.) The whole situation was absurd and dangerous to me and the dog.

But my grandson's team is within two games of going to the STATE PLAYOFFS!!!!

[Bob Pr.]

Good for you.

I had a somewhat similar experience years ago with Puff. When I got my Honda Civic, I had a retractible sunroof put in and also installed side window shade/deflectors so all the windows could be lowered at least 4-6" even in rain.

And I never left Puff in there more than 10 or 15 minutes while I went into a store.

Nevertheless, one time I came back (in 10 or 15 minutes) and found a note on my windshield chastising me for leaving Puff in a locked car and saying the note writer had called the police.

After that, I got a large circular thermometer and suspended it in the middle of the back seat's ceiling so the internal temp would be visible to anyone passing by. And left a printed message visible to anyone passing by the driver's side of the time I left and my cell phone #.

Did that for years.

[Snowshoe]

That's my fear, that someone will see the dog and use him as an excuse to vandalize my vehicle and the dog might get loose. What was Rocket doing that the woman even knew she was in there? Mine lie down in the back and with tinted windows (not tinted on our truck cap though and same truck as yours) no one can see them in there unless they are looking for a dog. Unless they see me drive in which has happened. Once our temperatures get over 15C (~60F) I won't leave my dog in the car for any more than the time it takes me to gas up. But I do leave him in if it's -15C and someone might think he's cold.

[smartrock]

Makes you wonder how Madame Defarge spotted Rocket Dog in there- why was she even up close enough to get a good look? Unless, of course, she was considering purchasing a new vehicle for herself and wanted to check yours out!

It's a dilemma, I know people leave dogs in cars when they shouldn't but I am so careful with mine that I would be seriously exercised if someone called 911 or AC on me. Despite black dogs and tinted windows, mine sit up watching for my return and if someone was looking, they'd be visible. I just rarely leave them in the car and never longer than it takes me to use the bathroom when we're on a trip.

[TuMicks]

Why the woman was there has kept me thinking about it. To get to the park, you take a small side-street. Then a driveway into the park. And the truck was parked in a lot that was not being used. The baseball action was further down the drive. This bag-lady-on-a-scooter had no connection with the Little League tournament and that was the only thing happening in the park at the time. It seems unlikely that she would have stumbled upon my truck. My license plate is RTRVRS. That may have caused her to single my truck out, but only if she followed me for a bit. I fed, watered and aired RD before leaving her... but I didn't see anyone else around at the time.

Rocket Dog was an extremely vocal puppy and young dog. She learned however that to get ANYTHING good, she has to be quiet. So she doesn't bark or whine in the crate. I wasn't there, but I don't think RD was making noise.

In talking it over with my husband and other dog people, I believe I should have called 911 and told them there was a woman by my truck and I was being threatened. I wasn't going to let RD out, and I didn't know how long she was going to be staying there yelling at me or if she would escalate. Yes, I would have pressed charges for simple assault.

[SunDance]

Yes, she sounds weird and perhaps not the most socially adept, but if she was being honest with you...and having placed that phone call tells me that she was...then I'd rather have someone be too concerned about the welfare of animals rather than not concerned at all. You don't know what attracted her attention to your truck...perhaps RD reacted to the sound of her bike or some such. You just don't know.

Your reaction to her up front fueled the problem, especially since she was already upset.

Sorry....for what it's worth, I wouldn't have had the dog with me, knowing she'd be in the truck for an entire game's length of time.

And comments on the appearance of that woman are unnecessary.

[mhb]

Had a similar episode years ago with Rosie and Oscar. Parked in the supermarket parking lot one summer eve. Car had had a/c on for the last hour so very cool. shades down. ran in for 10 minutes. came out to find local police ready to break a window because someone had called them. Opened the door, was way cooler inside than out. Didnt impress said policeman. Got a warning. Now im totally paranoid about leaving them, not for their health (which ranks higher than my own health to me), but because they will vandalize the car and let loose the hounds.

[TuMicks]

Dear Sundance: I thoroughly disagree.

I am convinced that Madame DeFarge intended to release my dog and leave on her scooter. She as much said so. This is classic animal rights behavior and contrary to rational concern about animal welfare. She was indignant that my dog was CRATED in the LOCKED TRUCK. Instead of saying "your dog is in distress" she said "how would you like to be left in there like that?" (And, indeed... I have slept in the back of a truck more than a few times, so I was being absolutely honest.) Further... I answered her questions (accusations) without temper. My tone and facial expression, totally flat. My voice low. I don't know how answering her questions without elaboration was in any way rude. Indeed, to have done anything other, would have escalated the situation. She did not want explanations. She did not even want apologies. I believe at the point I arrived, a total capitulation on my part would not have satisfied her. She wanted my dog or a pound of flesh. Period. She was in high dudgeon and wanted a fight. She did not get one.

I have since described my encounter in a letter to the Carson City Sheriff. In addition to explaining that the Animal Control Officer's thermal reader was inaccurately calibrated and was tainting any animal cruelty evidence as it related to heat. I told him that the Humane Society staff needed instruction on animal health and welfare, specifically that 83 degrees was a safer temperature for canines than 113 degrees (the temperature he wanted my dog released into.) Finally I pointed out that the Humane Society was ignorant about Nevada Revised Statutes:

In particular: NRS 574.100 “… requirements for restraining dogs…” 4. “The provisions of subsections 2 and 3 do not apply to a dog that is… (c) Receiving training to hunt a species of game in the State.” And NRS 574.195 “Allowing cat or dog to remain unattended in a motor vehicle during period of extreme heat or cold” Subsection 3. Provisions of subsection 1 do not apply to : (d) a dog that is participating in (1) training exercises relating to hunting; or (2) Field trials relating to hunting. My dog and I were returning home from training. Officer XXXXXX believes erroneously, that AKC Retriever Sports are illegal in Carson City.

I concluded that my dog was in all ways demonstrably safe and well and that my activities with regard to containing and transporting my dog for the purposes of training it to hunt game in the state is specifically protected.

Next time (if, God forbid, there is a next time...) I will whip out my cell phone and film the Animal Rightist and press charges.

[Anna Scott]

TuMick's, your experience is becoming more and more common. The sad thing is that these people really don't have a clue about the safety of the dog and may not even care . It is hard to win with someone like this. We have had a couple of incidents like this. One was on a trial weekend when someone complained about dogs being left on the trucks at the motel. The policy was no dogs in the rooms but the police made the hotel allow the dogs in. This was really no solution as some of the dogs had never spent a minute in a house. One pro had 14 dogs on his truck. Now that would have been fun! A local businessman happened to be in the hotel and heard the problem. He offered his air conditioned building for the pros to park their trucks in for the night. There are good people in our community.
Another friend came out of a store to find a strange woman in the back of his pickup trying to open his crates to give the dogs water. There were water bowls in the crates already. He had left his ventilation windows open and had the back of the truck open. The conversation that day was not quite a civil as yours seemed to be.
When we have the dogs with us we leave all the windows open and the lift gate at the back up. I tell my sister that there is nothing in the vehicle that anyone would want to steal and besides when they approach the back the male sets up a h!ll of a racket. I have often thought we maybe should put pad locks on the cages for when we are in strange communities, just incase. At home I don't worry as people seem to be very honest I have left my purse in grocery carts on numerous occasions and gone back to find it untouched or handed in to the store untouched.

[POPTOP]

I'm so paranoid about leaving a dog in the car I just don't. If that means taking Archie somewhere, going home, then going back out to do a 10 minute stop, that's what it is. I've been in parking lots where I hear a dog bark and in some instances, really not weather, will wait a few minutes to see what happens. Without fail, the owner has returned to the vehicle very quickly.

Remember, there are people and organized groups that will do anything to release an animal no matter what the circumstances.