English Bulldogs Die In Hot Car

[shipugtzus]

Hi Everyone.
Time for me to vent.Some of you may have heard about this.This happened in my hometown of Springfield Missouri.It has been on the news and our local news station has been covering it.

Two days ago police officers pulled a car over on a hot road.They arrested the man in the car for counterfeiting,and took him to jail. In the car were two young healthy English Bulldogs.The temp that day was around 95 at the time this happened.Now get this..They left these poor dogs in the car,with little attempt to do anything about them.The owner raised a big issue about it,begging them to take care of his dogs.The dogs were left. Later when someone finally did decide to go see about the dogs,they were dead from suffocation.Guess PROTECT AND SERVE does not apply to animals.The human society was NEVER CALLED.There excuse was the dogs appeared as though they MIGHT BE VICIOUS,so they left them and figured they would deal with them later.They did they let them die.When asked why the human society was not called their answer was "It was not in the human society's jurisdiction"The human society was outraged and said,had we been called we would have went and got the dogs. Now mind you these people were POLICE OFFICERS.They told news media it was not there problem. That was their exact words.The owner plans on sueing the city of Springfield and I strongly hope he does.I wrote the news media and my comment was..Leo's killer got 3 years,what will these OFFICERS get? a slap on the wrist,they killed 2 dogs. The whole death of these poor innocent dogs was TOTALLY unnecessary and uncalled for.The newsmedia told me they fully intended to continue the coverage on this issue....Sandy

TWO BEAUTIFUL HAPPY DOGS,LEFT TO DIE
CAUSE OFFICERS DIDN'T CARE,DIDN'T EVEN TRY.

They showed pictures on TV of these smiling happy dogs.It made me cry.I am still crying for them and don't intend to let this issue rest.I want everyone to know about it.However our local news station feels the same and has been real good about covering it.Thanks for listening,I know all of you understand how I feel about this and feel the same way.....Sandy

[Sudilar]

I am horrified and greatly saddened. This should not have happened. There is no excuse for it. Those officers gave the dogs a death sentence right there, with no trial. How dare they. I hope they are prosecuted. I am mad!! :( :( :(

[Daisy's Mom]

That is horrible! I hope the police officers get what's coming to them. Their cold heartedness sickens me.

This is completely outrageous and horrifying. I cannot believe police officers could be so irresponsible. What happened to going above and beyond the call of duty..HOW DIFFICULT WOULD IT HAVE BEEN TO LET THE SUSPECT SIT IN THE AIR CONDITIONED POLICE CAR WHILE THEY WAITED FOR ANIMAL CONTROL OR THE HUMANE SOCIETY TO PICK UP THE DOGS. I am so MAD :mad: !

Sandy, could you possibly e-mail me or leave a message on this site with e-mail addresses or phone numbers to the local news up there and/or police station. I might be able to find it knowing where you are though....This issue should not rest! Can you also tell me the name or include the link to your local news website that might have this story in it. I want to find out some things.

Thanks :)

P.S - The police would NOT have let 2 children sit in that car so how could they let other flesh and blood lives sit there...!

[ July 18, 2001: Message edited by: doggiemom ]

[jackiesdaisy1935]

It's horrible, another example of inhumane treatment of animals. They should be thrown off the police force.

I just read an article in the Springfield Leader News website and I e-mailed the writer of that story in hopes of getting more info. I will check out the sites you suggested too, Spencer - Thanks :)

By the way, of the subject, are you and 'PAM' related in any way? I was adding pics to my pet talk page and was looking at Pam's album and saw your cat Spencer on there with Trevor and Bella. Just curious?

[Logan]

Well, that didn't work, Chuck. But I had heard this story and was horrified that this could happen. All dogs are suseptible in the heat, but especially English Bulldogs with thier flat faces. I am just sick and sad about the whole thing. :(

[tatsxxx11]

Just this morning I played the "meanine" role and waited for the owner of a sweet little Yorkie returned to her car. Ahh! It was the SWEETEST, most frail lovely senior. But, still, with just one window cracked down a couple of inches, I had to remind her how dangerous it is to leave a dog in a car in the summertime. Even with ALL 4 windows half rolled down, on a hot day, a dog can suffocate in a short time; especially as Logan says, if they have flat faces, are seniors, ill, etc. This story is just sickening. I think people should be subjected to psychological testing before being permitted the privelege of becoming a fur parent!

Originally posted by SpencerTheLion:
<STRONG>This link made it to the Springfield Leader Article on the Bulldog's Deaths (http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/news/dogs071501.html)

It was Secret Service agents, not policemen responsible

[ July 18, 2001: Message edited by: SpencerTheLion ]</STRONG>


I noticed that when I read the article. I just received a response from the writer of that article.... I posted my letter to him and his response. He gave me a number to call if I wanted to... ____________________________________
My letter to him....

Hi,

I am writing to you in regards to the two dogs left to die in that hot car.
I am wondering what other details you can supply. Are the Secret Service
agents that let this happen from a local FBI branch or somewhere else? I am curious because I want to make sure something is done about this. What can I do? This is just a complete outrage! I found out about this story from a local resident of Springfield and then I looked up the story on the internet and found your write-up.

I live in Arizona and I am sure this story has reached others nationwide.
What those agents did was irresponsible and hanous. But, before I start spilling my opinion I want more details. Is there any way to get more information? I have read the story and it appears that these agents have been heard stating that it wasn't their responsibility and so on. Is this
true? Did they really act like they didn't care? And, furthermore, if
there were witnesses to this bust and the neighbors knew that the agents seemed uncaring then what were they doing about it? Am I missing something?
The neighbors could have easily called someone to come and get that car
opened so why didn't they? They must not have known at the time or something.

Please help me out if you can. Thank you so much for your time.

__________________________________________
His response...

All I can tell you is what was in the story. Neighbors were not allowed near the car by authorities. There was a follow up story appearing in our Sunday, July 15 edition.
Another on Tuesday, July 17. Both quoted the attorney for the man who owned the dogs. She is a Springfield attorney and is listed. She may have some other info for you.
Also, the Southwest Missouri Humane Society may be able to offer suggestions about what responses are appropriate. Ph: (417) 833-2526.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Phred here ~

I'm also very upset with the needless death of Bonnie and Max...

But the blame appears to not lie with the local Springfield, MO Police Department - at least not totally with them. The Springfield News-Leader newspaper account (link):
http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/news/dogs071501.html
states that it was US Secret Service Agents that actually made the arrest of the dogs' owner, NOT the local police.

There is not enough detail in the Sunday newspaper article to determine IF local police were also on the scene and therefore could or should be held partially responsible for the tragedy.

I find a line quoted from the newspaper also quite disturbing: "Neighbors said law enforcement at the scene did little to help the dogs."

And just WHAT did the good neighbors DO to attempt to rectify what they apparently SAW happening to the poor dogs?? I would certainly have started making a LOT of phone calls to obtain immediate assistance for the dogs. If I thought too much time was passing without the dogs being properly cared for, there would have been a broken car window and two dogs under my care and custody until proper arrangements could be made! ;) If more people begin to take this "It's not my problem; I don't want to get involved" attitude - where will this world be in a few years? :( /s/ Phred :mad:

[Cinder & Smoke]

Oops... Thanks Angel ~

"Neighbors were not allowed near the car by authorities."

Quite possible if the Secret Service and/or
Local Police considered
the car to be a "crime scene".
But I'd have STILL raised enough of a ruckus, and collected a couple
of wittnesses to backe me up, that the "authorities" on-scene
would not have been able to ignore me! Possibly would have wound
up in jail myself; but my friends could have taken over then...

As has been said - we need more details. /s/ Phred

[CoraNewf]

The fact that any human being could be so "in-humane" and ignorant never ceases to amaze me. Yet, every time I listen to the news, or read the paper, there is an acount of some idiot, somewhere who does something stupid like this!!! :mad: It's so frustrating... to realize that there's very little we can do.... I just have to console my self with the knowledge of "what goes around, comes around". I just can't help but wonder why, with the multitude of cell phones why these IDIOTs didn't call the local animal control........

There was discussion on another list... about stickers you can buy to put on peoples cars that leave animals in cars on hot summer days. I'm not sure what the website was... maybe the ASPCA.... :confused:

Those poor babies.....

Annie

[sammi]

This is terrible. How could they be so uncaring and cold hearted? What is the link to voice your opinion? :mad: I hope everybody who reads this responds.

[Sudilar]

If anyone finds an e-mail address or someone that we can voice our opinions to, please post it. I would like to see those Secret Service agents prosecuted for animal cruelty.
On a kinder note: a little story.
My daughter was at work and a customer came in and said that there was a dog in a car with the window cracked open just a bit. It was hot out, too. They announced over the loudspeaker about the dog's situation and that if no one responded to rescue the dog that the police would be called (a 911, no less). The police in our town do break windows to get to dogs in hot cars! However, a little old lady went out to the car and drove away with the dog. Quite a few people got involved with this poor dog. A possible tragedy was averted.

[shipugtzus]

As I am told,there were police officials there as well as the secret service.It is my understanding there were several there,Secret service and police.Their response to not calling animal control was that there was not one to call,which they then were asked,why not the human society to which they said it is not our problem and is out of their jurisdiction.I recieved a reply
just a little bit ago from our local TV news station(who by the way are about as crazy about animals as we are)saying they would continue to follow closely on this matter.They can be emailed at [email protected] about this issue.I would like to suggest that anyone who writes them
please let them know where you are from.I think they would be interested to know that this story is not staying in Missouri.Sandy

[CoraNewf]

:eek: Well then, the blame lies with both the US Secret Service and the local Police Department.... shame shame shame... I can feel my blood pressure rising.

In regards to the Secret Service being involved... my guess is that since the crime scene had something to do with counterfeiting... that is under the jurisdiction of the US Treasury... and the Secret Service is also apart of the Treasury Dept.

Some days... an eye for an eye really makes sense....

Annie

[CoraNewf]

OMG... I just clicked on the link and one of the headlines on is "Health Department issues Hot Weather warning!!!!!:

[shipugtzus]

There is an article pertaining to this on dog.com under dog info news headlines,listed as...Two dogs die in car after owner arrest
It is listed on the second page at http://www.dog.com. It says that Mangan (the owner) has a news conference scheduled with the Springfield Human Society after his hearing on Monday....Sandy

I am glad to see you are all upset as I am. I started to think that maybe I was getting carried away. I personally plan on e-mailing the news station and the humane society in MO to discuss this. I am grateful to the gentelman who wrote a story about this for the Springfield Leader-News since he responded with a phone number for me. I will pass along any info I get to you so you can respond too.

Rest in Peace Bonnie and Max. Those two, sadly without pictures, will be included on the Rainbow Bridge Page that I am working on.

[Cinder & Smoke]

More details on the deaths of Bonnie and Max...

Here's another link to possibly the first and earliest newspaper story:
http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/news/deaddogs0712.html

This account give the time-line of the arrest and the actions
of the Secret Service, the Local Police, local animal control
and humane officials, and the efforts of the local citizens to help.
It appears that many individuals understood there WAS a problem
with the dogs, but local policies - or a lack of policy - was
to blame for the lack of action before it was too late.

This article is a sad commentary on our Federal, State,
and Local Government.

Bureaucracy at it's best? or Worst. :rolleyes:

/s/ Phred

Phred, you are a firefighter right? I thought I read that before.... If you are, then you must see things like this. Children, dogs locked in cars? What do you do? Maybe you can give us some insight, if you see this kind of thing.

I just can't imagine why this had to happen. With that many people involved this should never have ended up the way that it did. I understand that federal officials and police officers have a job to do and that is first and foremost and that no one was allowed near the car, but how many people would it have taken to get the dogs out and guard the suspect? I'm not directing these questions at you Phred... I am just still amazed that this happened.

[shipugtzus]

well Doggiemom,I did see pictures of Bonnie and Max on channel 10 news and they were beautiful,happy looking,well cared for dogs.

The Southwest Mo Human Society is..417-823-2526...The Springfield Newsleader is..417-836-1199

And no you are NOT going overboard.This was totally a case of..THEY JUST DIDN'T CARE.

Originally posted by Sandy Lawson:
<STRONG>well Doggiemom,I did see pictures of Bonnie and Max on channel 10 news and they were beautiful,happy looking,well cared for dogs.

The Southwest Mo Human Society is..417-823-2526...The Springfield Newsleader is..417-836-1199

And no you are NOT going overboard.This was totally a case of..THEY JUST DIDN'T CARE.</STRONG>

Thank you Sandy! Boy did you start a hot topic here. Do you know if there are pics on any of the websites? I want to include them on the Rainbow Bridge page. Maybe I will call the news station up there and have them e-mail the pics... I wonder if they would do that? Here's hoping!!

[shipugtzus]

If there are any pics on the web,I am not aware of them.I do know that KOLR 10 has some they used on TV for the story/As to where they would release them or not I don't know.I am sure they would if they can.Sandy

[Cinder & Smoke]

Angel ~ To answer your question about how a Firefighter might react
to this situation:

I'm a former Chief, now an Assistant Chief, with a 30 person, all Volunteer,
semi-rural Fire Department. We answer to a Township Board of Trustees,
but have the luxury of never beig second guessed or told HOW
to run a call by those folks. This gives us a LOT of leeway to size up
an incident and decide to to what WE, the Firefighters on the call,
think is the right and proper thing to do. In contrast, larger city
Volunteer Departments, and most Career or Paid Departments, have
to follow usually very formal, written policies and "Standard
Operating Procedures" that sometimes just don't cover everything
we run into in the "real world" of emergency service. So what do you
do when something happens that requires a action that isn't covered
by your Departmental SOP's? It all depends on what kind of an organization
that you belong to; and how the "administration" might react
to your doing something that isn't covered by a formal policy or SOP.

Given a "routine" kid or critter locked in a car situation ~ we first
determine if the car is running and if the air or heater is operating
and will maintain a confortable temperature. If there's no risk to
the occupant, we'll stand by for a couple of hours if need be to
monitor the situation and wait for another key to arrive or a locksmith.
If it's too hot, cold, or there's the possibility of a carbon
monoxide problem, we'll break a small window and do the rescue.

A "nasty attitude" dog, like Springfield had, is a different situation.
You NEED an experienced dog handler and a place to put the critters.
With no handler and no container, one of the "officials" had to make a
tough decision. I think I would have asked the arrestee if his AC worked?
If yes; allow him to enter the car, start her up and turn on the air =
problem solved for a while. If no AC, well; Houston, we got a problem!
Turn to the civilians and ask if anybody will help. Determine from the
arrestee if the dogs will be cooperative with a stranger and allow him
to assist with the turn-over. Remember the guy is a long term escapee
and wanted felon - the cops aren't going to let him drive the dogs home!

As a last resort, call the Fire Guys and ask them to stand by and
hose the dogs down enough to keep them cool
until a back-up plan is
created by a supervisor. Having all the concerned "officials"
stand around and watch the dogs pass out with
heat stroke was NOT a
very sound plan. Shame on the whole bunch! :mad: /s/ Phred, a Fire Guy

[shipugtzus]

Thanks to cinder and smoke for your thoughts of what you would have done, which I would have had no problem with any of those approaches.But these people never even bothered to call the human society,let alone the fire dept or anyone else.Neighbors tried to help and were refused.All they would have had to done is call the human society.They said on TV that they would have gone and taken the dogs,but were never called,so therefore knew nothing about it till it was to late. Even though they said the dogs appeared to be vicious,none of the onlooking neighbors saw any sign of this.I realize what you are saying and you are right,but passing the buck in my opinion does not make it ok.They basically just turned their back on these dogs.All they seemed to be able to say was its not our problem.Just as you mentioned,there are a lot of ways the death of Bonnie and Max could have been avoided,and that is what I am so upset about.There was no reason whatsoever for these dogs to have had to die.As this is my hometown I know that there were many non officials who tried and wanted to help with the owners consent,and the officials would not let them.Now they could not have been held responsible in any way if a neighbor had taken the dogs with the owners permission.But they still WOULD NOT LET THEM.The Human Society said they would have taken full responsibility,but they did't bother to call them.I don't feel this had anything to do with what they were or weren't allowed to do.When you don't even bother to make a five minute phone call to the Human society,you just plain don't care.If they had been more caring like you and everyone else on here,somehow,someway Bonnie and Max would still be alive today.
I want to thank everyone on here for the overwhelming response to this topic.At least I know I am not alone in how I feel about this and I appreciate all of you for your thoughts and opinions...Sandy

[Sudilar]

Every time I think about this, I want to cry. Life is so unfair.
Sue