Cop tells driver to chill out as dog dies in back seat!

[Dogman]

Originally Posted by mconley

a dogs life is absolutely not equal to the lives on humans so i support the cop in his decision for stopping them, not how he handled it but keeping them from hurting others or themselves

I would say that my dogs and cats lifes are more than equal to some of the people that I've known in the past and still know today. I totally agree with you that he should have handled it much better than he did.

[Bill of Rights]

Originally Posted by haldir

I lost one of my dogs this past winter, 12 yo Brittany. Cried like a baby when he died. That being said, I would never equate him with my wife or children.

That would be because you have children. For those who do not, many times their four legged family members take on the role of their children.

I'd also like to suggest that those reading mconley's post should not judge all EMS providers by those thoughts. This is about the fourth version of a reply to that post, and is about as neutral and non-insulting as I can get in my answer. Using EMS to justify devaluation of some lives is not acceptable, IMHO. This post seems to denigrate the provision of care to the dog in extremis in favor of preventing the potential of an accident that may not occur at all that might possibly involve a human-sacrificing one life for the potential that maybe you might prevent harm to others.

Mconley, I respect that you work in EMS. Given one or two providers and two lives in immediate need of aid, one human, one canine, yes, of course I'd expect that your care would be delivered to the human. That's triage- the maximum effective use of limited resources. In the absence of that limitation, I'd hope you would use your skills to preserve life, irrespective of the body it's in.



Blessings,
B

[Bigum1969]

I think most people aware aware that pets are like family to many of us. Maybe not equal to humans, but pretty important.

Why couldn't the cop just verify the dog was in distress and help out a little. Write the guy a ticket once the dog is taken care of.

To say "it's just a dog, get another one" shows this guy's lack of compassion. Just what's needed in a police officer.

[flagtag]

Originally Posted by Bigum1969

I think most people aware aware that pets are like family to many of us. Maybe not equal to humans, but pretty important.

Why couldn't the cop just verify the dog was in distress and help out a little. Write the guy a ticket once the dog is taken care of.

To say "it's just a dog, get another one" shows this guy's lack of compassion. Just what's needed in a police officer.

How many times have we heard a similar sentiment when a couple (or woman) has a miscarriage? "You are young. You can have another one" Cold, thoughtless, unfeeling..

Each life counts individually. And pets are often someone's whole world - reason for continuing. (Responsibility for another life is often the only reason some do not give up and die. Take that away, the justification for staying alive goes with it as well.)

[Bazooka Joe71]

Wow, that made me sick to my stomach.

[40calPUNISHER]

In a emergency like this I would not pull over, I would call 911 and tell dispatch the situation and they would convey the message to the officer.. In this case it doesn't sound like that would have worked. But atleast they would have made it to the vet. On the other hand you would think that when you pull over the officer would say "follow me" and he would give you an escort. Yeah, I think I would have just kept going until I made it to the vet.

[paddling_man]

Hmmm... lots of emotion when something like that goes down.

Background: I'm a dog dad myself. I was a paid, fulltime staffer for a Humane Society for a couple of years waaay back when. Chief Cruelty Investigator. Training and nat'l certifications on location in Denver, DC and Atlanta. The place I worked received animals under contract from the City/County Animal Control in lieu of their maintaining a city pound. Something like 15,000 per year?? We held all animals for the City/County police as evidence in court cases. I was "technically" an expert witness. Livestock, exotics and domestics. I saw some horrible stuff. Suppressing the rage toward some animal caretakers made me finally leave. (It wasn't healthy.) I encountered some folks with so little compassion that they don't deserve to breath the same air as you and I. Folks that are, frankly, a danger to society. The whole point of this is to say I'm not without compassion and have seen some of the worst in animal welfare.

Still... I can see both sides. If my dog were dying next to me and I was rushing to the emergency clinic, I wouldn't be driving slowly. What about if a patrolmen turned on their lights? Well, I guess my wife would call dispatch to tell them what was going on but I'm not sure I would pull over until I arrived at the clinic.

But, if I were the patrolmen who pulled these folks over at 0045 doing 95MPH, I'm pretty certain I would be unhappy with the driver. A hair shy of 100MPH is dangerous on public highways. Foolhardy and negligent of others' safety? Dang, right. Would I be doing my job as a LEO if I let this guy jump right back in the car? This guy whom has been literally jumping up and down, flapping his arms and obviously waaaaay emotionally upset?

I would want the officer penalized if he let them jump right back in the car and tell 'em, "Go! Go! Go!" Sure, it is speculating to say if the driver would have impacted with some innocent's car. Just like saying it is speculating that someone heavily under the influence might or might not plow their car into someone else. Bottom line, I wasn't there but an argument could be made that the dog owner was not in an emotional state that he should have been driving at all... much less at 95MPH.

Could I have been the dog owner and behaved like that? Yeah, sure. If I were the patrolman, would I have immediately released those folks, in that condition, to speed away to the clinic? Probably not.

I would like to think that I might, as the LEO, haul the g/f, speeder & dog into my cruiser and drive 'em myself. Still, an argument could be made that he couldn't respond to a call for an emergency if I had those folks in my car. Counterpoint would be that they would be a danger to others on the road if left by me, so I already was responding to an emergency.

Verbally the cop made some insensitive remarks, no doubt. 'Course, to be fair, he was doing his best to deal with an extremely emotionally charged situation. "Extremely emotionally charged situations," ie. domestic calls, are one of the most dangerous calls for a LEO. It puts them heavily on edge.

Tough one.

If it's my dog (or kid) in distress then, it's hard to say until one is in the situation, but I'm not sure I would stop.

If I'm the cop... Well, I'm not a cop nor have I even been one. I'm certain that I darned sure wouldn't tell 'em to jump back in that Pathfinder and continue down the road at ~100.

[paddling_man]

Originally Posted by 40calPUNISHER

In a emergency like this I would not pull over, I would call 911 and tell dispatch the situation and they would convey the message to the officer.. ..Yeah, I think I would have just kept going until I made it to the vet.

40cal - You wrote that as I was typing. I think you and I are probably on the same page if we were driving.

[jontheturboguy]

A lot of you would speak differently if the guy had slammed into another car and killed a person for a "dog."

The officer used his judgment at the time. Its easy to armchair quarterback this situation when you have a chance to sit and reflect.

Dog VS Human life.

Its as simple as that.

[pierce195]

I last my dog in February this year, but I would risk anyone else on the roadway. I would have a hardier time dealing with an accident that caused another person death or injury.