Is man dog's best friend?

There’s nothing more irritating and aggravating to me than to see people locking their pets in hot vehicles in the middle of summer with partially cracked windows to go shopping or for whatever reason. If they only knew that within minutes the inside of a vehicle, even with the windows cracked open, can reach 150 degrees or more (enough to fry a human brain), they would probably not do it!

Moreover, there is nothing more upsetting to me than to see the cruel placement of animals behind pickup trucks while the driver carelessly speeds down a road. Many times I have seen animals instinctively and futilely crouch or try to grip to something to prevent from being hurled against moving traffic.

Cruel and insensitive pet owners, lacking common sense and endangering the lives of their pets, should and must be punished. Furthermore, they should not be allowed to keep these poor helpless animals.

Every time I witness these acts, I pray to the Lord not to let me be a witness to it anymore because of the sheer frustration of not being able to do much for these poor unfortunate animals. To witness these acts disrupts my day and upsets me so much that sometimes I fear of doing something stupid, like shaking someone to the point of rattling their brain … if they had any, and knock some sense into them.

I recall one afternoon a horrific scene while I was driving around town. I remember it as vividly as if it was yesterday. Driving on Highway 41, southbound, I came behind a red pick up truck. It was an old truck, maybe an ‘89 model. I remember my vision being very blurry on that day because the sun was extremely bright and hot but I detected something on the back of this truck that caught my attention. As I came closer, it became obvious that the truck bed had no door and hanging dangerously near the edge, was a mixed brown lab.

My heart pounded as I neared the rear of this truck on a red light. I quickly reached into my purse to pull out a pen and paper to write down the license tag. My hands nervously continued to search for paper and frustrated let out a word that I will not repeat. As I reached the pick-up I noticed a man, who seemed to have had one too many beers, leaning very casually against the driver’s side window, elbow sticking out of the truck, oblivious to the suffering and frightened animal behind him trying to hang on for dear life. I scream out the car window that he was going to kill the dog but he makes a dismissing gesture with his hand and yells something unintelligible back at me.

The traffic was very congested and as the light turns green, he pulls off once again. The dog dangerously and violently jerks and slides right back to the edge of the bed. I continue to ride along side of him and wait for him to be within earshot. I shout again, “Do you love your dog?!!!” He shakes his head yes, I said “Well get him in the cab with you!!!” He shouts back at me “I’ve had him riding at the back of the truck for six years and nothing’s ever happened to him!!” I scream at him, “The dog is at the edge of the truck; he is going to die!!!!” But he pulls off again ignoring me.

Shaking and in horror at his unconcerned manner, I reach for my cell phone and called 411, thinking now I should have called 911 instead. I request from the operator the telephone number to the local police department. She then automatically patches me through to them. I begin to tell the police department what is happening and before I am even allowed to finish, I am being interrupted and told that these calls are handled by the local sheriffs department. To my frustration, she transfers my call to them only to ring more than a half a dozen times with no answer.

Aggravated and still shaking from anger, I hang up and proceed to dial 411 again. I ask for the local Sheriff’s department’s telephone number and again the operator automatically dials it for me. Finally someone answers my call! I give the operator the information, the tag number, and the direction the truck had taken, knowing all too well that as soon as I hung up they were going to ignore the call, but I had to try.

The truck turns into Gladiolus Drive, a very congested and busy street, as he uncaringly and unaffectedly continues to drive while I watched in horror. The poor animal, which was trying to find a safe place in the back of the truck, was unable to because of the garbage that was carefully and securely placed there. I remember thinking later, how ironic, the garbage was safe from falling into the oncoming traffic but the poor dog was not. I never knew if the dog survived that day but the experience left my crying from frustration.

Reflecting on theses events I ask myself, what would happen if there would be more people courageous enough to take a stand against cruel pet owners? Maybe there would not be so much animal abuse. With the collaborative effort on the part of the community, and not just a small number of individuals, we can prevent this problem from continuing to happen. There are some people who may perceive an act, such as the one I did on that day, to be stupid because I may have put my life at risk, not knowing if someone may pull out a gun or become very violent. However, I do not see it as a stupid act but an act of mercy for a living creature that cannot speak for itself nor defend itself.

Animals have helped humans countless of times including saving their lives, why can’t humans do the same when they witness things such as these? We need stricter laws to prevent this from continuing to happen. Irresponsible people should not own pets; they don’t have the right because they don’t know how to appreciate them. Animals are living creatures and were placed here on earth by God to share this planet with us. They have the same rights to live as we have, without fear, abuse and pain; they should not be an outlet for our anger, bitterness, and failures. If people do not like animals that is perfectly ok but at least respect them and do morally the right thing by treating them kindly.