what would you have done?

“while driving back from camp with the kids i saw something very upsetting.
we came to alot of traffic and it pretty much crawled for about 45 mins. the whole time i was behind a pickup truck. you could tell that they were either going camping or comeing home from camp.
this is what really upset me.
in the bed of the truck it was full of camping gear. but right in the middle of everything there was a dog cage with a german shepard in it.
1. it was about 90 outside but it was even hotter there on the black top with all the cars giving off there own heat
2. the dog had no cover nor any water.
3. the gear was banging into the cage every time the truck would stop.
i was starting to flip out at the sight of this poor dog but i had to get off the next exit
i wanted to call the cops and follow this #&%!$ and tell him what i thought of him sitting in his a/c truck and the dog outside.
but my children begged me not to do it.
but i know if i was alone i would have in a heartbeat!!


what would you have done?”

“I bet you SWORE!!!”

“Tough call. Messing with someone on the road is a good way to get hurt. You might be the one charged with a "road rage" incident or he could claim you were threatening him and just shoot you. Calling in his plate info to the cops would be a good choice. I've called them on a dog locked in a car in a parking lot when it shouldn't have been. Got to balance the conscience with common sense. I built my dog house with a big attic so the roof would be high enough to provide a spot for afternoon shade. Dogs need water and shade in this kind of weather, they can't cool off enough by panting, might end up with brain damage.”

“Tough call. Do you jump in and take a chance of having a situation? Or just mind yer biz and putz along?

I think that I woulda called the non-emergence number for the local coppers and explained the situation. You had plenty of time to kill...”

“i would never, ever, antagonize someone on the road, or even follow anyone. but i probably would have done what laqtis and mtnman suggested...seeing animals abused makes me absolutely livid.”

“With all that gear and it being a pick-up, how can you be certain there was no water? Maybe, just maybe, the driver really cares for his dog. Maybe he stopped at the rest area to excersize/water his dog. Do you show the same compassion for work-gangs on the side of the road or are you trying to get a rise out of the dog lovers/haters on this board?”

“you are right about the water i may not have seen any,
but i followed him for almost 45 mins on that black top and that dog was panting!!

i shopuld have just called the cops and gave the discp. of the and plate #. but do you really think they have that much man power to try and find that truck on an interstate highway?
do you realy think they could or even would have done anything?

im just sooo sorry i listened to my daughter and didnt do anything!


ps if he was a good dog owner he would NEVER have put him in the back like that. he SHOULD have made room for him in the a/c cab!!”

“You can't change the world. You can only do positive things to make it a better place to live.”

“Back in the days before seatbelt laws and all, I thought it was fun to ride in the back of a pick-up.”

“i bet you really loved those bumps lol”

“Toughie. I hear people b!tch about dogs loose in the back, dogs not in the back and now in the back but no shade. There is no great way to take a large animal I guess unless you have a horse trailer and even then those things must get really hot.

My guess is that if the guy cared enough about the dog to buy a cage and take it camping then he probably knows his dog't limits and how far he has to go to get home.”

“It's a tough call. I would probably lean towards calling the non-emergency number as Laqtis suggests. If traffic stopped altogether and I had some water, I'd try the peaceful innocuous approach: ask the driver permission to give the dog some water and tell them a non-threatening story about why I was concerned ("I know you were planning on driving faster and the wind would cool the dog, but I heard about a dog in a similar situation who got brain damage from the heat and I was getting so nervous looking at him")”

“Having it in a cage is definitely preferable to what I see down here a lot, which is, dog loose in the bed of the truck. Having the dog in the cab, while nice for the dog, can be a driving hazard if it decides to lie on the floor under your legs.”

“That's a hard call, especially in a moving vehicle.

I had to confront a dog owner this weekend. We were at a boat dock watching an amphibious vehicle race and she was standing on the blacktop, yapping on her cell phone. Her dog was next to her and kept yelping and hopping around from paw to paw. She kept yanking on its choker collar and telling it to shut up so she could keep on with her precious conversation. After about a minute, I went over and told her that her dog's paws were burning up on the asphalt. She gave me that, "How dare you" look but moved over to the grass immediately.

Sometimes people don't necessarily think about what their animals may be experiencing. I probably would have mentioned to him, while traffic was stopped, that his dog looked hot and I hoped he had enough water.”

“I'd give the failure the benefit of the doubt. All things considered, I'd say he was acting responsibly by not allowing the dog free reign in the back (and in camp at night, prolly) by keeping it caged.

The panting doesn't neccessarily indicate extreme hotness - on hot days, Belle resumes panting almost immediately after drinking.”

“I say mind your own business.”

“Yeah bacpac and you'd probably let some old lady get beat up as well.”

“I might. How would I know if she didn't deserve it?”

“well bacpac you will be happy to know thats just what i did!!

im sorry to say”

“I say call the cops. I was in a similar situation, watching a dog bake in the back of a pickup, and have felt bad ever since for not doing something. The dilemma, of course, is what to do.”

“That is a dilemma. I know exactly how you felt, and in fact I once posted here about seeing a little girl in a Walmart who I felt certain had been abused. I was surprised, as you probably were, to hear arguments for the "other side." Benefit of the doubt to the dog owner, to the parents, all of that. It does make some sense but emotionally it is hard to see what appears to be a horrible situation and not to intervene.

You have a good heart.

I don't blame you for not acting, nor would I blame you if you had made a phone call.

Interesting discussion...”

“I'd argue with him, and if he didn't like it, I'd call him a fascist.”

“"I'd argue with him, and if he didn't like it, I'd call him a fascist"
i think i could have come up with some more colorful names
lol



its just i had the kids in the car.
i didnt want to get into anything with the kids being there (for there safty)
but i didnt want to look like i didnt care.”

“I like the non emergency call suggestions - Then the police can decide whether they want to act or not and you did your part.

I would never confront someone on the highway these days. You just never know what you might run up against - it's not worth jeaporadizing your safety and your kids.

Tough call..danged if ya do, danged if ya don't. :-(”

“Maple Leaf, I understand your concern about the dog but do you feel the same way when you see a trailer loaded down with hogs, cows or chickens. Can you imagine how hot it is with all of them crowded together. You know there isn't any water for them to drink.
IMO the guy did the right thing by having the dog in the cage and there could have been water bottle attached to the cage for the dog to drink from.”

“Whenever I see a trailer full of hogs, I don't worry too much about their conditions, because I know they only have about 8 hours to live. (We live a mile from a meat packing plant.)

Ironically, my wife had an experence that really pissed her off tonight. She was picking up a pizza, and left the dog in the car for 5 minutes. Some woman came up to her when she came out with the pizza and started lecturing her about leaving dogs in cars...she was furious!”

“How many out there would leave their kids in the same situation? Or, put it this way- If you know it's damn hot out, and the sun's beating down, would you put your kids out in no shade without any sun block? Even though dogs can't really burn, they feel the heat and can suffer from it just like us.”

“Leaving kids in the car happen several times a year, hot or cold. Can't imagine what their parents are thinking.”

“What bacpac said.”

“put up or hush up.
to each his own. individualism. either you do something or you learn to live w/it.
including living w/ones decisions.”

“I concur. All children under the age of 15 should ride in a cage in the back of the pickup.”

“EWKER,

i understand what your saying about the hogs cows and pigs.
but this difference here is at least they had something over there head while in the truck.
this dog had nothing!
i should have taken there pics and sent all the info to the proper people!”