Dog Lovers – Mind Your Own Business

I had an incident at the Pet Smart parking lot the other day that got me fuming. And while it doesn't take a lot to get my temper going, I think I was justified. Simply stated: It's my dog, mind your own business!Yesterday was a cloudy and cool day. It didn't get much higher than 70. I had to take my dog to Pet Smart, but first I had to go into another store to get something done. So I left her in my locked car for what I thought was going to be a simple 5 minute in and out trip, so I thought.

A woman in line behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said she saw a car parked directly behind me in the lot. She added that there was an elderly woman knocking on the windows with a phone in her hand.

I left the store to find a boat of a car blocking me in a lot and a woman ranting and raving to someone on the phone. I walked up to her and asked her if there was a problem. She replied "Yes, you can't lock your dog in the car, it's against the law! I'm on the phone with the police right now!"

Before I continue, my dog is 14 years old, blind and practically deaf. She was sound asleep on the passengers seat throughout this whole time. I've had this dog since she was 6 months and consider her part of the family. I've literally spent thousands and thousands of dollars just to keep her alive. I would also never leave her in the car if it was too hot or too cold.

thepolicedaily, Flickr

Back to the story, the woman and her friends in the car continued to tell me that "she could die from heat in there." I said it was cloudy and 70. Her reply, "sure, but I bet it's at least 90 in the car!" Actually it was 75. I knew the back and forth wasn't ever going to end so I told her the only law breaking that was happening was her blocking my car in the lot and that if she didn't move to let me out I would exit whether her car was in my way or not.

There were a few onlookers, but not many. All of them urged the woman to move her vehicle, which she did. Before driving away, she said "you should be put in jail." Whatever. I woke my senior citizen, blind and hard of hearing dog up to take her into the Pet Smart. As I'm walking in, another woman said "you know, I would have called the police on you too." At that point I had had it and said "listen lady, mind your own business." Then she dropped THE line on me. "You wouldn't leave a baby locked in a car like that!."

She's right. I wouldn't. Why? Because this is a dog and not a person. It was stupid of her to say that and even dumber to stick her nose into a situation where it didn't belong.

Bottom line, I love my dog. I've taken excellent care of her over the past 14 years. So called "dog lovers" need to stay out of other people's business when it comes to their pets. There are exceptions. If an animal of any kind if behind harmed, suffering or tortured, yes, you should alert the proper people. Otherwise, just because you don't have anything better to do doesn't mean you can make my life miserable by playing "save the animals."

Finally, always remember, people are people and animals are animals. One is more important than the other.