October 2014, we had a rain storm this morning that was almost tornado like.
I was driving to a job and noted peoples’ driving patterns and level of anxiety.
Unexpectedly, I also saw the level of anxiety of myself when I saw a dog being ‘hauled’ in an open trailer on a busy, fast, four lane road, through the city where I lived near.
I debated whether to call 911. I was talking to myself about, ‘maybe the dog is used to it’, ‘maybe he climbed on the trailer and the truck driver didn’t know it’, maybe, maybe, maybe. I was concerned that this was not a 911 emergency.
I had a thought occur to me, “You are The Animal Advocate with that blog you write. Dial!!!
I called 911 and told them where I was and the situation. Dispatch told me that police don’t respond to this kind of call.
In my anxiety, I cried and angrily said, “Let me get this straight, just because it’s an animal without a human voice, no one is going to help here?”
The dispatcher was also upset and said that she agreed with me. She asked me if I wanted the number to Animal Control. I told her that I was driving so I couldn’t write it down. I also said that A C wouldn’t do anything anyway. She agreed.
As traffic slowed at an intersection, the terrified, wet, wind-blown, lonely dog, jumped out of the trailer and on to the four lane highway.
Now I’m panicked! I yell into the phone about what has just happened. I slam on the brakes and look for a place to pull the car into.
I continue to watch the dog as it circles in the road, also panicked, tail tucked under, and wide-eyed.
Somehow with phone in one hand, steering wheel in the other, I opened my car door. The dog had run into a parking lot and was spinning around in a frenzy. I stepped out of my car and called the dog but it was not focused on me. The dog ran to another parking lot which is a huge car dealership.
I was still on the phone with 911 dispatch and giving a play by play account of our motions. When the dog went into the dealership, I figured it would find a car to hide under for awhile. I told dispatch of the dog’s location and she said she would send Animal Control.
I drove off toward my destination. About 2 1/2 hours later, I got a call from Animal Control. AC said that they looked around the car dealership and surrounding neighborhood. They never spotted the dog.
The moral of the story is INDIFFERENCE.
Not only the guy hauling the dog on the trailer; by the way, the guy never knew that the dog jumped out of the trailer, but the continued disrespect and lack of consciousness of animals – just because they don’t speak a human language.
It is time to be open to all kinds of ways to communicate.