It's one of every dog owner's worst fears: a life threatening emergency occurs at home and you must race your dog to the vet. This very thing happened to Texas couple Michael Gonzalez and Krystal Hernandez on August 5th, 2008. Their three-year-old teacup Poodle, Missy began choking on food, vomited, then became limp. Her owners frantically rushed her to the nearest 24-hour vet clinic with Gonzales driving, but were pulled over by police for allegedly speeding at nearly 100 mph.
Video from the police dashboard camera shows the incident. The emotional, frantic owner was met with comments from the officer such as "It's a dog, okay? You can get another one, relax." The couple waited about 20 minutes for a ticket to be written. Tragically, Missy died while they waited. Police Chief Howard Williams was
reported by the
Express-News as saying “This was not our finest hour.” In an
interview with
Good Morning America, Gonzales admitted that he was speeding. He also felt the situation was handled inappropriately, saying "I would just like to see the officer be held responsible for the way he treated us that night and his actions for what happened to Missy."
Yes, the owner was breaking the law and could have harmed another driver. I think we can all agree that it was dangerous. However, watching the video with the knowledge that Missy was in that car dying absolutely breaks my heart - this could happen to many of us! The officer even comments that it might have been different if it was a child choking. Well, the fact is that many of us dog owners regard our pets as children. This is not meant to start a debate about pets vs. kids, but to state that the owner's emotions were very real. Perhaps the officer could have followed them to the vet first, then written as many tickets as he saw fit (or even arrested the driver, if necessary). Or, maybe they could have detained Gonzales and sent Hernandez with Missy to the vet. In one of those situations, Missy might have survived. What do you think about it? Watch the video, vote in my poll, then share your comments.
Comments
Of course there is more too it. The officer was right to stop the speeder but should have then helped escort the driver and dog to the vet. There are no “pet ambulances” but my dogs are part of my family. It is heartless for the officer to say “relax, you can get another.” Gee, can’t the same be said for kids? The driver deserved to be ticketed but the dog should have been helped.
I would like to know why did the officer not escort them to a vet when they told them the dog was dying? What kind of a person is he. The man said he was sorry, but when your pet is dying you do what any other animal lover would do. He was just very upset. You can’t tell me nobody else ever drives like that in a life and death situation. Wether it be a pet or a person. DOG LOVER IN PA
The driver was breaking the law, but there was a very easy choice for the officer - put the driver in his police car with the dog, turn on the sirens and drive as fast as he could to the vet. Once the dog was safely in the doctor’s care, he could arrest the driver, write as many citations as he wanted, or let the driver off with a warning. It is not that hard to figure out a better choice - please, this officer was insensitive and unkind - and the very people who needed his help at that moment, that tax payers who pay his salary, were abused - unbelievable!
I completely agree with DD and the others…how insensitive could you possibly be in this situation? Send this officer to sensitivity training…and maybe to a desk job! He doesn’t need to be around people no matter what the circumstance. It’s very clear that he had no empathy or sympathy for the owners (parents) or their little one. God forbid if anything like this ever happened to me and my family…I don’t believe I would’ve stopped for the officer. Just my take on it. All my prayers and thoughts are with that family.
I have had reason to speed on two occasions. My Malamute was down, we placed him on a blanket and loaded him into the van. I drove as fast as was humanly possible, talking to him all the way. I pulled into the drive and the Vet came straight out, just in time to see the big guy hemorrhage and die while I held him. He died from gastric torsion (bloat).
Soem years later, my Llaso Apso collapsed while doing nothing more than walking across the yard while I sat and watched. When he fell I ran to him and was bitten in the throat when I picked him up. It was reaction to pain and I realized he was limp. My Vet confirmed his condition and I left Maryland, drove through DC and all the way to Leesburg, VA to reach a neurosurgeon who diagnosed the situation and once he gave me the prognosis, we had him in surgery within 5 hours of sustaining the injury. Time was of the essence, and after about 10 months of therapy, Gizzie wobbles a little but he is still with me……..
The point being, neither incident found me thinking about, or looking for speed limit signs.
Heartless and insensitive — the kind of cop who gives the good police officers a bad name. He needs to be re-educated on how to deal with people. Maybe desk duty till then.
And thats the kind of people that are suppose to be fast thinking on their feet and make sound decisions? This stupid doesn’t even have a clue. He may as well have killed the dog with his own hands.. Of course he’ll never be repremanded.. they never are…
Bet that made his Momma is real proud..
Its no wonder most people hate cops.. Creep!
Ask any fireman about the gratitude & appreciation he received while saving somebody’s beloved pet. That cop is SO LUCKY there aren’t laws against involuntary manslaughter when a beloved pet dies at the thoughtless actions of a human. There should be laws like that. He should be fired for allowing that poor pet to die instead of volunteering his assistance first. THEN GIVE THE TICKET. No one but a “pet parent” could possibly understand the bond & affection an owner has for their pet. To the owners, pets ARE their children. Yes, furry little toddlers who are every bit as dependent on us & every bit as innocent as a real child.
That cop should be fired for incompetance and gross stupidity. I would not stop for anything if my dog was in a life or death situation like that, he would have to have shot me to stop me in a like situation. Gil
As an avid dog owner for over 50 years AND a former paramedic, I have to state that an apnic dog is NOT worth risking the lives of many, many human lives by carelessly speeding at over 100 mph. A truly caring owner would have learned how to handle the situation of a choking dog therefore not been so reckless. The police officer was right to not endanger lives by speeding, with lights and siren for a “dead” dog. Come on people, lets put things in perspective and not blame the officer.
If he had sped the dog to a vet hospital and caused someone to crash, killing a child, while avoiding him you would have been more judgemental of his actions.
Maybe that moron of a cop will see his kids’ beloved pet die someday and remember when he sees the pain his family goes through how he put another family through the same pain.
Sure, the guy broke the law by speeding but if a cop did something similar to us my husband would probably have the cop by the throat before he knew what happened to him.
I understand that the officer had to do his job and stop a speeder, but…the guy was taking his dying beloved pet to the vet. He may have been driving faster than he should have but I highly doubt he was driving recklessly. After all, he was trying to save his dog, not injure it further.
When the officer realized what the people were doing, he should have helped them, ticket or not, to get that dog to the vet. For him to tell them that it was just a dog and they could get another is not even human.
If one of my pets had been in the car in the same situation, he’d have had to shoot me to detain me for that long. Does it even TAKE 20 minutes to write up a ticket??
I think the officer was heartless and should have his badge removed. He should have given these people a police escort to the hospital. What kind of person tortures people and allows an animal to die in front of him? I don’t want that kind of person “protecting” us. He’s sadistic. Doesn’t say much for the police force, does it?
This slimeball PIG should be charged with FELONY Animal abuse, as well as the PIGS who sat around helping him murder this Dog, and all locked up for 5 years.
Had that been a PIG K9 Dog they would have done 120 mph to get it to the vet.
I truly hope the PIGS involved with the torture and murder of this beloved Dog CHILD, all get pancreatic cancer, and I mean that. I wish I could see this PIG dying from cancer, then tell his family: “hey chill, it is just a slimeball PIG - you can always get another one.” I hate this roach with a badge.
No wonder most Americans despise PIGS, a/k/a cops!!
I find it interesting the last individual refers to the cop as a pig-an animal-and we’re all here appalled at what’s happened to an animal. Yes, the officer should have and could have handled things a hell of a lot better than he did, but the paramedic’s statement on here is right as well. All of us as dog/pet owners HAVE to be educated on the care of our beloved pets and that goes far beyond food, water and shots. That said, because I do not know dog CPR, I probably would have done the same thing. I’ll be looking into that and anything else I can do for my elder dog ASAP. And yes, things in law enforcement need to be changed. Let this be a shining example of just how much.
what a shame he could not have been more sympathetic
this is why people hate cops and call them pigs
this man is a loser and i hope someone recognizes him and kicks his ass
i have 3 dogs and they are my kids, to be so insensitive and say get another dog
this man needs a psych. evaluation and some sensitivity training
people in Texas need to protest to the station this ass hat is assigned to
things like this happen because other people do not protest enough to make a change
this is how “pigs’ work and then they give GOOD cops all a bad name
While I totally disagree with lumping all people together by their occupation and don’t think of police as pigs, I DO agree with #14 that the policeman should be charged with animal cruelty at its highest possible level. He was a critical part of this dog’s sad death and could have been part of the dog’s recovery. Shame on him.
I can’t believe this officer just kept on “lecturing” this poor guy!
I have a hard time not believing that the officer kept on doing this
to stall time and “punish” this poor
guy even more. It’s obvious this officer has no people skills. He was outright cruel and and a real
a**. He definitely needs alot more training.
I forgot to add to my previous comment. I agree with the other posters, the officer should have escorted them to the vets office, then give him a lecture, ticket or whatever would “make his day!”
This cop is a total jerk. I don’t think that all police officers are jerks at all. I know some that would NOT have handled this situation like this at all.
I hope he loses a lot of sleep over this and he should be bugged by many animals lover’s in his area. If it were a police dog in this situation how would he feel then.
The only thing I see the guy did wrong was stop for the stupid cop. As for me, he’d have to catch me, then arrest me. We have 3 four-legged boys, all rescued, and I’d put my life on the line for each one of them. They are a huge part of this family and we give them whatever they need to feel loved. Spoiled, yes, but they have put their lives on the line for us, and we’d do the same for them. That ignorant and power hungry cop needs a serious lesson in serving the public. The other cops in his presinct need to kick his ass for making them look bad. I’d be for sueing that city for the anguish of losing their beloved pet. My heart aches for them.
You can call 911 for a child but not a dog. So what San Marcos police are telling me is something I can call for it is ok to go out and risk other people but dogs are not worth it. I have 3 children and 2 dogs and I would be at the scene (shot by the other cops) or in jail for choking Paul Stephens where he stood if he delayed my kids (furry or not) getting help. Suspend him without pay (money talks) and mega hours community service in a shelter for abused dogs. The officers that stood by and let him get away with this should join him at the shelter.
Any one of the other officers that responded to the seine could have packed up the woman and dog and drove them to a vet while the idiot cop took his time lecturing the man on the side of the road. EVERYONE of the cops on the seine should be charged with animal cruelty, for letting that dog dye in that women’s arms. I thought part of an officers job is to help people in distress.
Rich,
I am glad you are a former paramedic. If everyone had the knowlege and temperment to handle such emergencies your services would not have been needed and you would have to have found another job. You can call 911 for a child but not a dog. You were probably one of those civil servants who bitched about every call you had to respond to and calling the people stupid. I have met a lot of people in the military over the last 22 years like officer Stephens. You know what a lot of those got out and became cops. How many families was Mr. Gonzales endangering that time of night? Your dogs are just object to you aren’t they? You do not deserve them. It is one thing to give a ticket but to sit there and BS and to make the comments he made just makes him a complete jerk and you for supporting him. I doubt you even watched the video. I have a wife, 3 cildren and 2 dogs and if anyone (including you) tried to stop me from saving any of them, I would be or in jail for what I would do in return. Officer Stephens could have handled that in so many better ways. OK you say it is hard to be a cop, granted but he just did not care in that situation. Try a republican party forum where there are more people that think like you.
This is discusting!! This police officer could of handled this in such a more humain way!!! He should be brought up on charges of animal abuse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He could see the dog was dieing!! I am truly discusted!!
A life of any houshold animal that is capable to take care of humans should be treated like a human. I hope that police officer and to other wannabe in control officers don’t use common sense believe in karma. Someone from this site should send all our comments to the police dept. in Texas.
Micheal Vick where are you? It’s ok to put this guy in jail and he deserve it and this officer won’t even get punish to the extent.
Time for a legal action from all pet owners.
The officer should have given the pet owner a police escort…or at least let him go and not say “It’s only a dog..you can get another one”.that was heartless!
Rich,
For a former paramedic I’d expect you to be able to spell apneic…..
I can tell you that cop would have been following me at 100 mph to the hospital and I would’ve dealt with the consequences later. My dog would NOT have died in the back seat. Call 9-1-1, tell them the situation and GO!
I am a little surprised by the negative comments towards law enforcement in general on here. If you watch the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B72iaBCTgqI
Then you can see that the dog owner is very upset and in no condition to drive. The dog was already dead at this point, and no matter how fast they got to the vet, he would not have been saved. Its sad, and tragic and Im not saying the officer did a good job here, but lets look at reality that he was being reckless and was a danger to everyone else on the road. 95 MPH, even for a trained professional is a dangerous speed. The officer should have been more professional, and done his best to calm the driver down.
As for the comment that the officer should have put the dog and owner in his vehicle and driven lights and siren, this is a horrible idea. The police can only use their lights and sirens during times that fit certain criteria and taking a dead dog to the vet does not fit those in any state I know of. In certain states and officer isn’t even able to put a person in their squad, and have to wait for an ambulance.
I sympothize with the dog owner, my dog is my baby girl, but the laws just don’t permit this kind of behavior.
Conerned,
well you are the first blogger I have seen that supports the police, that says that officer Stephens handled it badly. There is one thing not being able to do something because of rules and laws but Paul Stephens was a complete jerk. Even Police Cheif Williams admits that fact. The dog was not at that point. Are you a vet did you examine the dog personally? I watched the video on Comcast, You Tube and ohter places. It was a police dash cam video which means that one of the 82 officers in the San Marcos police department did not agree with Officer Stephens actions. If Cheif Williams released that on his own that was not very smart to control the situation. I ASK AGAIN, IT WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ON THE ROADS THAT TIME OF NIGHT IN BACK WOODS TEXAS TO ENDANGER? There was no reason to sit around and BS with other officers and give the ticket out. If Paul Stephens thought Michael Gonzales should not have been allowed to drive again why didn’t he have him arrested. What is even a bigger slap in the face is they dropped the speeding ticket, think about it that makes the police look worse.
Yesterday I had an emergency with one of our dogs and had to go to an emergency vet. I had to pass several regular vets that were closed due to our little storm we have going on in Florida right now. Yes I speeded and went right past a sherrif’s car that was too busy scanning the fast food joints for one that was open to worry about me. The streets are mostly empty so I guess I endangered the wind and rain. I hope your baby never needs emergency help because I know what you would do.
As for the police, there is a large percentage of them that fit the sterotype they get put into. The cops that are not like that should be mad at the cops that cause the stereotypes not the people. I agree you need officer with that kind of attitude to deal with the the dangerous criminals. But every little traffic violation is not a hardend er and teenagers don’t need a broken back from flopping around on concrete from a taser gun. Being a police officer is more in the public eye than any non political job. If they can’t conduct themselves in a manner that does not cause stereotypes then they need to find another non labor intensive job.
You know this would have been no where near as an outrage to people if Officer Stephens wasn’t such a jerk. You say the laws do not permit that kind of behavior. It is really a shame that there are not laws preventing Paul Stephens behavior.
i watched the police video on cnn news…i am glad this cop reacted the way he did he was just doing his job.. if this family was going near a 100 mph that is an extreme danger to all citizens. dont get me wrong i have always had dogs and cats all of my life. but we need to remember that this family could have killled me or someone else on this road going extremely FAST. i dont want to die in a car wreck because someone thinks a animal is more important than my LIFE.
WHOO HOO!!! GO GEOFF!
Geoff, I have dealt with a number of police officers in my life and have found actually very few that fall into a stereotype you talk about. These are hard working dedicated people who put their lives on the line every single day for ungrateful people. These are the people who work holidays, weekends, during their own family’s birthday parties and regardless of your attitude would rush to save your life at the simple call of 911. Was officer Stephens wrong to say “its just a dog, you can buy another” absolutely. But the driver was just as wrong to put anyone at risk. I have been on the road in the middle of the night many times and I would hate to think that there was someone driving taht recklessly in that state. As a mater of fact, I was driving home from vacation last sunday night in the wee morning hours. I had my girlfriend and dog in my car with me, and I hope that if an officer had seen someone driving like that ,he would have stopped them to protect my family in the car with me even thought it was 2 AM.
Grow up, pet lovers. This guy endangered many, including his now-dead dog. Does his attachment to his dog justify his action? And should we all be allowed to drive like that as long as some similarly justifying attachment is involved? If so, I’ll take my pot roast through town at 100 mph.
I can’t believe that such an issue has been made of a dogs death.What if the police officer let the man continue on and he would have hit on coming traffic and hurt or killed another human.Then everybody would say the officer should have stopped him.I have pet too but I would not endanger human life for the sake of a pet.The officer is sworn to protect humans not pets.
What the ****? I just witnessed a news article about a funeral of a police service dog that had died in the line of duty, and those officers were in tears for their fallen commerade. And then I see news about an insensitive officer telling this pet owner to “relax you can get a new one”? I wonder how it would feel if I leaned over to the k-9 group at the service and said…..RELAX….? But I guess that us commons are not above the law and neither are our pets….
I wonder what he would have done if it was an off duty police officer with a police dog that was ill? the police need to have some kind of training when it comes to situations like these. Human and animal. My friend had just gotten a call that her sick mother had taken a turn for the worse and that she probably wasn’t going to make it. The hospital was a good 1/2 hour drive away under normal conditions. What happened? she got pulled over for speeding. She begged and pleaded with the cop to help her get there. Even giving him the Doctor’s Phone number so he could check her story. What did he do? He gave her a ticket and waisted another 1/2 hour that she could have spent with her mom that passed away latter that evening.
The police need to have some type of system set up in cases like these. Human or animal. We still love them and would doing ANYTHING to have them stay with us a little longer.
Gary Raines,
You don’t have pets you have objects to entertain you. If they were people they would be called slaves. Let’s just give Paul Stephens an award for doing such a great job. Your veiw of the way things should be is slowly fading from the majority. I would bet I could guess your political party also.
The officer should be fired! Just like the one in San Diego who left his K-9 in the car with the windows rolled up on a 100 degree day - the dog died.
Concerned,
I wasn’t blowing you off. Our power was out yesterday. We have about 80,000 homes without power in this town. Well I have worked for uncle sam for over two decades and you will not find any sympathy about cops missing family functions. I have missed almost every important event in my 3 kids lives not to mention my life. Try being away for 6 months to a year at a time. I am in the branch of service where even at home base every fourth day is a 24 hour duty day where you cannot go home. You can talk about the Navy being safe. Have you ever heard of individual augmentees? Well navy personnel get pulled from their commands, get desert camo uniforms, two weeks of combat training and get on a plane. New York or Los Angeles police would like to have San Marcos safety. But I will give way more respect to any city cop over Department of Defense police, don’t even get me started on them. The favorite trick of local police is to not stop for red lights. Just use lights and siren to get through and pull into the restaurant. My wife just got braodsided by a big F-350 pickup. The guy was so busy talking on his cell phone and sitting so high up he did not see here. Well it happened right in front of two police officers sitting in the window of the restaurant. They admitted they saw it all but were on their lunch break and could not be bothered. It was a 30 minute wait till another officer responded that was not too busy and boy was he mad at the other two officers. My wife said that they had some unpleasant words, I wish I had been there. By the way she got hit pretty hard in a Ford Five Hundred, it is a very safe car. I wish the insurance would have just totaled it but six weeks later we are still in a rental.
I am sorry I am rambling. I respect that you almost admit that officer Stephens was a jerk. You will not quite call him a jerk. You know there would not be half the outcry if he hadn’t been such a jerk. His attitude is what originally got me. The people that think he is great just keep me going. You do not see bad actions of the police because you do not look. I belive the bad cops are a small percentage but they are the ones that the others get lumped in with. I see the “do as I say not as I do” all the time with police and military. My military time is up because of a mandatory retirement and I am too old to startout on any police force. If you look at my posts, you would see that I did not support firing him. Suspension without pay would probably punish his family more than him. But I stick with the community service at an abused dogs shelter just because of his attitude. Cheif Williams is in a tough spot because it is true that Stephens did not violate any department policy. So if he gives Stephens any punishment, he opens the department up for a law suit from Stephens himself. He was in the right for stopping a speeding but he shot himself in the foot as soon as his mouth opened.
Have a nice day
EB,
Is the San Diego incident the one that got aquitted? I thought it was an Arizona cop that did that and actually went to trial for animal cruelty but got aquitted. Military dog handlers I have known could have cared less about their dogs. Most got the job to get a skate job. Rules prevent them from getting close to their dogs even if they wanted to. I personally think that a vast majority of police think of K-9’s as just necessary object to keep the human officers safe. As for the funeral that is mostly show. But you will find that even the cops who let their dogs roast to will be defended by people like Gary, Mike and Rich and maybe even Concerned. I have to go and deal with storm damage for now.
DD - this is the best comment I have seen on any board. Good thinking….it is so sad as it would have been such an easy solution.
Kim,
I wish it could have been handled in that manner but Concerned is probably right and there probably were rules against doing that for a dog. Even with that being the case Officer Stephens could have done things differently.
The officer should have escoted him to the vet. At that point if he wanted to write ticket…..fine.
I feel that the driver deserved a good talking to but I feel the officer was in error also. He should have responded to the need of the animal and then handled the driver in what ever means he felt appropriate!!!
I am shocked at the way the police officer treated the couple, especially how he regarded the dog as easily replaceable. Does he have the same mind set with the dogs on the force? Just because one dog is trained to find criminals while the other is trained to be a house pet doesn’t make any difference to me. A dog is a member of our families, our babies, our brothers or sisters, not some toy!
My dog had passed away when I was 14, almost 5 years ago, and I still think of her as my older sister and best friend, someone I had played around with when I was younger and grew up with. I can’t even look at another beagle without seeing her.
However I do agree with the officer in stopping them, but someone with a shred of sympathy would’ve brought the couple and dog to a vet, as mostly everyone else have been saying in this forum long before me.
Also to the people who think that a 3K dog is easily replaceable, I say ’some people don’t have the money to buy another 3K dog or can’t ask mommy and daddy to fork over the cash when they’re having some finical problems to begin with! Not everyone is rich!’
Now some people would probably say that me regarding a dog as my older sister or my best friend is weird, but the fact is a lot of people think the same way I do, and when you’re bullied like I was it was hard to come out to my family without getting picked on more because I told on them, while with Brandy she would just wag her tail and cuddle with me until I felt better, or I would take her on a walk to clear my head.
Well slavery was not only socially acceptable but perfectly legal so I guess it must have been right since it was perfectly legal. There are places where it still is legal. Morals don’t matter to Stephens supporters, they are politician wannabees who twist words to meet their goals. Lets just put emergency vets out of buisiness so no one will be attempted to speed their animal there. The opposable thumb crowd kills me sometimes. The only dogs that kill each other for sport are trained by us to do so.
You can call 911 for a person but it is socially acceptable to bypass that option and speed a person to the hospital. You putting other people in danger just as much, WHY IS THAT SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE?
Nothing is going to happen to Stephens because his attitude is acceptable to society with his job. Unlike Vietnam vets who put their lives on the line for their country also, Stephens is treated as a hero and that forgives all. I am not saying Stephens shouldn’t be a hero just in the 1960’s and 1970’s vets were dirt to the public. Also he did not violate any policy so they have no grounds to fire him. He could sue the city then. It is sad that his bad attitude is ok with department policy but that is the way it is for now.
There are way more people that feel pets are their family than not just look at all the blogs. You can say what you want but slavery went away because society’s opinion changed.
I need to quit because I am alreadly risking my pension just for giving my opinions. The Stephens crown is going to win weather some of us like it or not. Just remember I did not call for his firing. I had other ideas.
Take care all.
I cannot beleive the things this officer said to this man about his dog. Having six dogs myself, I can say that any pet owners my worst fear is having something happen and not being able to reach help in time. In any life threatening emergency time is always of the essence. I myself having police training can not see why the officer did not either escort this car to the vet and then write the proper citations, or detain/arrest the driver if he was so suspicious of him and allow the passenger to take the dog to the vet. The officer obviously has had his ego overblown by his uniform and quite frankly if he has this little concern for the life of an innocent animal I would hate to see what wreckless disregard he must have for the citizens and city he is supposed to serve and protect.Pets may not be children but to those of us who truly love them, we are heart broken, because at least children have rights and laws to protect them. Our legal system lets animals down and I hope some legislative good can come from this! And I pray that this family may find peace in their sorrow.
In my opinion, the officer should have treated the situation as if the emergency was that of a child since a majority of the pet guardians treat an animal as family memebers.
He is a heartless you know what.
Am i the only one who doesn’t think 100 is that fast? I’ve done 95-100 before and honestly, if there’s little traffic, it’s just as dangerous as going at 80.
Many years ago my sister and I where pulled over for a similiar situation … luckily the officer that pulled us over was very kind. He escorted us to the vet even walked us in which I feel got us faster attention than we would have received on our own. In the waiting room he had a talk with us saying we should slow down, that our speed could have caused an even greater tragedy. I would never speed again in that type of situation hind sight is 20/20 we did drive down busy streets it was very unsafe. He brought perspective to the situation and also compassion. Our dog lived.
I agree with petowner… a police escort might have been nice. The policeman certainly did not exhibit compassion. My dogs are like my kids. I realize they are dogs but I love them with all my heart. The owners of that little dog must have been devestated.
okay i saw this and had to comment. oh and id just like to say that im 14 and i could think of a better way to handle this than the cop did.
yes the man should not have been speeding. he could have injured or even killed himself, his wife, his already choking to death dog, and other innocent people. but i get so mad when people think they are superior to animals. we are all living creatures. just because we are humans doesnt mean we are so much better and more important. i mean really if u think about it we are probably the most violent species.. do u ever see dogs or cats running around shooting or bombing eachother? uhhh NO! we should all be treated the same.
so back to the actualy event.. yah the cop should have pulled him over but he should have been a little simpathetic and tried to help. not give him a 15 min lecture. i personally think he should have driven with the guy (so he wouldnt try speeding again and he might remain more calm). the 15 mins could have saved this poor dogs life.
thanks for reading
The jerk should be fired. Probably dose not have kids, a wife, or a dog and is heartless. My stepfather was a cop. I did not like him or his coworkers they were all drunks and wife beaters. I have all the respect for what police stand for just not the individuals that think they are upholding the law.
The officer should of had the other person drive follow them to the vet and then write a ticket as he saw fit. It’s a dog and you can get anohter one just dooesn’t do it! Ans yes he should be off the force for a while and have to go through mandantory sensetivity training! He shouldn’t have detained the animal from gettting to the vet like the other blogger said there are no abulences for pets!
I am having a community meeting at the San Marcos Public Library, Saturday Sept. 27th from 3:30-5:00p.m. to discuss the traffic stop that Officer Stephens made, and the Texas State Penal Code laws he violated on animal cruelty.
We are taking steps to get the officer fired and prosecuted.
Under Texas law, a service animal has special protection. Perhaps the officer and the dept. he works for should be sent a bill for the animal’s replacement and be fined for causing harm to a service animal. Hmmm? A police escort would have been appropriate, preventing the need for further danger to the public. He could have written the ticket later, if he still had the heart to do so. What a dumb@#$.
What an A**HOLE!!! He should have put both people and the dog in his back seat and took them, with lights and sirens, to the emergency vet clinic! That was the only appropriate choice! Then he started accusing the poor guy ‘what are you on’… Officer Paul Stephens apparently would rather exert his authority than to actually help people! For him to actually say “I don’t care about your damn dog” just proves that! It’s a good thing he didn’t pull me over because as soon as my dog died, I would have gone to jail for assault on a police officer! This guy should be FIRED!!!! At least the Chief of Police understood the situation! I think more people used to respect police officers in years past. Why? Because of guys like this! Paul Stephens is a disgrace to the uniform and a complete JERK!!! He should be ashamed but I doubt that he is smarter enough to figure that out! He has no business being a policeman! He apparently has no clue that his salary is paid by taxpayers! He also doesn’t have any respect for anyone or anything so why should anyone respect him? Dear Mr Policeman (to Officer Stephens and the like): You do NOT automatically get respect because put on a uniform! Anyone can that, Officer Stephens has proven that simply wearing a uniform DOES NOT mean you are a ‘good guy’! Respect must be earned and is easily lost! I really doubt that Officer Stephens will EVER have the respect of ANYONE who has seen this video! Without respect being a policeman can be a much more difficult job that it already is! What is sad is that he has given all policeman a black eye and caused negative feelings against his entire department and in fact all policemen! Every time one officer does something so callous and uncaring it reflects poorly on all the rest. At least the Chief understands that and his empathy has, I am sure, helped to restore some of the respect for the rest of the department. Hopefully the guys he works with will be as appalled with his actions as I am. If so, they could make his job to uncomfortable to deal with! A policeman’s job is to protect and serve…he did neither! Officer Stephens…Do your brothers in blue a favor and quit! Unfortunately your poor family is stuck with you as a relative! I am sure that are NOT proud of you! You will never be the man that is required to perform that job! Oh…one more thing…I hope that people everywhere remember you and what you did and that you are constantly scorned and will be disgraced for the rest of your days!
This is heartbreaking. Like everyone else, I agree the police office should have gotten the dog to the vet and then do his other job. He should be held accountable for the dog’s life. How tragic for the girl (and her boyfriend) to have to hold the dog til it died. What this kind of thing does is send the message that if you are speeding with your pet, don’t pull over. Slow down but get to the vet before you stop. I know you’d also get arrested for resisting arrest but at least the dog would have lived and I bet a judge would have had more sense.