# Speeding ticket leads to dog's death



## Sean Rescue Mom (Jan 24, 2004)

I saw this on Good Morning American today, a couple was rushing their dog to the emergency room when:
http://www.caller.com/news/2008/aug/15/couple-dog-died-while-they-waited-ticket/

People are particularly upset over the police officer's insensitivity, "Chill out, it's a dog, you can buy another one."


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## GunnerJones (Jul 30, 2005)

should not of been driving 95, they endangered everyone on the road at the time. if it were me,and I've had to rush a dog to the Vet ER before, I kept close to the speed limit and only waited at the lights if I had to. The officer could of handled it much better


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## Jazy's mom (Jan 5, 2004)

I can not imagine what these two must have been going through watching their dog die in their arms as this cop runs his mouth with two other officers. 

I don't think I would have even stopped. I would have put my hazards on and used the SOS honk (which these days no one probably knows) and would have kept driving. If the cop wants to follow me to the vet and give me a ticket there then fine.


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## GunnerJones (Jul 30, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: jazy's momI can not imagine what these two must have been going through watching their dog die in their arms as this cop runs his mouth with two other officers.
> 
> I don't think I would have even stopped. I would have put my hazards on and used the SOS honk (which these days no one probably knows) and would have kept driving. If the cop wants to follow me to the vet and give me a ticket there then fine.


they would of bounced you off the hood, cuffed you and took you down town. Unfortunately LEOs in many depts treat everyone like a suspect until proven otherwise.


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## Jazy's mom (Jan 5, 2004)

The emergency vet here is very close to two major hospitals. It is very common to see people speeding by with hazards on and honking on the way to the hospital. Of course I wouldn't be driving 95 mph either.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

The cop wasa being an @ss
I saw the news and was horrified about it.


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## DSudd (Sep 22, 2006)

This is one of those no win situations. If the cop would of let them proceed at 90 miles per hours and they got into an accident, it would of been the cops fault for not pulling them over. You can bet the police department would of been named in the impending lawsuit.

He pulled them over, doing his job, and he is wrong. Granted he should of been a whole lot more sympathetic to the situation, he was doing the job the taxpayers in his state pay him to do.


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## dd (Jun 10, 2003)

Should it take 20 minutes to issue a ticket??


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## scannergirl (Feb 17, 2008)

There's no guarantee those few minutes would have made a bit of difference. That dog must have been very bad off. At least he was with his family.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

I am completely torn with this. Being in a family with LEO's. They have a job to do. But at the same time, I understand the dogs family as I would have felt the same.

I will say the LEO's that I know would have been more understanding. Much much more understanding and would not have said "its just a dog". Heck, a few of them I know would have followed them to the ER vet and dealt with it there if it really had to be dealt with.

I think all in all it was a crappy situation that, the only thing that could have really been avoided was the officers comments.









But aye, at least in the end the dog was with his family.


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## JanH (Jan 21, 2007)

It might if determining identity. 

I don't know if anyone read down the comments but this is a positive for GSD: "I have a german sheperd that is part of my recon team here in afghanistan.. he is my battle buddy!! I would give up my life for him.. and I **** sure know he sacrifices his life for me everyday I am out of the wire!! So if you think these "pets" are not worthy of breaking a speed limit to save his life.. when I get back to the states I will be glad to talk to you about it... and can show the many IED's he has saved me and my team from..Oh and by the way.. if there was a choice between your life and "Victor" (my battle buddy's name) well.. that is a no brainer!!" 

As for the poodle...many advise against the "teacup" for the very size issue that may have started this. :-( 90 seems excessive - a Washington State Patrolman mentioned one time after 70 you aren't driving you're aiming - because you can't react quick enough to safely stop if something comes up in front of you. 

The people shouldn't have been doing 90 - the cop shouldn't have been a jerk - the dog may or may not have made it even if they arrived at the vet (didn't say how far from the vet it was).


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## Guest (Aug 18, 2008)

When a loved one is near death your mind races and desperation sets in. People do things that weren't the best thing to do sometimes. Speeding at 95 in a panic isn't the best thing to do but I can understand why they did it. What would've been best is if the cop had seen their reason for panic and escorted them to the emergency vet. His insensitivity isn't unexpected though. Many people have no such affinity for dogs as we do and can't understand the feelings we have. Perhaps if any good comes out of this it will be an awareness for the department that people do place great value on the lives of their pets and officers should respect that both for the sake of the public and for their own safety as well.

I see from the article that the dog was choking. I hope people who read this think over what they can do if their own dog chokes. The Heimlich maneuver works on dogs too. This and other tactics should be understood as general knowledge in pet first aid. Unfortuantely, most people don't even have a concept of human first aid let alone for their pet. It's shame that this is so. Many lives both human and animal could be saved if people just spent the time to learn.


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## GunnerJones (Jul 30, 2005)

well the lessons learned here is learn first aid and don't endanger others


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## Rangermom (Jun 29, 2007)

I agree that the driver should not have been driving 95mph and endangering the lives of other people. And, the officer had no choice but to stop him. But...I think once they saw what was going on with the dog they should have offered a police escort to the vet and then issued the speeding ticket once the dog was in good hands.

The insensitive comments made by the police officer were just horrible and totally unacceptable IMO.


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## Papanapa (Mar 1, 2008)

Going 90 MPH is endangering the lives of every person on that road. I feel for the owners and am sorry that they had to deal with an insensitive officer, BUT, safety must come first when you are dealing with other people on the road.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

> Originally Posted By: RangermomI agree that the driver should not have been driving 95mph and endangering the lives of other people. And, the officer had no choice but to stop him. But...I think once they saw what was going on with the dog they should have offered a police escort to the vet and then issued the speeding ticket once the dog was in good hands.
> 
> The insensitive comments made by the police officer were just horrible and totally unacceptable IMO.


You took the words out of my mouth. 

What is wrong with an escort?? The dog may still have died, the ticket would still have been issued but the police would have been heroes not zeros.


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## MatsiRed (Dec 5, 2004)

> Originally Posted By: ShellyGGoing 90 MPH is endangering the lives of every person on that road. I feel for the owners and am sorry that they had to deal with an insensitive officer, BUT, safety must come first when you are dealing with other people on the road.


I agree with this statement, TO A POINT, and agree that the dog owners should have had a better emergency plan for their dog. 

BUT, no matter how you look at it, this was an URGENT situation. Once that car was stopped, the danger to society was over. Next on the agenda should have been HELP, HELP, HELP for the dog!

Yes, our (valiant?) police are there to serve and protect our community, which he did once the vehicle was stopped. But from then on, there were many other choices he could have made in this life or death situation , but he sealed the dog's fate, by delaying treatment. 

This officer made a personal and extremely biased judgement call. He clearly abused his power. He turned what might have been little chance into NO chance at all.

He was hired to serve our community. He did his job when he stopped the car. After that, he served no one but HIMSELF.


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## Sean Rescue Mom (Jan 24, 2004)

> Originally Posted By: ddShould it take 20 minutes to issue a ticket??


This is exactly what they asked on Good Morning America this morning.


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## LARHAGE (Jul 24, 2006)

The cop was an a-hole, I once ran several red lights, after looking both ways when my JRT was stung, he was swelling up and having difficulty breathing, a Cop stopped me and after seeing my dog told me to get out of here and Good Luck! I also had a colicking horse in a trailer on our way to an Equine Hospital, we were in HEAVY traffic on the freeway and I just said screw it and started driving on the shoulder with the Emergency lights on, a Highway Patrol Cop stopped me and while we were explaining the horse went down in the trailer, he told us to follow him and escorted us to the off ramp we needed, which was 15 miles away. I later sent him a Thank You card with a picture of the horse after her surgery. These poor people simply had the misfortune of getting an a-hole with no understanding of the close bond people have with their animals.


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## MatsiRed (Dec 5, 2004)

> Originally Posted By: LARHAGEThese poor people simply had the misfortune of getting an a-hole with no understanding of the close bond people have with their animals.


That's what I was thinking, too.

This situation demonstrates the difference between a really good cop, and a mediocre one, and that's putting it mildly.

ps to Larhage. That small token of appreciation paid it forward to the next citizen in trouble, I'm sure. Nothing like a personal thank-you to keep making a person want to do the right thing.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

This is really sad. I agree the man shouldn't have been driving 95 mph (that's the speed the article says he was going) and endangering lives on the Interstate. And the cop shouldn't have acted like a control freaking jackass. 

Why did it take THREE officers 20 minutes to write up a single traffic ticket? And what right did the cop have to prevent the lady from driving the dog to the vet while the man stayed behind like they requested? From the way it sounded, he was the one who broke the law, not her?

The least he could have done was to have given them an escort to the ER at a sensible speed, issued a traffic citation to the driver, and continued on his way. 

May the little poodle rest in peace.


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## Ilovealldogs (Nov 17, 2006)

I'm not familiar with that road, but I believe that it was an interstate. I don't want to guess what the speed limit was, but the interstate closest to me is 70 mph and most drivers go 75-80mph. Although 95 mph is a bit fast, if they were on an interstate with a high mph, it really isn't surprising. We also don't know how much traffic was on the road at the time. Maybe the streets were empty or there wasn't a lot of traffic. I'm a former police officer and although I probably would have pulled the people over, I would have asked permission to escort them to the clinic. That officer was just an SOB.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I am sorry, but if the owners of the dog waited until they had to travel 96mph to get their dying dog to a vet, then the officer should not be blamed for the dog's death. 

The officer is supposed to be a professional and making a statement about it being just a dog and they can buy another is completely unacceptable. 

I would write a letter to his commanding officer if state highway patrol, or a mayor or sherriff depending what type of LEO got them. 

If these people were going that fast within a municipality though, they need to understand that they do not have the right to risk the lives of people to save the life of their dog.


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## JakesDogs (Jun 4, 2008)

My prevailing thought is how bad I feel for all the harm done by this officer's words. The lives of the couple will be forever changed. Police officers everywhere who would have had the ability to handle this differently will not get the benefit of the doubt. I don't think any amount of sensitivity training would help here. This was all about adrenalin, testosterone, the chase and the pack. A driver speeding doesn't yield immediately, an officer intercepts, calls for backup and pursues. An accident does not happen, driver finally yields, obeys commands and exits car. No weapon, no aggression. Lots of emotion, begging, pleading. No fight. Officer's response to emotional pleading from couple was to become more verbally aggressive and derogatory (how about the crack about what are you on, what's wrong with you - ...bipolar - "I can tell.") When the answers were not what the officer wanted to hear, he stopped doing his job and became judge and jury. 

The moment the reason for the speeding became clear and the actual danger to the officer and/or harm done assessed, the officer had a decision to make and was clearly unable to make it. His ability to initiate and exhibit self-control was what took so long to bring the stop to a conclusion. Here he was with all this commotion and backup and nothing to show but a near-hysterical couple and a sick dog. 

The only other thought I had was to wonder if this officer's troop or division has a K9 unit. If what he spoke in this emotionally charged state reflected what he really feels, I'd never back him up with my dog. I'd be too fearful for my partner.


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## Aryg2461 (Jul 10, 2008)

If this had happened to Ary first of all I am trained in pet first aid so at least I would feel like I could administer help while someone else was driving second I would probably push the speed limit as much as possible ( not 95 tho ) and if a Police officer pulled me over nothing would have stopped me from leaving. I have several family members who are cops and I know they have a job to do but they are supposed to be ppl you can look to in a time of need not someone refuses to help you when you need it!


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

If a police officer pulls you over, and you leave before he is finished, you would be in some serious trouble. However, there were two people involved here. Why did not one of them say, please let my wife/husband who was not driving get my dog to the vet, while you finish writing the ticket? Would the LEO allow the passenger to continue on without the offender? 

It sounds like bad judgement was used all around here.


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

u know i have a funny story...we used to have a quaker parrot. this bird had the intelligence of a 3 year old. anyway..i hated this bird, he was loud and obnoxious but we for some reason i still had a soft side for him. one day he hurt himself in his cage, he broke his beack and split his side open. i was driveing 90 mph (probably not the safest thing to do) to every vet in the area trying to find a vet that worked with birds. we ended up finding a vet and pepitto was ok.

on the flip side to the story i can understand that the officer was upset about the speeding and fleeing, but to behave the way he did was very rude and unproffesional. now maybe if this guy was tripping off of acid and had no real dog in the vehicle, yea, understadable. i was rather mad when i saw this video.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: selzer...
> However, there were two people involved here. Why did not one of them say, please let my wife/husband who was not driving get my dog to the vet, while you finish writing the ticket? Would the LEO allow the passenger to continue on without the offender?
> ...


According to the article, they did request that the woman be allowed to continue on to the vet's office and the man would stay behind. That's when the cop told Hernandez to chill out.


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## JasperLoki (Sep 25, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: Sean Rescue Mom
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: ddShould it take 20 minutes to issue a ticket??
> ...


Sometimes it takes longer (depending on if LEADS is down, running wants/warrants/etc), there is more to it then what "Good Morning America" knows when it comes to police work.

I feel bad for these people. I understand why they were stopped, I also wish the officer would have been more sensitive, and escorted them to the vets office, and then worked it out.

I know police officers aren't there to accomadate, however its nice to have some sensitivity as well, it goes a long way.


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## mrgsdolch (Oct 10, 2006)

About a year or so ago, I got a call at work from DW, saying that she didn't know where DD was, and neither did the school. It was about 12-15 miles from work to home, and I did almost the entire trip at 110+. Yes, it was out of panic, but I was able to steer and manuvuer around traffic, and didn't cause any accidents. This happened on a two lane, then over to a four lane highway. If speed were the determinng factor in most wrecks, then the autobahn would have the highest fatality rating, but it doesn't. Some people are just better at driving at higher speeds than others. Fortunately, she simply got off the bus one street down, and a neighbor helped her home.

Not trying to make excuses for people, but I know the limit of my driving skills. If there is an emergency like the one in the article, then I will push to that limit. Other people can't safely drive 95mph, while others have reflexes and cars that would allow them to do so. 

In the end, the cop should've at least followed them to the vet, then issued the ticket. If he had said the "its just a dog" to me, I would've come back with "are your k9 officers just dogs too?".


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

The Autobahn has no speed limit while I'm sure the roads you were traveling did. Comparing your wreckless behavior to statistics on the Autobahn isn't a good anology since anyone traveling on the Autobahn expects the high speed traffic. Those drivers aren't restricted to much lower speed limits as was true of the roads you were on.

Perhaps you feel comfortable driving thru traffic on two lane roads and four lane highways at 110 MPH, but what about the reactions of the others on the road who might see some out of control whacko barreling on them and in attempting to get out of the way cause an accident or get hit by the idoit while attempting to avoid getting in an accident? IMHO you may feel confident driving like a crazy person in an emergency, but by underestimating the reactions of others, you are endangering not only your life, but their lives as well. 

I hope Mrs. D takes your car keys away from you until you learn to handle an emergency in a more mature manner.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

as much as it hurts to type atm I do feel the need to reply to this.



> Quote: The Autobahn has no speed limit while I'm sure the roads you were traveling did. Comparing your wreckless behavior to statistics on the Autobahn isn't a good anology since anyone traveling on the Autobahn expects the high speed traffic. Those drivers aren't restricted to much lower speed limits as was true of the roads you were on.
> 
> Perhaps you feel comfortable driving thru traffic on two lane roads and four lane highways at 110 MPH, but what about the reactions of the others on the road who might see some out of control whacko barreling on them and in attempting to get out of the way cause an accident or get hit by the idoit while attempting to avoid getting in an accident? IMHO you may feel confident driving like a crazy person in an emergency, but by underestimating the reactions of others, you are endangering not only your life, but their lives as well.
> 
> I hope Mrs. D takes your car keys away from you until you learn to handle an emergency in a more mature manner.


While I understand you concern, you also have to understand that people do things in an emergency that they may or may not otherwise do. You seem to miss the part where he said that he is making no excuses for these people, nor does he really make any for himself. He knows what he does and know the consequences of his actions. Being prepared or not prepared for them really doesnt take away anything from it, sure. However bringing up what people will do at someone going 110 isnt a good anology either as someone going 90 or 60 or 50 isnt going to know what someone else is going to do on the road. People are smarter than you think, give them some credit.

I also dont think making insults was really very tasteful. You post could have been written and your concern could have come across just as good without the insults. I would think with everyone all hyped up about how "bad" this board is and no one puts forth any effort to be civil, that people would know better and think about what they post before hand.

As far as what you "hope". I am not his mother, Im his wife. He is a grown man and I treat him as such. I dont see how saying that can not be insulting. Im sure some wifes think its ok and want to act like another momma (if they do or dont who am I to say otherwise as long as they are happy) but I dont. If he wants his mom he can go to her house. I will express my concern and I will tell him how I feel, but I dont tell him what to do or take his keys away like some toy from a child. And please spare me the "I think he was acting like that" or whatever cause that could be said for everyone at sometime in their life.


ETA: You are basing his whole driving record on one example that happened years ago, that has been written in a short post on a thread. Bad form imo. Perhaps when/if you make a major mistake that in hindsight could have been prevented, someone will be more empathetic towards you than you seem to be towards others.


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## Guest (Sep 1, 2008)

Two wrongs, as they say, do not make a right. The cop is the upholder of the law that's certain. They also have the duty of doing what's right.

About a quarter of century ago when I was 22 I came home on leave from the regular Army. My sister's son was 6 and one of my brother's son who was 5 were at my parents' house when I decided to go for a walk with the dogs into the back part of my parents' property which was full of trails and heavily forested. The boys wanted to come along so I said okay, and off we went. Much of Vermont is built over old farmlands. My parents' property was no different. There was also an old slate quarry on the land that had closed many years before and was now full of water. 

We took a long path around the quarry back into the wood line. We came upon an area that had once been farmed and had an ancient and crumbling stone wall running through it. My sister's son had just hopped on it and I was just getting the words out of my mouth to tell him to get off it when a stone came loose under his foot and he went over backwards hard and fast. He fractured his skull. In shock and mortified I grabbed his still body and ran. I ran like I had never run before or since and I have run through combat. The way we had come was a safe and clear route but long. Too long my racing mind thought and so instead I went the most direct route to my parents' house - straight up a huge slag pile of slate. The way up was near vertical and there was of course no path. Still I bounded up it like a billy goat my feet barely touching the slate. 

My sister was hanging out wash to dry in the backyard. She saw me coming out of the scrub from a very unexpected place and the look of horror on her face as she saw the apparently lifeless form of her son in my arms and the blood streaming down on me I will never forget. I yelled to her to get in her car. And yelled to my father where my other nephew had been left and to go get him. The car was my old '74 Plymouth Fury III that I had sold my sister when I left for the Army. It had a big 404 engine in it and I knew how it handled. The ride to the nearest hospital was 20 miles away. All but a couple of it highway. I had the Fury at 126 mph when the state trooper clocked me coming through the main strip of the highway. I saw him but I didn't slow down much less stop. He pulled up beside me and pointed at me to stop. I pointed to my sobbing sister holding a motionless child bleeding from the head. He nodded and did the hand motion that all troops know means "follow me". I guess he saw the Army sticker on the back. He pulled in front of me and immediately slowed us down to about 80 mph until we left the highway. Then he led the way lights flashing and siren blaring to the hospital. My sister rushed her son inside and the trooper got out of his cruiser and gave me the dressing down of a lifetime. "Do you know you could've killed yourself, your sister AND your nephew?!?" I can still hear him yell. I responded truthfully that it wasn't the first time I'd driven fast in that car and that all I could think of was getting my nephew to the hospital as quick as humanly possible. The trooper mellowed a bit and said, "I know son, we all do crazy things when it's someone we love." and got back in his cruiser and drove off without giving me a ticket. My nephew survived with no lasting trauma. The doctors said he wouldn't have though if the ride had taken another 15 - 20 minutes. The trooper did the right thing. I know I did too.


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## ken k (Apr 3, 2006)

the cop could have been an understanding human, put the people and the dog in his car and go, he could have wrote the ticket when they arrived at the Vets ER, or when he brought the hubby back to his car


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: GSDolch...
> I also dont think making insults was really very tasteful. You post could have been written and your concern could have come across just as good without the insults. I would think with everyone all hyped up about how "bad" this board is and no one puts forth any effort to be civil, that people would know better and think about what they post before hand.
> ...










I agree I was very rude for the way I stated my opinion and do humbly appologize for the unnecessarily rude comments I made regarding Mr. D throughout my message.


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## GSDolch (May 15, 2006)

meh, its cool. Don't worry, he did get an earful after everything calmed down and we found my daughter.


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## crackem (Mar 29, 2006)

has the autobahn changed??? while I was on it there were speed limits all over the place. Anywhwere there was traffic merging, ramps etc threre were speed limits. when it was straight and nothing, no speed limit. and the big difference. People were expecting it. They know how to drive, unlike here where people think it is their duty to control traffic and drive slow in the left lane. causing other people to make needless lane changes and set up scenerios for accidents.

going over 100 at that time of night and acting frantic????? What's a cop supposed to think? From the vid's I saw it wasn't really made apparent when the cops realized there was actually a dying dog, but I do think they could have handled it better after the situation was assessed. The drive is lucky he didn't get maced or put to the ground in handcuffs acting like he did getting out of the car.


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

There is a "recommended" speed limit of 130 Kilometers per hour. So about 75MPH. If you go faster than that and are in an accident it is your fault no matter what. And there are speed limits all over the place. Most are between 100KPH and 120KPH. You choose whether or not to follow them. It is a myth that is perpetuated about the no speed limit here.

I agree this whole situation could have been handled a lot differently. I feel bad for the owners of the poor dog. I would have been speeding too.


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