The Rim Report: Animal Abuse in Style...

My wife and I experienced something this afternoon that really left us pissed off and a bit frazzled for a while. We went into The Rim to run into the JC Penny's before heading out to Boerne. By chance, I pulled into a parking spot just in front of the Kirklands. As I was getting out of the truck, I happened to look down in the car parked beside me and saw a dog sitting in the back seat. I did a double take because the first thing I realized was that the windows on the car were rolled up. I snapped a few pictures before whipping open my phone and calling SAPD. Meanwhile, my wife ran into the Penny's to ask the staff there to call The Rim security, which of course they did.I stood by the car because I was going to wait for the police and if the dog appeared to have the least amount of stress, I was going to take great joy in busting one of the windows on the car.

Now let's be clear. The owner of the car was gone when we pulled in, so we really have no idea if the dog had been left in the heat for a minute or an hour. So when the lady walked up to the car and saw me taking pictures of her license plate, she had sort of a weird smile on her face as if she realized why I was standing there. I asked her if she realized she had left her dog in the car with the windows rolled up. She didn't look shocked at all but rather pulled off one of those, "Oops, I thought I left the windows down" excuses. The lady is lucky my wife was still in Penny's.

I then said to her, "Well why don't you at least open the door so the dog can get some air?" and she immediately opened the back door and said, "Oh, he's fine." Again, the lady is lucky my wife was still in Penny's. Not that she has to apologize to me, but for Christ's sake, show some concern or remorse, if only pretend.

I just shook my head in disbelief as the lady climbed into her car and pulled out. It was obvious that the police call probably hadn't been made at this point, but I was hoping for a quick arrival by security. I called SAPD back and told them that the lady with the dog had left so they may as well not bother, but I did give them the car description and the license plate number.

So, As I am walking toward Penney's and my wife is walking out to tell me security is on the way, we turn around and see that the lady has now pulled into the fire lane in front of Kirkland's to have some stuff loaded. When she saw us stop to look at her, it looked to me as if she had changed her mind about leaving the dog in the car again, and this time, pulled the dog out on his leash (Thank God he was okay), and then yelled to us, "It's okay, you don't have to watch me."

I despise a scene or any drama, but my wife yelled back at the top of her lungs something about don't worry about us, you should worry about your dog and stupid people shouldn't be allowed to have pets etc etc. Had we been closer, I think we might have had a situation.

By the time we finished our quick stop in Penney's (four $40.00 shirts for $6.97 each), the security lady had arrived and my wife showed her the pictures I took along with the license plate number. The security lady told us it was definitely a felony and the lady was lucky she got out before the police got there, or she probably would be going to jail.

We're just glad the dog was okay. Look, anyone can make a mistake or become forgetful, but how many times do we have to see on the news that dumbasses in Texas, where on any day it can soar into the high 90's, keep forgetting their kids and pets in locked and sealed pressure cookers? I honestly hope this lady won't make the same mistake again, for the sake of the dog.

Oh, and I guess the obvious question is, why the hell does one take a dog to The Rim in the first place?