It was blazing hot, 92F according to my nifty dashboard thermometer. It was in the middle of a parking lot with no shade, nothing but asphalt. I was concerned.
I decided that I would wait to do anything until I finished my shopping. I went in, picked up my stuff, paid, and came back to my car. The little dog was still there, now looking very, very uncomfortable. I loaded the groceries into the car and then went back in the store. I told the service manager about the dog. She paged the owner. I went back to my car and waited.
And waited, and waited. I got out of my car with my cell phone, getting ready to call the police, when a store employee walked by. As I was explaining to her how concerned I was, the owner of the dog finally strolled, leisurely, toward her car.
I should have guessed from the lacrosse stickers all over the car that this woman was going to be out of my social class, and she was. She was tall, lean, drop-dead gorgeous, with perfect hair and teeth. She was an LSU student, a rising senior by the look of it, but definitely not a student who would be caught in one of AP's classes. She was accompanied by her big, beautiful boyfriend who hung silently off her arm like a giant accessory. She saw us, me, and got a look on her face that suggested that she had just caught a whiff of something dead.
The ensuing dialogue went something like this:
AP: Thank god. I was really worried about your dog.
Girl: (coldly) My dog is fine.
AP: No, she's very uncomfortable.
Girl: (yelling) I was only in there for three seconds!
AP: (yelling) No you weren't! I've been in, done my shopping, and come back already! I was getting ready to call the police!
Girl: (still yelling) I take good care of my dog!
AP: (yelling even louder) Right! It's 92 degrees out here! (Girl gets into her car, glaring. Big Beautiful Boyfriend is still silent.) Next time I'm just going to call the police!
I felt terrible, and embarrassed. I wasn't polite, friendly, or constructive; from my perspective, she didn't give me the opportunity to be polite, friendly, or constructive. I had just had a shouting match with someone in a parking lot in front of my young daughter (who loved every minute of it).
But the story doesn't end there. We both drove out of the parking lot and down the street toward campus. She kept glaring at me from her rear-view mirror. She drove past my turnoff, and I went home and drank a huge glass of boxed wine. I thought some about where she must live (all the students in my neighborhood shop at that grocery store) and whether or not she was going to appear in any of my classes next year.
I was working in my front garden on Saturday when a familiar little dog ran into my yard. Sure enough, at the end of her leash was Big Beautiful Boyfriend. Great, he runs in my neighborhood, I surmised. Let's try not to think about how close he and she must live to me. Maybe a few blocks to the north, where all the student apartments are?
Last night I was walking my own little dog when Big Beautiful Boyfriend stepped out of his house with her little dog. He lives four houses up the street from ours. He's a good friend to friends of mine, who live next door. I know he's a decent guy because they've told me about him and how nice and helpful he is. He looked at me as if I was something he just scraped off his shoe.
I guess I'm just going to have to move.
14 comments:
Call the ASPCA and get info from them on how many dogs/year roast to death in cars. Not to mention kids.
Make HIM have to move.
Well, you never know - he may have been embarrassed by the incident and looks less-than-friendly now because he feels kind of guilty about Girl's behavior? (trying to put a positive spin on things...) Anyway, they'll have to graduate eventually, right? I'm glad you were watching out for the dog.
I think my muddled emotions have to do with the fact that Girl was the prototype for all those girls who made me miserable in high school. They were perfect, and I was a hopeless nerd. They dated college guys and drove little sports cars that their physician daddies bought for them and I dated bad boys who rode motorcycles and smoked pot. I felt 16 all over again.
So you don't think I overreacted?
I doubt he really feels that way about you, or he would've said something to you in the parking lot too. He's probably embarrassed about his girlfriend's behavior and can't bring himself to talk to you now. He could avoid passing your house if he really didn't want to see you. Don't sweat it.
Invite them over lemonade, or some other sutiable beverage. Proceed, to leave said drink in the sun, and then dont give them any ice cubes.
That way they learn the what evils the sun can do when not properly respected.
Oooh...that kind of girl. Yeah, I still get irritated at those too, because I know that I'm not up to code in their books. What they don't realize is that we don't all work with the same book -- and they're not up to code in mine in other ways. It's hard to not have that sort of response.
You might have overreacted in delivery, but I don't know, because I wasn't there. You did NOT overreact in caring about the dog's safety. Many people think that cracking the windows helps. It doesn't -- not enough, anyway.
Yay for you! I don't think you overreacted. Actually, I wish I'd thought to call the police (or at least notify the store manager) when I've encountered such callousness (and now I will).
It sounds like the girl was feeling a little defensive from the start, so was not going to react well to anything you said in any tone. But something needs to be said, and I always hope that even when people respond badly at first, as she did, that the key point will seep in later when they've calmed down and thought about it a little.
Plus, you are the Angry Professor! And if anyone deserves a little anger, it's people who thoughtlessly make defenseless others suffer.
Thanks, all. You're a great support group. Also, as Angry Baker pointed out to me a few moments ago, BBB has avoided walking past our house since Saturday. So maybe he is embarrassed after all. I'll hold my head up high.
You absolutely did NOT overreact in any way. Jeez, all you did was say to her "I'm glad you're back, I was worried about your dog." And it's true; animals do die in hot cars, and they can do so really really quickly.
You did exactly the right thing. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.
I'll chime in with my approval; those people were awful, and had no apparent sympathy for their little friend's discomfort. One's responsibilty to one's animals is completel, given their dependance.
I dunno if I'd have called the cops, but depending on nearby police presence and obvious cameras (as well as my tipsiness level), I might've smashed the window and taken the dog.
Plus she was likely republican...
-d
Good for you, Angry Professor! YOU were a responsible, humane person who didn't want to see an innocent dog suffer (or, Buddha forbid, die). That girl's the one who YOU should be scrapping off YOUR shoe! From the way you told the story, she sounds like one of those self-absorbed rich girls who uses their dogs (and their men) as accessories; beyond that, they're nothing to her. Hold your head high and, next time, call the ASPCA. They don't mess around; they'll get that bitch!
P.S. Tell us more about Big Beautiful Boyfriend! He sounds yummy! *hehehe*
One more vote in your favor. You have nothing to be ashamed of. After all, she started off by drastically minimizing the time the dog was locked in his oven.
A responsible pet owner would have owned up or tried to save face with some excuse about getting held up in the store.
You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you might have even taken down the girl's license plate number and reported her to the ASPCA later.
As a dog lover myself, I don't think you overreacted (maybe shouting was not the best idea, but emotions run high in situations like the naturally).
But, on the lighter side, when I read your post and your mention of moving, I was reminded of a post you made about two months ago, about a couple of girls driving by your home and stopping and asking if your house would be for rent next semester. (sorry for this cheap joke, but..) Could it wind up being true that they were right and your house would end up being for rent next semester...
Again, I wish to apologize for this moment of levity.
Post a Comment