SPCA President's dog dies from heat

[themuzicman]

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

The same woman (President of the SPCA Richmond) who said that Michael Vick hadn't paid enough for his crimes against dogs left her dog in a hot car for several hours, where it died. And doesnt' think she should be charged with anything

Irony is the wrong word. Hypocrite, maybe?

[Alex]

Holy jeez, that IS amazing. About like PETA vice president Marybeth Sweetland's animal-tested insulin usage isn't hypocritical, because she "needs her life to fight for the rights of animals".

I will never underestimate the power of the lack of self-awareness.

[boldbidder]

WOW.....reading that really got me beside myself, "I think it enhances her ability to communicate and educate the public about humane issues. I think that if this can happen to her, it can happen to any of us," Are you frakking kidding me?!? No, it can't happen to any of us, because only a complete and utter douchebag would leave his or her dog in a car for 4 flipping hours.

[Hamburglar]

Starr said she has no plans to resign from the position she has held since 1997. Yesterday her husband, Ed, took responsibility for the dog's death.

In a teary interview, Ed Starr recalled putting the couple's dog -- a deaf and blind cocker spaniel/poodle mix named Louie -- into the rear of his wife's Volvo station wagon last Wednesday as she prepared for her first day back at work after a 10-day vacation.

But he said he failed to tell Robin Starr he had put the dog, which they had adopted from the SPCA, in her car.

It wasn't until she left her office about noon that day -- after the dog had spent nearly four hours alone in the car -- that she discovered Louie in the back of the station wagon, showing signs of heat stroke.
.......

"I just forgot . . . and didn't think about it until I got this frantic phone call from Robin. I knew immediately what I had done," Ed Starr recalled yesterday at the SPCA offices on Hermitage Road.

He added, "It wasn't her fault. It was mine."

Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, said the incident can help raise awareness about pet safety.

"This case shows that even the most informed and attentive people on animal welfare can make mistakes, and it's a reminder to all of us to be as diligent as we can possibly be," Pacelle said. "We and the Richmond SPCA have worked hard to educate people about this type of threat to animals. I hope that this unfortunate circumstance reminds people to be very attentive to this problem."

The Starrs have not been charged with any crime. According to the Code of Virginia, it's a Class 1 misdemeanor to inflict "inhumane injury or pain on an animal" but only if the act is willful.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Traditionally it is wise to read more than once source.

You make judgments without all the facts and ...well I'll leave it at that.

Comparing this to Vick's dog fighting ring is just ludicrous.

Stupid: yes. Criminal: far from it.

Once my dad let the window down for our dog to get some of the breeze...It jumped out and broke its leg....was that animal abuse? No, it was an accident

Training dogs to be killers and unleashing them on each other for money....well that was no accident and it is definitely abusive.

[themuzicman]

I don't know that I would call reporting on her spin to keep her job as something we should put a lot of stock in.

[SelfMadeBum]

I am skeptical about the whole 'husband did it' deal.

But I don't believe she would do that purposefully, either.

If she knew the dog was in there that long then there are no words.

But like Ham said, if it was an accident, there is no comparison.

[ToC]

It's unfortunate that the dog died, which really does make me sad to hear, but even if her work at SPCA is just a job, SPCA helps a lot of animals, which she has directly or indirectly aided in.

[Tristan]

I'm in Richmond at the moment. There's a lot of rage over both the hypocrisy of the SPCA woman and the sympathetic bias towards her in the Times Dispatch article. They say they've received 120 angry letters about it so far.

[Hamburglar]

actually " The Examiner" took the same line....

I understand America's trigger happiness to call things all things hypocrisy as of late...but if we are INTJ's lets think about it before issuing such condemnation.

My wife is compensated to make sure that medical documents are accurately filled out so as to prevent errors of reporting to the FDA for medical trials. If she missed a document that happened to be in error would this make her a hypocrite? no she would be negligent of her duties.

In this case the women was negligent in her duties of making sure that her animals were being treated in a humane way. But we must also consider that she is human and to err is human...she is not god, so she cannot be expected to be omniscient.

If a Doctor fails to save a patient they too are negligent, not hypocrites.

I think the SPCA is right in saying that we are all capable of making mistakes that lead to the death, abuse, or otherwise general mistreatment of animals. And that this incident should encourage us to be all the more vigilant in protecting those who cannot necessarily protect themselves.

[Seriously]

I guess I can't help but wonder how sympathetic she would have been to someone else who did this to their dog. Generally these people are the first to get on the bandwagon for prosecution when it's someone else in the hot seat.

Sorry to hear about the dog..that was sad.

[Hamburglar]

It is definitely a unique position...Had it been any other person I bet it would have not made the news. Same reason your neighbors affair doesn't make the news but Mark Sanfords does.

[themuzicman]

Those who publicly proclaim particular moral positions are held to a higher standard with that moral position. Same goes for the president of the SPCA.

[annaelizabeth]

Apart from that woman's particular case, it is shocking that so many people are so stupid to leave their dogs in hot cars. Just the other day I saw two people arguing about it at a local store. The man confronted another man, explaining how dangerous it is to his dog. How could the other guy not know that? Do people just not care or are they really that stupid?

The cashier then told me that just the other day the employees went out and tried to give a dog some water through a crack in the window. They had tried and tried to get the owner to come forward, through announcements on the pa, but no one did.

[Alex]

It is definitely a unique position...Had it been any other person I bet it would have not made the news. Same reason your neighbors affair doesn't make the news but Mark Sanfords does.

Well, I think it depends. I couldn't care less who has an affair if they're not arguing from a platform of "moral values" and attempting to push their values, especially religious ones, on everyone else.

But, when you're the head of an org for animal cruelty and you basically do the exact opposite of what they're trying to achieve? I'd say that's newsworthy.

[Hamburglar]

you are assigning blame on her for her husbands actions...Do you really think she would have put the dog in the car in front of her house and literally forgotten about it for 4 hours....I don't, based on her statement, and to anyone who does you are not relying on evidence but circumstantial speculation.

[firebee]

Here's what I have for this person's statement regarding Michael Vick:

"The action of the NFL commissioner to reinstate Michael Vick is both premature and unwise. Vick has not yet demonstrated that his remorse is sincere or that his irresponsible, cruel and criminal behaviors are likely to change. The NFL and its leadership apparently lack the integrity to require civilized behavior from their players. This would reflect poorly on any team that adds Vick to its roster."

Essentially, what she is saying here is that in her opinion Vick -- who as far as I understand knowingly and deliberately committed acts of cruelty -- has not demonstrated sufficient remorse for his actions to be a decent part of the public image of a football team. Regardless of whether one might agree with the statement, I don't think it has any bearing on what is appropriate penance for the accidental / negligent death of one's own family pet.

Unless you're inclined to think that she actually left the dog in the car deliberately to make money betting on its life expectancy, or unless you can find an earlier statement from her being unsympathetic to people in what now is her position (and "people like her are all like that" does not fly for this purpose), I fail to see the hypocrisy.

[Lucid]

I don't know that I would call reporting on her spin to keep her job as something we should put a lot of stock in.

That sword slices both ways. I'm no fan of PETA (and the SPCA has its issues as well) and I don't give a rats ass what position someone holds if they are responsible for the death of an animal. However, there are articles with spin in her favor and spin against her. Identifying the one you disagree with as the only one which should be questioned is a mistake and makes your opinions look unfounded and emotional. Your opinions regarding this matter are more about the organization for which she works and their political agenda than about this particular instance.

[boldbidder]

I don't think it has any bearing on what is appropriate penance for the accidental / negligent death of one's own family pet.


Mostly irony, with a dash of hypocrisy, but that's because I few negligence as a form of malice. If a new born baby dies because of moronic neglect or if it is drowned in a sink, the net result is the same. Now if her dog had a heart attack or something at home then that's different, but the dog died as a direct result of stupidity on the part of herself and her husband. I don't think we should cut people ANY slack for tragedies that are direct result of their stupidity.

[Nameless]

Ouch. That has GOT to be karma. I wonder what she did to deserve that.

Besides that though, does NOBODY put blinds/shades/reflective surfaces in their car anymore? I mean come on! You're leaving something in there for all that time... reduce the amount of heat that will build up!