Arrest in dog rescue outrages pet lovers

Tennesseean.com ^

[mom4kittys]

Jarrod Martin was repeatedly told to back away from a roaring fire in his apartment building, but the sight of his dog jumping up and down against a glass door in a room filled with smoke was too much, he said.

[Terriergal]

Now some local residents are outraged, and authorities are defensive about a decision by police to charge Martin.

Oh my word. They should leave the poor guy alone. There's no reason to punish the guy for what he did. He did nothing wrong except try to save his pet. Unbelievable.

[The Brush]

Call me a criminal but I would have done the same thing

[Lady Jag]

I don't know an animal lover who wouldn't have done the same thing.

[Texas Eagle]

The idiot should be charged with reckless endangerment. He (the dog owner) could've been overcome by smoke which would have meant a firefighter would've had to risk his life to go in there and get him.

A firefighter's job is risky enough.

[briant]

Firefighters had not entered the building when Martin rushed in, officials said. Lawson said the situation was too dangerous for anyone to enter the burning building at that time. ''The floors were collapsing, the fire was escalating and there was a lot of smoke coming from the building. I'm really sorry that this happened. We cannot have citizens or other people creating additional problems, which probably took a little bit of time. No, we do not wait to go in. We will go in and search and do the best we can with any life — human, animal, any life.

PC. Just say humans are more important. If the guy goes in and gets the dog, good for him. If he gets stuck and dies, he gets Darwin nomination. Not that hard.

And based on the bs response by these people it just sounds like the government teaching this guy who the boss is.

[Illbay]

Don't know what to say about this.

I love my dog dearly. But is it worth it to put firefighters' lives potentially at risk?

These rules exist for a reason. Tough call, but in the end sometimes you have to go with the letter of the law.

[briant]

Lawson said it's the Fire Department's responsibility, not that of citizens, to rescue animals and people from burning buildings.

So if your kids are dying and the fire department thinks it's too dangerous, tough!

[Lockbar]

The police, in this case, are truly idiots.

[JHrules]

I ffirefighters were not in the building then there was no endangerment. I have seen many many news footages of citizens saving people and animals from burning buildings either because firefighters had not arrived yet, or were "too busy" fighting the fire and helping others that needed care. This is bogus beyond beleif. This man would be awarded 30, 20, and even 10 years ago.

I guess that it is ok to send volunteers, residents, and criminals from prisons to fight forest fires, but it is frowned on to have a man go safely rescue his pet when firefighters tell him, "Sorry ya gotta watch the dog cook at yer window cause its just too hot for us to go do it right now...hey could ya pass the marshmellows over there."

[Illbay]

I was wondering when I would see a post from someone who gets it, Texas Eagle.

This isn't about "hatred" of pets, it's about priorities. Unfortunately, dog lovers, the life of a firefighter trumps the life of a dog, no matter how dear a pet.

You can always buy another dog. You can't buy a wife a new husband, nor a kid a new daddy.

[sinkspur]

Lawson was asked what fire officials would have done if Martin had run to save his child from a burning building. ''That would be something that would be a split-second decision depending on the circumstances,'' she said. Lawson said it's the Fire Department's responsibility, not that of citizens, to rescue animals and people from burning buildings.

First, I doubt if "Kim" has ever entered a burning building, a burning storage shed, or a burning car to rescue anything.

Second, Martin waited for the fire department to rescue his dog. When it became apparent that they weren't going to, he took matters into his own hands.

The bottom line is this: Martin showed up the macho Nashville Fire Department, who was sitting on its hands while his dog's life was in danger.

It ain't nice to show up the Studlies.

[Fraulein]

I would have done the exact same thing to save my tabby cat of 5 years.

And I would much rather pay a fine than for him to be dead.

[Illbay]

"The government teaching this guy?"

Or is it those "odious government hangers-on," the firefighters?

Pretty glib in your puny estimate of a firefighter's life, aren't you?

[Illbay]

Human Child <> Dog

Sorry, but that's it.

[hoosierham]

He DARED to take action himself instead of waiting quietly while the professionals dealt with the matter in accordance with their training and departmentally approved procedures.

We cannot have people thinking for themselves , or WORSE, acting on their own iniative without department approval.

Why if this sort of thing were allowed, next ordinary people might resist criminals with force. And if they are successful in dealing with robbers and rapists, the people might become emboldened to question excessive taxation and governmental intrusion ; so you see, we CANNOT have ordinary civilians trying to save their own lives or property.

[briant]

Try read both of my posts first. If he wants his Darwin award let him have it. I was more reffering to that Lawsen clown.

[tuna_battle_slight_return]

"Someone, please -- two Excedrin".

[Illbay]

Sink, I'm surprised and disappointed. I never would have expected such a response from you.

[briant]

BS. It was HIS choice. If you caan't handle it, too bad.