State prosecutors have declined to bring charges against a New Canaan woman and her friend after the latter entered a locked vehicle downtown on a recent afternoon so the pair could let out a Norwich terrier thought to be too hot and later accosted the dog’s owner, according to police reports.
The sunroof on the blue Mercedes wagon was fully open and all four windows cracked, as the car was parked at Morse Court on the breezy fall afternoon of Oct. 7, according to sworn statements from the parties and police officers involved in the incident, obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a Freedom of Information request.
Police found the dog to be in good health and said the animal was never in any danger.
It all started at about 12:55 p.m. on that Friday, when a 58-year-old Stamford woman after lunching at Rosie’s with her friend, a 50-year-old Orchard Drive woman, came upon the parked car in the Morse Court lot, according to a police report.
The Stamford woman phoned both the New Canaan Police Department and its Animal Control section, leaving a voicemail with the latter about the dog in the car. She then traveled to her friend’s house, upset, explained what she saw, and the pair returned to Morse Court. There, the Stamford woman reached in through an open window of the car, observed the dog “panting and drooling,” according to her statement, unlocked it, let out the little terrier (his name is ‘Banks’), the report said. Together, the women fetched water for the animal, let him urinate and waited for the owner to return.
The dog’s owner, a 55-year-old Greenwich woman who had been shopping, at about 1:55 p.m. returned to the car “to find the back door on rear passenger side wide open,” according to her statement.
“I was shocked and felt sick to my stomach. I feared the worst, that my dog was gone. I ran to look inside and my dog was gone. The car was empty. Its leash was not on the floor where I left it. I stood holding my head thinking who do I call, where do I look, how will I live without my dog? As I stood holding my head, two women appeared and had Banks my dog. I was totally confused. I said, ‘Oh my gosh, Banks.’ And the dark-haired woman yelled at me ‘It is illegal to have your dog in a car.’ I was stunned. ‘Illegal to have my dog in a car?’ I kept repeating it—and said, ‘What are you talking about?’ The women yelled at me. I was scared and shaking. I started to realize they were acting ‘abnormal’ and took my dog and put him back into the car. I started to get into the car and they continued following me and yelling at me. I told them I was going to call the police. I was shaking and scared. They stated that it was too hot for my dog. I said too hot? ‘It is a breezy October day, the whole roof of my car is open and all four windows.’ I was calming down and was upset that these women broke into my locked car and I called the police.”
Banks is from a breeder and cost $3,600, the dog’s owner said. She has another one, who was at the groomer on the day in question, according to her statement.
The police took statements from all three women and supplied them to the state’s attorney at Superior Court in Norwalk. There, according to a New Canaan Police report, “The state’s attorney concluded that no crimes were committed.”
The two women “rendered aid to the dog which they believed at the time was in distress,” in the state’s view.
“In light of the above, there is no probable cause to charge anyone in this incident,” the report said.
According to observations made by police, the dog never was in any danger.
Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm said in her report that she arrived at Morse Court, met with the owner and “observed what appeared to be a Norwich Terrier-type canine in the back seat of a blue Mercedes wagon.”
“The dog ‘Banks’ appeared to be in good health and not in distress,” Halm said in her report.
She latter added: “It should be noted that the Animal Control vehicle temperature gauge indicated that it was 75 degrees [inside the Mercedes] and that I observed a cool breeze.”
The New Canaan and Stamford woman who had let the dog out of the car went immediately to police headquarters to sign sworn statements as to what had occurred. The dog’s owner went the following day, and in her statement she described what the others had done in criminal terms.
“My car was broken into,” she said. “It was locked. They tried to put their hand in window and pull the door lock to open my locked car.”
She also noted that the dog faced an actual threat when the women went to let the animal out of the car prior to leashing it.
“With the dog loose, the women took a huge risk opening my car,” she said in her statement. “If the dog jumped out he could have run forward and then been hit by a car. Thankfully that didn’t happen yesterday. I did not break a law leaving my dog in a car in October on a nice fall day. But these two women told me repeatedly that I did. I feel they went way beyond their legal rights and broke the law by breaking into my car and taking my dog.”
I sympathize with the terrier owner. When the weather is breezy and moderate and car windows are open, the temperature inside the vehicle usually is no different from outside the vehicle. Yet on days like that when I take my dog along for a ride, I sometimes worry that someone will do just what these ladies did. A hot day and windows closed allowing the temperature inside the car to rise is a different situation. Important to discern the difference.
I am a dog lover and love to take my dogs with me when I go on errands. Inevitably that means that I will have to leave them in my car for short periods of time. As was this case, I leave the windows open if it is warm and closed with a crack if it is cold. I make sure that the dogs will be fine before I leave them. I would not want anyone other than the police entering my car without my permission. Also, what if the dogs had bit these two do-gooders as mine would likely do? What if they ran away? What if they go hit by a car? There are many potential problems created by the actions that the police condoned here. The New Canaan and Stamford woman who let the dog out should have been fined.
Hot day or not, it’s up to authorities to determine whether the vehicle need be opened. Those women had no right “breaking and entering” into someone’s vehicle. If there is ever a question about temperature, call an Officer and wait.
I witnessed a dog being carried out of a parked car by Animal Control in Stamford…dead from being left while was shopping. Unforgettably horrible. Cars do overheat quickly. Open sun roof does not take the temperature down nor do cracked windows. Breeze does not take temperature down. I am a dog lover and take my dogs on car errands but only in definitely COOL weather. If this case was only a very short shopping errand, no harm probably. These two women should not have broken into the car IF Animal Control responded in a timely manner. But better the dog was out of POSSIBLE danger. I hope all three ladies have learned a valuable lesson.
Marie, I am afraid that you are entirely incorrect. An open sun roof and open windows certainly do take the temperature down. How could you possibly think otherwise?
they should have arrested the 2 busy bodies for stealing a dog and breaking into the womens car. They overstepped the rules of common sense. Dog loving wackadoo zealots.
If you treat your pet like family this situation never exists. It goes where you go, period. Once Ms Greenwich stated its value it is only a possession to her. The two ladies are to be complimented not criticised.
I think that the 2 women were right to do what they did. The dog was in that car for an hour, possibly longer depending on how long he was in the car before the women came across him. It would have been nice if the ACO or police arrived promptly after the women called them. But since no police or ACO arrived in a timely manner, the women
acted on the side of caution. I believe that the dog was panting and drooling when he was locked in the car all that time and the women had no choice but to let the dog out, give him water, and keep him cool outside of the car since the owner didn’t show up, nor the authorities.
One of the two women approached me in the parking lot and asked if I had left a dog in a car. I saw the dog in the back seat of the dark car with the windows slightly cracked. I did not notice an open roof window. I tried to open a door to let the dog get some more air, but it was locked. I searched for a police officer and then went to Town Hall to get someone to help the ladies with the dog. It’s easy to make assumptions when you aren’t there; I think the ladies ought to be commended for trying to help the dog. They were nice ladies who I am sure had lots of other things to do. They could have ignored a potentially bad situation. I would also commend the town officer who was objective and tried to calm the situation.
Unless the dog appeared to be in stress I would have called animal control. Several times we have taken our dog on long car trips stopping frequently to give them water and time to relieve themselves.
Or solution for leaving our dogs in the car when we travel on vacation and stop to eat.
We first park place near the restaurant window.
Leaving the car air conditioner on.
Requested to be seated near the window so we can keep a eye on the dogs while we quickly eat.
It worked for us and the dogs remained cool and comfortable.
Not sure what animal control might say though.