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Item: Man jailed after dog dies in car at Spokane Valley Mall/KXLY
More Info: More Info: A North Idaho man spent the weekend in jail on charges he killed his dog by keeping it locked up in a car with no water or ventilation. The incident happened last Friday when Charles Eschenbacher decided to take in a movie at the Spokane Valley Mall. It’s likely that Eschenbacher was very fond of his dog however when he brought his Black Lab “Crossfire” to the Valley Mall he must have underestimated just how hot his Ford Mustang would get because it didn’t take very long for the dog’s suffering to attract attention.
Question: Jailing the owner of the dog for the weekend seems over-the-top to me. I doubt that he intentionally left his dog in the car to die. This is a sad situation. But jail seems harsh. What do you think?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Joker on June 30 at 9:06 a.m.
The dog owner will spend more time in jail than the two punks who killed a 14 year old. God Bless America. PETA wins again.
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BlueinIdaho on June 30 at 9:14 a.m.
I think jail is not appropriate. Require him to complete some pet care courses, volunteer at a shelter and prohibit him from owning a pet for a couple of years. That seems more to the heart of the crime.
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MamaJD on June 30 at 9:23 a.m.
Sure. Jail doesn't seem appropriate. I vote to leave in his vehicle in the hot sun without water or a way to get out while I go watch a movie. /eyeroll.
The pet care course is useless since he no longer has his pet. He killed it by being careless and indifferent. He shouldn't be allowed to have pets at all. A complete and utter selfish act on this man's part at the expense of his dog. Disgusting.
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jazzyvandal on June 30 at 9:51 a.m.
He shouldn't own a dog, period. He should do community service at the animal shelter. The number of stupid pet owners in this area amazes me.
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Lynne on June 30 at 9:53 a.m.
I don't think a weekend in jail is all that harsh if news of it saves one animal, or child, from the same fate.
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toadman on June 30 at 9:54 a.m.
This person is a moron. Why are there so many stupid people in this world?
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scootermom on June 30 at 9:54 a.m.
Jail is appropriate.
He caused an animal to suffer and die a horrible death.
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Cabbage Boy on June 30 at 10:03 a.m.
Jail is excessive. Yes he made a mistake and probably shouldn't own a dog. As jazzy said, time at the animal shelter would be more appropriate.
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jreighley on June 30 at 10:15 a.m.
It was his dog, and it is dead.
It is one thing if you are killing animals for sport to be mean, or for profit. It is totally different if you accidentally miscalculate the temperature.
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Phaedrus on June 30 at 10:15 a.m.
How do you punish stupid?
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JeanieS on June 30 at 10:17 a.m.
This is a very sad story. I am a great lover of animals, especially dogs and cats. They are so dependent on their masters to care for them and the animals love their masters with absolutely total trust and faith. I am sad for Eschenbacher. Jail is too much, though. And he's heading to Iraq this week. I am betting that he will never be so thoughtless in the future - ever.
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Idaho_Spud on June 30 at 10:29 a.m.
This man deserves more than a weekend in jail. Let me tell you, from first hand experience (when I worked for a Veterinarian) that this is a horrible, long and excruciating death. We would see at least 5 a year at our Clinic. It would make me sick that anyone could do this, and it still makes me sick when I hear about things such as this today. I certainly hope this man does not have children.
Tell me that he had “no idea” it would get that hot in his car? Unbelievable. I have no sympathy at all for him.
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Sisyphus on June 30 at 10:29 a.m.
That is the eternally asked question at the courthouse Phaedrus.
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MikeK on June 30 at 10:46 a.m.
I think MamaJD's solution sounds logical.
I was at a neighborhood block watch meeting last night and the one theme that I see always recurring, regardless of the issue, is that you really can't legislate, or govern, or police, or code enforce, every single instance of humans being irresponsible or insensitive or unthinking or rude or hostile or downright dumb.
I loathe seeing policies or procedures written to handle the 1.1% of people who just don't get it. But there will always be some, and they are always a shame. This 4th of July weekend the police will get thousands of calls for people being irresponsible and violating rules, laws, and ordinances. And they won't be able to get to all of them because of time and resources, but they'll do their best.
I'm going to do a ride-along with the police again Friday night to witness some of what they deal with first hand. Maybe I'll share some of that experience when I'm done.
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Fishwife on June 30 at 11:09 a.m.
“I'm going to do a ride-along with the police again Friday night to witness some of what they deal with first hand. Maybe I'll share some of that experience when I'm done.”
Election season must be getting close, eh, Mike?
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MikeK on June 30 at 11:13 a.m.
No, fishwife, I do it every so often with the fire department, too. Helps to see what's going on in the city and get a perspective that's valuable. You could ride-along too, it's eye-opening.
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Cabbage Boy on June 30 at 11:15 a.m.
Idaho_Spud on June 30 at 10:29 a.m.
This man deserves more than a weekend in jail. Let me tell you, from first hand experience (when I worked for a Veterinarian) that this is a horrible, long and excruciating death.”
Wow, more than a weekend. Yes it is horrible death. But let me just pose this query, was it not essentially how they ended Terri Schiavo's life? Supposedly that dehydration death was “peaceful and painless.”
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sue on June 30 at 11:41 a.m.
No, cb, they didn't leave Terry Schiavo in a locked hot car without water. They stopped artificially feeding a body without a functioning brain. They stopped playing God, in other words.
Jail isn't always the appropriate sentence for a crime, even tho this was animal cruelty. So jail wasn't over-the-top, but other punishments might be a more effective deterrent.
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Dennis on June 30 at 11:57 a.m.
@ Fishwife,
I wish more agencies would institute a Citizen Ride Along program. The agency in which I worked / retired from was one of the few in the region that had the program in place. It was wonderful taking citizens with a poor perspective of law enforcement and watch the light bulb come on when they actually got to experience exactly what an officer had to deal with on a given shift. The ride along usually ended with the statement by the citizen “You Guys aren't getting paid enough”. And it generally resulted in a new a new ally.
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Joker on June 30 at 12:02 p.m.
Fishwife would benefit from a ride along. Try going out on a Friday night from say 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
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Cabbage Boy on June 30 at 12:24 p.m.
sue on June 30 at 11:41 a.m.
“They stopped playing God, in other words.”
forgive me if I laugh at the irony in this statement.
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BlueinIdaho on June 30 at 12:59 p.m.
Did someone compare Schiavo to a dog dying in a car? Priceless.
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sue on June 30 at 1:03 p.m.
I'll forgive your laughing, cb, but I'm not laughing at someone who yet again will use that poor woman and her sad story for political purposes. Weird comparison.
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Walkabout on June 30 at 1:03 p.m.
A weekend of jail time in a nice cosy air conditioned cell seems harsh after what he did do his dog? It doesn't matter whether this moron did it by accident or not his actions caused horrible suffering to a living creature. He shouldn't be allowed to have children let alone pets.
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Cabbage Boy on June 30 at 1:08 p.m.
Describing the dog's death by dehydration as long horrible and excruciating reminded me that is often how euthenasia is done. Only the outrage over a dog comes from an entirely different group of people. Often the same people that described Schiavo's death as peaceful.
Just pointing out the irony.
Sue, what political purpose am I using this for? In a discussion, often it takes someone to point out the obvious for people to actually think. Why is it so horrible for a dog to die of dehydration and peaceful for a person?
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BlueinIdaho on June 30 at 1:17 p.m.
Next argument: waterboarding is simply providing hydration. You can see it coming from a mile away…
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sue on June 30 at 1:22 p.m.
Are you denying that Terry Schiavo's situation was not exploited for political purpose? We wouldn't know her name but for the circus that r's created in their theatrical display surrounding her last days.Her body was allowed to finally die a natural death after artificial life support was removed. The dog in question was baked alive in a car. There's no comparison of the 2 cases, except among political zealots.
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Cabbage Boy on June 30 at 2:23 p.m.
Sue, many things are exploited for political reasons. Not the least of these being the pro-life stance. I was not exploiting it for political reasons however.
Food and water are NOT artificial life support. A ventilator is artificial, food and water are basic needs. A child can die if he is not fed or given water. So can a dog. My comparison was simply the difference in outrage amongst the libs.
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Stickman on June 30 at 4:46 p.m.
MamaJD's comment was right on, as was Walkabout's. Jail time for sure in a hot box like Steve McQueen in 'The Great Escape'. If it's hot outside, leave your pet at home.
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spokelooneh on June 30 at 10:51 p.m.
“Stickman on June 30 at 4:46 p.m.
MamaJD's comment was right on, as was Walkabout's. Jail time for sure in a hot box like Steve McQueen in 'The Great Escape'. If it's hot outside, leave your pet at home. ”
Actually, the Steve McQueen character, Captain Hultz, in The Great Escape, kept getting put in the “cooler”, hence his POW moniker, “The Cooler King”
One of my favorite movies ever. Along with Kelly's Heros.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU9ItD…
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