Helping Animals in Chesapeake Country
By Kathy Knotts, editor
Our region loves animals. From pets to osprey, if it has fur, feathers, fins or scales, the residents of the Bay will go above and beyond to keep them safe.
We see it on a weekly basis, how our community bans together to help. Krista, the CBM general manager, reported back to me last week that she dropped her car off at Triton Garage in North Beach and got to talking with the staff. They told her they are a pet-friendly garage and to pass along the message that if someone is out walking their dog and they need to step inside to cool down in the air-conditioned waiting room, or just a treat, they are welcome.
Krista is our resident animal rescuer, wearing many hats outside her 9-to-5, including helping coordinate intake for Lab Rescue LRCP. She’s also about to become foster mom to a beagle puppy, rescued from a Virginia breeding facility.
Most of our staff has beloved furry family members. Many of them are rescues, so clearly we have a heart for animals. This was magnified when last month we all teamed together to help a dog locked in a hot vehicle in our parking lot.
A colleague had spotted the animal being left behind by its owner on a hot July day. So she called and asked us to watch and see when the owner returned to the vehicle. We all assumed the driver was coming back very soon, because it was a very warm sunny afternoon and there is zero shade in our parking lot. Five minutes turned into 20. At this point, we knew that dog had to be miserable. So we sprang into action. We called the SPCA and Animal Control who pointed us in the right direction. After these stumbling phone calls, we made a connection with the non-emergency line in Anne Arundel County. They dispatched two officers who were on the scene in a matter of minutes. The dog was panting heavily—the windows were cracked, but the outside temps were in the high 80s already. The officers got the dog some water, lifted up to a thirsty head poking out of the window and then they went on the hunt for the owner. I’m pretty sure he got a ticket and wasn’t happy to have been dragged away from wherever he had gone. But I knew we had done the right thing.
Leave your four-legged friend at home if you are planning on going somewhere they can’t tag along to. Even with the windows rolled down, your dog can’t cool itself effectively. This pup was lucky someone noticed and did something about it.
If you don’t want to sit in a hot car for more than five minutes, your dog definitely doesn’t want to!
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I also want to acknowledge the recent death of Malcolm Funn. Malcolm was an important figure in the NAACP in Calvert County, as well as the League of Women Voters, the Calvert Co. Historical Society, the State Elections board, multiple commissions and the community at-large. He will be missed.