As a San Marcos, TX man rushed his girlfriend and her two-year old poodle to an after hours emergency animal hospital he was stopped for speeding. The poor guy was in hysterics, knowing the dog was in bad shape. But rather than trying to help the guy, the officer kept asking what the guy ‘was on’ and told him repeatedly that it was “just a dog” and that he could get another.

San Marcos — As San Marcos resident Michael Gonzales recalls, one of the first things a police officer said to him after pulling him over for speeding early Wednesday morning was asking him “what he was on.”Gonzales acknowledges he was hysterical after being pulled over on IH-35 going well in excess of the speed limits. But the reason, he said, was plain to see — the two- year-old teacup poodle in his girlfriend’s lap was gasping for breath, and the couple were rushing to an after-hours veterinary hospital in New Braunfels.

Gonzales and his girlfriend Krystal Hernandez say the dog, Missy, died during the time it took for officers to cite him for speeding. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the couple say police repeatedly told them it was “just a dog” and that they could buy another.

[…]

Hernandez, who received the puppy from Gonzales following her high school graduation, said a female officer “kept telling me my dog was dead and I kept telling her she was alive and had a heartbeat. I had my finger in her mouth so she wouldn’t’ bite down on her tongue. I felt like she still had a chance if they could please help us.”

Hernandez said she even offered to leave Gonzales there and drive the rest of the way. “I said ‘please let me go.’ They told me no. We waited like 20 minutes and they never did anything and my dog ended up just dying there.”

Afterwards, Gonzales went to police headquarters and talked to the night shift commander, who he said had already seen video from the patrolman’s in-car camera. “He said legally (the officer) didn’t do anything wrong, but the way he handled the situation should have been handled better,” Gonzales recalled. “He said the most they can really do is set up a counseling session where he will speak to the officer about what he did wrong and how he could have done better. That’s it. A slap on the wrist.”

Here’s the rest.

I can’t find it online yet, but KXAN News showed the video from the officer’s dash cam, and it was awful!! Yes, the guy was very upset and couldn’t stand still - he was panicking! Who wouldn’t be a bit upset if they were trying to save a life and were stopped?! Maybe speeding isn’t a good thing to do, but I don’t know why the cop couldn’t have just escorted the guy to the animal hospital and then dealt with the ticket. What an ass!

I’ve wondered what a police officer would do in a situation like this. I hope this cop, Officer Paul Stephens (according to a UPI story) is an exception to the rule.

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