A TV News Anchor Almost Threw Rock Through Car Window For Great Reason

Denver News9 anchor at home after his on-air dog apology
as he gets help from his canine companions answering
congratulatory emails about his editorial.  

News anchor Kyle Clark, the anchor at News9, the local Denver NBC affiliate, came this close to throwing a rock through the window of somebody's Honda CRV recently.

No, Clark has not become unhinged. Nor does he lead a secret life of crime and vandalism.

But he loves dogs, and has two of them at home. On a recent, sunny, hot, 90 degree day, Clark stopped at a strip mall to run some errands.

Inside the CRV was a dog. In a swelternng hot car. He ran his errands, and came back ten minutes later and the dog was still there.  You could hear the dog crying all the way across the parking lot in that terribly hot car.

He was tempted to throw a rock through the car window, but didn't. (By the way, Florida just made it legal to break into a car to save an animal and other states are following suit.)

So he called 311, the number you call to get city services.

Clark pretty much did what the Humane Society says you should do when you see a dog trapped in a hot car. Take down the car's make, model and license number, go to nearby businesses and have them make announcements to get the owner of the car to their car and call non-emergency numbers to get help.

You probably should avoid throwing a rock through a car window unless you're desperate because you might face criminal charges or a civil lawsuit.

In Clark's case, he was on hold for five minutes with 311 before the owner of the CRV emerged from a frozen yogurt shop.

He politely cautioned the owner of the CRV not to leave dogs inside cars on hot days. They can die really fast in those conditions.  In this case the dog survived.

The person basically just laughed Clark off. There was nothing more Clark could do about the really bad dog owner. I personally still worry for that dog, because I'm sure the person in question just doesn't care.

Later, Clark took to the airwaves and offered a heartfelt apology. Not to the dog owner he confronted in that torrid parking lot. But to the dog that was in the CRV

"I'm sorry that your dog does not have better humans," he told the dog, on air at News9.

Here's the viral video of Clark's on-air apology to help encourage everyone to take care of their furry companions in hot weather:

Woman Lets Dog Die In Hot Car So She Could Shop At Walmart For 13 Hours

Every year, we're "treated" to news of people leaving kids and pets in hot cars, where they die of heat stroke.

This woman is accused of leaving
a dog to die in a hot car in Florida
while she conducted a 13-hour
shopping marathon at Walmart.  

Many are tragic accidents. People get so preoccupied that they forget they left their kid behind. It seems impossible to believe, but all of us sometime don't pay attention, as they rush to be on time for work or school.

True, we should have a hightened sense of awareness when it comes to our children and pets, but still. The parents and pet owners didn't mean to kill their children or Fido.

Then you get idiots like Cassaundra Rasmussen, 49. Police said she left her dog in the car, in a hot parking lot, in late June, in Florida. Why? She had to go shopping at Walmart.

Worse, it wasn't just a quick trip into the store. She was in Walmart for 13 hours, according to police.

How can one possibly browse the, um, gleaming shelves of Walmart for over half a day? And worse, never remember during that time that her dog is in the car?

Is Walmart that compelling? That it's worth leaving your dog in the car to die?

A passerby did spot the dog in the car while Rasmussen was in Walmart. But by then it was too late. The dog had been in the vehicle for too long, in that terrible heat, with no food or water, for too long.

What gets me is she is only facing a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals. I guess that's the only thing under the law that might stick.

But still, the Internet can be a buzzsaw, and I'm sure Cassaundra is feeling the effects.

That's actually a good thing, except I worry people will take things too far. If Cassaundra is guilty, then a misdemeanor charge isn't enough for me. But I also hope the punishment via social media doesn't get so bad that she breaks before she understands what a horrible thing she did.

Shopping does seem to be  priority for some people.  A woman in Johnson City, Tennesee is accused of leaving her two kids alone in a car for 90 minutes while she shopped at Old Navy. 

Luckily, those kids were rescued.

I hope they are the only two people who think shopping is so exciting it's worth killing kids and pets over.