Mo. couple charged after calling 911 for dying dog

[NC Susan]

http://myfox8.com/2012/04/24/mo-coup...for-dying-dog/



Mo. couple charged after calling 911 for dying dog

Posted on: 9:57 am, April 24, 2012, by Ryan Sullivan


http://myfox8.com/2012/04/24/mo-coup...XVI7UgtISj7sMT



O’FALLON, MO – A Missouri couple considered it an absolute emergency when their beloved Great Dane collapsed right in front of them. They called 911 for help, but now are in trouble with police; still grieving the loss of their dog.
Rose and Randy Lakey are due in O’Fallon, Missouri Municipal Court next month after they called 911 for their dog on Easter Sunday. But the Lakeys said their dog was not ordinary.

Oreo was a 4-year-old harlequin – a black-and-white spotted Great Dane. With a dog the size of Oreo, who stood 6’4″ on her hind legs and weighed 140 lbs., the Lakeys said they needed help.

“It was so fast and we were so upset, that all I could think of was to tell her we have to call for help,” Randy said.
“And she just collapsed and fell into the wall and down to the ground; nothing, I mean it was just so quick,” Rose said. “I tried to get my arms underneath her like you would if you were going to try to pick up a child. When I went to try to get her up off the ground, I could barely get her off the ground at all. When I did, her head and her legs and everything [were everywhere] …she was just out of it.”

They said an ambulance crew and police arrived within minutes of their 911 call. They said one ambulance worker made it clear there was a problem.
“She got into the middle of the room and she seen Oreo and she threw her hands up and said, `It`s a dog are you kidding me?` Then she turned and walked away. Then she started yelling out to the policeman, `it`s just a dog`.”
She said the other crew member brought oxygen for Oreo and helped load her into their car.
They got her to an emergency clinic, but it was too late.
The day after Oreo died, police brought a summons for filing a false 911 report. Police said Rose Lakey referred to both her dog and her daughters during the call.

“24 hours later, they give me a ticket, for asking for help,” Randy Lakey said.
“There was no sympathy at all. There was no understanding at all. He just acted like we planned all of this,” Rose said.
“You know, it was not intentional. We didn’t mislead anybody. We just needed help. There`s nothing false about that,” Randy said.

Police said a 911 recording showed Rose Lakey clearly said her “daughter” needed help. She didn`t deny it; it could have happened given her hysterical state. Still, she said she knows she said “dog” at the beginning of the call. The Lakeys said they hope for a little more understanding from police.
They`ll likely face a fine, but they weren’t sure how much the fine would be.

——
This article was provided and originally published by affiliate station KTVI-TV in Saint Louis, Missouri.

[Dennis Olson]

Field Rescue Stretcher

"Revolutionary" is how this new Rescue Stretcher for animals has been described. It features a mesh 'envelope' that completely covers any size animal up to 200 lbs. giving complete control over the animal while calming it yet allowing it to breathe. The envelope stabilizes fractures and prevents animal escape.
Size: 22" x 44"

[Conrad Nimikos]

...I wish they had told us the age of the couple. I would feel differently if the couple was older than I would for a young couple. I know how I feel about our dogs has changed as I get older.

[Dennis Olson]

No woman is going to be able to lift a 140# dog. Hell, *I* couldn't lift Hermione now at 115#, and I promise you I'm a helluva lot stronger than the woman in the OP.

[Doat]

People in this country have been programed to call the government for everything. If somthing very serious happens in this country,
its going to be a real life or death crisis for the most minor of problems.

[Spanky]

While I can feel sympathy for the couple they neep to be penalized for calling 911 for thier dog. That is an emergemncy line for Police and fire department. Not the Vet.

[summerthyme]

While I think calling 911 for a dog is ridiculous, Doat is right... people call 911 for EVERYTHING, and far too often, for truly stupid situations... this at least was an emergency, although not one the EMT's should have been called out for.

I don't know that they should be ticketed, unless they'd made this type call a common practice. Some do... my DIL who is a police officer in a small upstate city tells some crazy stories about why people dial 911, and there are some REAL "frequent fliers" who really should be fined if that's what it takes for them to stop wasting resources.

But a stern warning that this was their only chance is appropriate. Although if you want to be sure they'll *never* do it again, charge them actual costs. It's not cheap to make an EMT run....

Summerthyme

[Rescuedog]

Don't get a dog bigger than you can lift, if these people kept an ambulance from getting to a person I'd be seriously pissed. I love dogs, I have four dogs but ambulances are for people. Besides, if you own a dog you should have an emergency plan in place.

RD

[naturallysweet]

They should have to pay for the cost of the ambulance, which isn't cheap.

With my little furbabies at my side, I really can't blame them for going a little crazy when theirs died.

[Jubilation T. Cornpone]

Some people treat animals as human beings.
Rush Limbaugh had an hilarious program about
him and his cat, and why people were treating
their animals like people.

911 is for real life and death emergencies.
Stupid people do stupid things.
Maybe a ticket will educate them.

[Michigan Majik]

Panic and fright make people do inappropriate things...
A stern warning would have been enough IMO.

[ainitfunny]

Common sense and consideration of INTENT , and good judgment has utterly left this nation and we are ALL much more, even infinitely poorer because of it.

[packyderms_wife]

No woman is going to be able to lift a 140# dog. Hell, *I* couldn't lift Hermione now at 115#, and I promise you I'm a helluva lot stronger than the woman in the OP.

No kidding, I had a hard enough time assisting our 80# weimeraner in her last days, she couldn't stand on her own, I can't imagine trying tolife a 140# dog! And another thought the animal rescues out there they watch storieeeees like this you know, if they hadn't done something, anything, no matter how stupid, they could have had criminal neglect charges brought up against them and depending on the state might have even done some jail time. I see this all the time on the local animal shelter FB page, idiots posting when an animal is surrendered and has health issues, a demand for criminal charges to be brought against the owners preferably with jail time.

K-

[Richard]

OK they should be ticked off not charged, the Govt should make it clear what incidents require 911

[old pirate]

i would rather have ems help the doggie over some homie

[Josie]

Just curious but who would you call for help with a 140 pound dog?

On a side note, my neighbor lady (elderly) called 911 for an injured rabbit. It was Sunday and all she really wanted was to find out who she should call. It must have been a slow day in our little town 'cause three police cars responded. I about freaked when they all came rolling up. I thought something aweful happened to her or her 96 year old mother that lives with her. It was kinda comical watching three grown men, in uniform with sidearms, trying to contend with a bunny that was unable to use it's hind legs!

[HeyU]

Ok, I get it about 911 being for human emergency’s ie life and property emergency’s but I do disagree for billing someone for a service that was not rendered. The responders got mad and left/ I can understand billing for gas because that is consumed and expensive probably even for mileage a dollar or even three for a couple of emergency vehicles pr mile or whatever. But the paramedics are payed the same if they are on station or at an emergency. The equipment is not excessively degraded responding so where is the justification in billing anyone for a response. These are taxpayer funded services why is there a charge at all?.

[packyderms_wife]

Back when I was an EMT, during training we were taught how to do CPR on a dog and I know for a fact that the FD learned how to do CPR on dogs and how to rescue cats from trees. So if they don't want to rescue dogs and cats then why provide the training?

[Witness]

She said she told them at the beginning
of the call it was about a dog.

The police do not listen to your 911 call,
they form some twisted opinion of what
your call is about.

HERE IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uERK9ESXmFQ

The link is an actual 911 call
about a man who was walking
his dog and another dog attacked
his dog almost killing it.

listen all the way to the end to see
how the cop twisted what the caller said.

[LightEcho]

Just curious but who would you call for help with a 140 pound dog?

On a side note, my neighbor lady (elderly) called 911 for an injured rabbit. It was Sunday and all she really wanted was to find out who she should call. It must have been a slow day in our little town 'cause three police cars responded. I about freaked when they all came rolling up. I thought something aweful happened to her or her 96 year old mother that lives with her. It was kinda comical watching three grown men, in uniform with sidearms, trying to contend with a bunny that was unable to use it's hind legs!

Maybe they thought there would be some grandma they could try out their tazers on?


Re- the OP... perhaps they should have covered themselves when it was apparent the dog call was not well received. They could have said they called 911 because they were out of chicken mcnuggets.

[mom2many]

We live in MO, our fire protection district covers 87 sq. miles and is one of the larger districts in this state. We don't have a single business in our district; it is poor, rural and agricultural ie VERY low tax base, although we do live at the Lake and have big city types with vacation homes, it's still VERY LOW tax base. We are all volunteers and are routinely called out because someone has a headache and doesn't have tylenol (which we can't give but have to respond to anyway to wait for the ambulance, which also can't give pain relievers so if the RP insists they are taken by ambulance to the hospital for tylenol), we've been called because someone was outside and had a tick crawling on them, not stuck mind you crawling, we have also been called out because someone needed a bandaid and forgot to pack them. It is not cheap to roll a fire truck, or a personal vehicle to the station to get a truck, so yeah I can see why they would charge for responding.

BTW, if you re-read the OP one responder administered oxygen to the dog and helped load it in their POV, so at least one did render service.

Ok, I get it about 911 being for human emergency’s ie life and property emergency’s but I do disagree for billing someone for a service that was not rendered. The responders got mad and left/ I can understand billing for gas because that is consumed and expensive probably even for mileage a dollar or even three for a couple of emergency vehicles pr mile or whatever. But the paramedics are payed the same if they are on station or at an emergency. The equipment is not excessively degraded responding so where is the justification in billing anyone for a response. These are taxpayer funded services why is there a charge at all?.

[Binkerthebear]

At least my dog (and theirs') is not an illegal immigrant.

[TerryK]

What happened to the fire department getting cats out of trees???

I can understand how older people sometimes feel about their pets. It is truly all some of them have.
A good call center operator could have handled it better and maybe even have given them a number to call for a mobile emergency vet.
It was nice of the other crew member to give the dog oxygen and help load her in the car.

I don't know why TPTB are gettin so upset when we have people calling 911 because they got shortchanged on their fries at McDonals.

[big kumara]

Just curious but who would you call for help with a 140 pound dog?

On a side note, my neighbor lady (elderly) called 911 for an injured rabbit. It was Sunday and all she really wanted was to find out who she should call. It must have been a slow day in our little town 'cause three police cars responded. I about freaked when they all came rolling up. I thought something aweful happened to her or her 96 year old mother that lives with her. It was kinda comical watching three grown men, in uniform with sidearms, trying to contend with a bunny that was unable to use it's hind legs!

You call a vet who makes house calls, like a farm vet. Lots of vet clinics offer house visits nowadays, even for small animals.

[SIRR1]

Back in the 50's and 60's a person could call the fire department and talk to one of the firemen and ask to rescue their cats stuck up in trees or power poles.

Now a days you can still call the Fire Dept using that same number from the 50's and 60's but the call gets routed to the county 911 operator and you won't get to talk to a fireman at all.

If it was a quite night the FD could have rolled a small rescue truck and a couple of firemen to assist the family with the dog but the call was routed to the 911 operator and this is where things fell apart.

I am sorry for the family who lost their Great Dane and yes the judge should make then pay a small fine or do community service working at the animal shelter for a few days but no big fine should be placed on them.

In Belleville where I live is just a stones throw from O' Fallon Mo. and a call to city hall would have brought out a couple of city street workers to assist with the dog as a favor from city hall, it would have happened here if this had taken place during the day m-f.

SIRR1

[#1 oldskool]

Guess I'm gonna be the bad guy.......After 28 yrs with a large FD in the burbs of Atlanta, I turned in my re-tirement paperwork today !
While everyone would love skittles and rainbows for their pets, every time a Firetruck or ambulance rolls...code 1....many lives are at risk. The crew on the apparatus, pedestrians as well as all traffic encountered en-route. Believe it or not, after a few years, you learn to pretty well distinguish BS calls from true emergencies. Someone daughter supposedly "down" AINT one of the BS'ers! Adrenaline flows, foot gets a little heavier on the gas and things ramp up! I would have been hotter than hades to bust my a$$ and walk in to find a dog. While true that we carry pet O2 masks, (after an animal hospital fire) we arent there to serve the pet community. In our busy jurisdiction, there may well have been a fire, wreck, or true med emergency while we were fartin around with a dog. How would you feel if you waited an extended period of time for an ambulance for you mom having a heart attack, only to find out later that someone "embellished" a 911 call ? Believe me, embellishment happens more than you think. A final note. While i have had pets my entire life.....folks need to understand that with a few exceptions, not many animals have a life span longer than a human. When getting attached to a pet, chances are very high that you will out last them. Not an emergency.......just circle of life.
(rushing to don my nomex underwear)

[marymonde]

Guess I'm gonna be the bad guy.......After 28 yrs with a large FD in the burbs of Atlanta, I turned in my re-tirement paperwork today !
While everyone would love skittles and rainbows for their pets, every time a Firetruck or ambulance rolls...code 1....many lives are at risk. The crew on the apparatus, pedestrians as well as all traffic encountered en-route. Believe it or not, after a few years, you learn to pretty well distinguish BS calls from true emergencies. Someone daughter supposedly "down" AINT one of the BS'ers! Adrenaline flows, foot gets a little heavier on the gas and things ramp up! I would have been hotter than hades to bust my a$$ and walk in to find a dog. While true that we carry per O2 masks, (after an animal hospital fire) we arent there to serve the pet community. In our busy jurisdiction, there may well have been a fire, wreck, or true med emergency while we were fartin around with a dog. How would you feel if you waited an extended period of time for an ambulance for you mom having a heart attack, only to find out later that someone "embellished" a 911 call ? Believe me, embellishment happens more than you think. A final note. While i have had pets my entire life.....folks need to understand that with a few exceptions, not many animals have a life span longer than a human. When getting attached to a pet, chances are very high that you will out last them. Not an emergency.......just circle of life.
(rushing to don my nomex underwear)

If I had a small child in need of emergency assistance, and the response I needed was taking care of a DEAD dog, I wouldn't be so understanding. I get the owners were in a panic, but they should be charged something. I use to live in O'Fallon, MO and it is a city that covers a large area. Responders are spread thin and far. Taxpayers are paying a service to accommodate human needs.

[packyderms_wife]

You call a vet who makes house calls, like a farm vet. Lots of vet clinics offer house visits nowadays, even for small animals.

FYI NONE of the vets in my area make housecalls, most don't even keep regular business hours like Wednesday afternoon for instance you won't find a vet anywhere in the county on a Wed afternoon.

[Repairman-Jack]

911 for a dog:

There was no sympathy at all. There was no understanding at all. He just acted like we planned all of this,” Rose said.
“You know, it was not intentional. We didn’t mislead anybody. We just needed help. There`s nothing false about that,” Randy said.

Police said a 911 recording showed Rose Lakey clearly said her “daughter” needed help. She didn`t deny it;"

And then PD or EMS gets sued for being involved in a MVC while responding to a pet call....lawyers would have a field day

[Repairman-Jack]

Just curious but who would you call for help with a 140 pound dog?

On a side note, my neighbor lady (elderly) called 911 for an injured rabbit. It was Sunday and all she really wanted was to find out who she should call. It must have been a slow day in our little town 'cause three police cars responded. I about freaked when they all came rolling up. I thought something aweful happened to her or her 96 year old mother that lives with her. It was kinda comical watching three grown men, in uniform with sidearms, trying to contend with a bunny that was unable to use it's hind legs!

If you have pets you should have the numbers and addresses to multiple vets (including a 24 hour facility)

If you need help you could try calling 911...depending on your location and how busy PD, Fire etc is you may get help...tell them its a big dog etc... My fire dept has responded to:

Cat stuck in drain pipe
Dog over hill and stuck
A horse that could not stand back up
Sheep in a sinkhole

Along with that the folks from invisible fence donated 3 different size pet O2 masks to the fire depts in our township

[Elza]

These are taxpayer funded services why is there a charge at all?.

This is a question that I’ve been asking for many years. Why charge for EMT and not fire or police calls? Same taxes pay for all of it.

[Jubilation T. Cornpone]

If I had a small child in need of emergency assistance, and the response I needed was taking care of a DEAD dog, I wouldn't be so understanding. I get the owners were in a panic, but they should be charged something. I use to live in O'Fallon, MO and it is a city that covers a large area. Responders are spread thin and far. Taxpayers are paying a service to accommodate human needs.

That's the whole point.

[Repairman-Jack]

This is a question that I’ve been asking for many years. Why charge for EMT and not fire or police calls? Same taxes pay for all of it.

Depends on the System that is in place....most towns, communities, etc HAVE to provide some sort of Police and Fire Protection...but not EMS...there are a lot of 3rd party EMS agencies that contract with Cities to provide that service.

[DrJerry]

Where I live there are several Emergency Animal Clinics listed in the front of the phone book with the ones that run 24 hours in bold print. There are a lot of horses and farm animals around here and it can be a real emergency if one goes down.

[big kumara]

FYI NONE of the vets in my area make housecalls, most don't even keep regular business hours like Wednesday afternoon for instance you won't find a vet anywhere in the county on a Wed afternoon.

FYI, every vet clinic in my area does house calls and farm calls and has someone on call for after hours emergencies. They all have regular hours and most have half days on Saturdays.

[Ravekid]

This is a question that I’ve been asking for many years. Why charge for EMT and not fire or police calls? Same taxes pay for all of it.

Every municipality is different, and taxes don't necessarily cover everything. In some areas of Indianapolis, the EMS is provided by the fire department and our taxpayer supported hospital system. There is no charge for a call out, but if you get transported, there is a bill. However, other parts of the city is covered by private EMS, so they may or may not bill even for a call out.

In my suburban area, we are still mostly volunteer fire, but with paid paramedics and a handful of paid full time firefighters. I've been told that even the fire department charges if they come to your property to extinguish a fire. I think it is $100.00.

The city fire department and hospital can provide free call outs and check ups because they get enough in tax money (and I will agree, there is likely plenty of waste..but that is a different issue), however the more rural/suburban areas don't have the tax base, and the mentality is that those who use the service pay a little big higher share of the burden.