The illogical, the jerk, and the PETA activist

[Zell]

I just got back from work about 10 minutes ago. That was the longest 4 hours of my life. Never have I seen more stupidity, ignorance, and assholery in one day.

The illogical

I was putting an item back that happened to be in the dog food section.

Lady: Excuse me, sir?

Me: How can I help you?

Lady: Do you know where the PuppyChow is?

Me: *Oh great, I can bet this person expects me to know every brand of product in the store* Hmm...well, ma'am, I honestly have no idea, but it should be somewhere in this aisle.

30 seconds later...

Lady: I found it. *snaps at me in a bitchy tone* You must be new here. *hurries out of the aisle*



Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am. We have 30,000 brands in the store and I've only memorized up to 29,999. That one happened to be the PuppyChow. Come back to me next time and I should know exactly where it is.

The jerk

My friend/co-worker was pushing carts outside. Normally when you're doing this, people just drive around you in order to get to a parking space and don't complain about it.

B = my friend

B: *pushing carts*

Guy: *drives up right behind B* Hey! HEY! YOU! GET OUT OF MY MOTHERFUCKING WAY YOU FUCKING LITTLE BOY!

B: *turns around clenching fist* What did you just say to me?

Guy: *drives away*




Seriously, how much of a dick do you have to be to do that to someone pushing carts? I asked my friend why he didn't cuss back at the guy cause even the manager would be on his side in that case, but he said he was afraid he'd get fired. If I was in trouble for cussing back at someone who did that to me, I'd quit myself because clearly the management sucks if they were on the customer's side.

The PETA activist

This one takes the cake as the stupidest thing that has happened at my store. I was going to put grocery baskets back in the lobby when some random guy came up to me:

Random guy: Hey, there's some lady out there who's requesting some help from an employee here.

"Sure," I thought to myself, "No biggie. She probably just wants help to her car since it's raining out and stuff. Doesn't seem too unreasonable to me."

I walked out there to see a lady wearing a blue nylon coat and holding two dogs on leashes.


Me: How can I help you?

Lady: Yes! Look over there at that car! The red and black truck! Do you see that dog in there?? It's been barking whenever there has been thunder and it's clearly scared to DEATH of the thunder! I'm about to call the police if you don't do anything about it! This is animal cruelty!


Now, I had no idea what the hell to do because, quite frankly, it wasn't our problem. Whenever I see people leave their dogs in the car, it's either on a cool day or they're in there for only a minute or two. The guy's dog in the car was not panting, looked well-fed, the windows were down, it wasn't hot out, the sun was almost totally down, and the dog was only barking at really loud claps of thunder. The whole thing looked 100% fine to me. I mean even my dog barks at loud claps of thunder sometimes.


Me: ...uhh...ok...well ma'am what exactly do you want me to do..?

Lady: Get your manager!


So I go inside to get my manager and tell him the story.


Manager: What the hell does she expect us to do?

Me: I have no idea but she said she'd call the police if I didn't get you.

Manager: Oh geeze



So the manager went outside and heard the lady's stupid story. After that, he walked down to the car and wrote its license plate number down. I stayed out to get the rest of the carts when I saw a man walk to the car.


Me: Hey dude

Man: Yes?

Me: You see that lady over there in the blue jacket?

Man: Yeah

Me: She's fucking insane and is probably about to walk over here to talk to you about animal cruelty.

Man: What?

Me: She thinks that because you left your dog insi...

Lady: HEY! YOU!

Me: ...aaaand here she comes now.

Lady: YOU! I'm about ONE MINUTE away from calling the police on you for animal cruelty!!

Man: What the hell are you talking about?

Lady: You left your dog in there ALONE!

Man: Ma'am, this dog is treated better than most people. I left the air conditioning on in the car and the windows open. I was inside for a minute and even timed myself to make sure I got out quickly. I suggest you fucking leave.

Lady: You can't leave a dog in the car!

Man: Well I did, so you can kiss my fucking ass and get the hell away

Me: *I wish I could've said those things to her*

Lady: *starts walking away* Screw you!

Man: Kiss my ass

Lady: Kiss MY ass!! *walks away furiously with her dogs*

Me: Wow, some people are really fucking insane. I mean even I knew your dog was completely fine.

Man: Yeah, I know, man. Some people are crazy.

Me: I mean I've had a shitty day today and dealing with this just makes it harder.



I had about 4 carts sitting next to me that I was going to push in. Suddenly, some guy in an SUV backed up REALLY fast.

Me: Whoa WHOA WHOA STOP!



The guy backed up right into my carts. I was thinking to myself that I was now going to have to deal with this bullshit. The guy slowed down a bit, stopped, and then sped away real fast. To me, it looked like the guy purposely kept backing up really really far and fast in order to hit the carts. I mean he backed up about 3x farther and faster than most people do when they back out of a parking space. Plus, the carts were clearly visible. I dunno if he was attempting to hurt me or his car for insurance fraud or what, but it was weird.



So after that ordeal, I went to the other side of the lot to grab the rest of the carts. When I was done, I saw that guy with the dog in the car inside the store, clenching his fist at my manager and almost shaking:


Guy: DON'T YOU EVER TAKE DOWN MY LICENSE NUMBER AGAIN! EVER!!!



We all thought that he was going to hit my manager. If he said one stupid or wrong thing, he woulda gotten hit right in the face. However, somehow my manager calmed him down and ended up talking to him about his dog. Apparently this man saved this dog from cruelty because it was chained to a fence in the back of an abandoned house. He also lets the dog sleep on an oriental rug, has more toys than most children, and totally pampers this dog. Kind of funny based upon what that lady was speculating about that man.




Pretty much today sucked major ass. Longest 4 hours EVER. Why do I work there again?

[Gurndigarn]

Pretty much today sucked major ass. Longest 4 hours EVER. Why do I work there again?

I think it's because they give you money. I can't think of any other good reason.

[AriRashkae]

Hopefully your manager was able to explain that he took down the plate to shut the bitch up. (If that was indeed the case. S'what I would do.) After all, he did warn the guy that she was coming.

But I don't blame him for being touchy. 10 of the 11 cats I have raised have been strays. the first 5 were a momkat and her 4 kittens I found behind my garage. She'd had them down the street bu they weren't feeding her and I was.

[Zell]

I think it's because they give you money. I can't think of any other good reason.

Oh yeah I forgot about that part. Whenever my paychecks roll in I remember why jobs rule. It's just that whole...in-between paychecks part.

Hopefully your manager was able to explain that he took down the plate to shut the bitch up. (If that was indeed the case. S'what I would do.) After all, he did warn the guy that she was coming.

Yeah I think he also did it because he was making an in-store announcement to get the guy out to his car. The guy didn't hear it since he was already at his car.

I think your theory about getting her to shut up is a good one

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

My dog is scared of thunder and other loud noises. I never knew that made me an animal abuser.

They might have had a point if it was a hot day, even if the windows were open, but I guess I would've had to have been there to make a judgement.

[COMINATCHA]

About the dog lady, seems like she's just one of those people who likes a bit of drama and attention when its really not needed. You do hear stories about people leaving children and pets in the car and it can sometimes be very dangerous, especially on a hot day. But from what you described there wasn't a problem? Moron.

[Best Made Tacos]

I've had people come up and try to tell me how to manage my dog, out of the blue. They normally think they're great with animals and know heaps, and as I am younger than they are, that I couldn't know as much. I try to be polite and say thankyou and just move away but I've had some scarily persistent ones.

My partner has had similar problems. He trains his dogs for competitions and sets quite high standards for them - they're very mentally and physically strong dogs as well as being intelligent, so they can take it - and he SOUNDS very gruff and scary when giving loud commands or reprimands. He'll also grab them by the scruff for discipline purposes from time to time but that's as physical as it gets. He often trains in the local park reserve, near the river.

However, people passing by feel the need to lecture him on how he's being too rough on his animals and how they can tell it's 'animal cruelty'. I believe they think dogs and children are pretty much the same and require the same treatment.

B looks frustrated and says "If they would only enquire politely, I would love to explain how well I look after them, but they always start right away with threats to call the RSPCA!"

[Marxfan]

About the dog lady, seems like she's just one of those people who likes a bit of drama and attention when its really not needed. You do hear stories about people leaving children and pets in the car and it can sometimes be very dangerous, especially on a hot day. But from what you described there wasn't a problem? Moron.

I'm willing to bet just about anything that that woman, as she was making a scene about that guy's dog, had her children locked in the car, windows up, heat on, all by themselves.

[Soulstealer]

My dog is scared of thunder and other loud noises. I never knew that made me an animal abuser.

The cat and I hide under the bed together during a storm. We're both cowards when it comes to thunder.

Also cars are a pretty safe place to be during a thunderstorm. It has to do with grounding.

[napoleana]

I just want to say that, as an activist, I know this lady is full of bullshit and doesn't know crap about animal cruelty.

If you see an animal in a car and are worried about it, you are to check it's behavior for signs of dehydration or other ailment. If it acts like a normal dog (or acts like it's going to jump through the freaking window) you leave it alone.

If there are signs that the dog is in danger, you write down/memorize the make & color of the car and go inside and politely ask to have the owner paged. When the owner shows up, talk to them politely about your concerns. If they are not willing to listen, hand them a pamphlet, and let them go on their merry way, as usually they will leave and either way the problem is solved.

If the dog appears in immediate danger and the owner does not answer the page, then it may be excusable to call the police or animal control.


But yeah, that lady was totally off. I was just filling you in on proper procedure (you may already know), so next time you might be able to tell someone EXACTLY what they're doing wrong, and to please now address you in a calm manner and do this the right way.

In my opinion, wannabe activist who are belligerent and have no clue what they're talking about are just as bad as people who neglect or abuse their pet.

[Banrion]

However, people passing by feel the need to lecture him on how he's being too rough on his animals and how they can tell it's 'animal cruelty'. I believe they think dogs and children are pretty much the same and require the same treatment.

It's times like that, that you wish you could sit them down in front of a 15hour marathon of Dog Whisperer. Cesar is VERY good with dogs, specializing in "Red Zone" cases, the results he can get in a few hours are really impressive.

[Shabo]

The cat and I hide under the bed together during a storm. We're both cowards when it comes to thunder.

Also cars are a pretty safe place to be during a thunderstorm. It has to do with grounding.

Not grounding. It's because the car has a metal frame, and as long as you aren't sticking any appendages through said metal frame, then you won't get electrocuted. You could even touch the inside of the metal frame while the lightning was hitting it and be perfectly fine. I know this because the Museum of Science in Boston MA has a very nifty exhibition on electricity, and it ends by the exhibitionist getting into a metal bird cage and allowing that bird cage to be struck by electricity that is generated by the machines they have. It's not quite lightning force, but it could still really hurt them if they got hit.

The tires are a common misconception though. There's not enough rubber in those tires to insulate anything, or ground anything, and there's metal in the tires anyway.


And one of my dogs gets terrified of everything. Even our dishwasher. Any time you open it, she watches you... and if she sees you put dishwashing liquid in it, she runs as far away from it as she can. At least she's better now about the vacuum, lol. She's just a big baby. And she was born and raised at our house, too!

[Best Made Tacos]

It's times like that, that you wish you could sit them down in front of a 15hour marathon of Dog Whisperer. Cesar is VERY good with dogs, specializing in "Red Zone" cases, the results he can get in a few hours are really impressive.

Sounds very interesting, I will try to view it some time. I have been watching Victoria Stilwells program (It's Me Or The Dog) and that has been quite useful - and entertaining! It really showcases SCs as dog owners: "What do you mean I shouldn't feed my dog softserve icecream and a pot of tea a day?"

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Had a friend who had a very rowdy, very large dog. Dog was a cement head. The usual methods of training a dog did not work on this dog. Praise, treats, dog didn't care. My friend was at her wit's end.

I told her next time the dog got out of hand and ignored her when she tried to correct it, to throw the dog onto it's back and grab it's throat.

Told her not the hurt it or apply any pressure or even really try to scare it. That action is dog-speak for "I'm in charge and you listen to me."

Worked like a charm. You just have to speak the dog's language. The dog is like a kid, she just wants to know who is in charge, and if it's you, she wants to be clear on that.

My dog, a spitz, had to go over the boundaries like that about every month or so till he finally gave up trying to become top dog with me. Spitzs are like that. Great dogs, very willfull. My dog had a real alpha personality. Fortunately, so do I.

[Becks]

Yeah I think he also did it because he was making an in-store announcement to get the guy out to his car.

That would make the most sense to me.