A Langley woman is nursing a swollen jaw after being punched in the face by an elderly lady for telling her she shouldn’t leave her dog in a hot car.
“I was kind and told her she really shouldn’t leave her dog in the car on a hot day,” said Tina Lussier Dey.
“Well, this sweet elderly woman turned around and gave me a right hook punch in my jaw. I was totally stunned! She was so small.Then she got in her car and burned rubber.”
The assault took place last week after Lussier Dey parked at the former Penny Pincher store on 56 Avenue in Langley City. She noticed a dog in a hot car that looked in distress.
“I waited a few minutes wondering how to handle this. I went into the store and asked the clerk to announce on speaker that someone had left their dog in the car and that it was in distress.
“By the time the announcement was made almost 10 minutes had gone by,” she said. “I went outside and waited another five minutes and was going to call SPCA or police.”
That’s when a woman who looked to be in her late 80s came out of the store and started walking to the car with the dog inside.
Lussier said she wasn’t rude to the woman, but the dog owner sure was to her.
“She was so fast and I was so stunned about my sore jaw I didn’t get all of her plate number. She left a mark on my face.”
Lussier Dey decided not to take it to the police because she said there were no witnesses to the assault and she has very little description of the woman and her vehicle, just that is was a grey sedan.
But she recognizes that it is an assault no matter how old the perpetrator is.
It’s been a learning experience for her, albeit painful one.
“People should be careful about approaching anyone about this issue,” she notes. “The best thing to do is call RCMP or [LAPS]. You never know when a stranger will go violent on you.”
Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) has been receiving dozens of calls about dogs being left in hot vehicles. LAPS often asks the RCMP to attend the distress calls with them because people can get emotional and at times violent when it comes to conflicts with animal owners.
Another heat wave is coming this weekend. LAPS urges pet owners to leave their animals at home instead of taking them along in the car.