Another inexplicable case of animal cruelty, this time by a Phoenix cop who left his canine partner in a hot car all day! Sgt. Tom Lovejoy, of the Chandler police, reportedly left Bandit, his partner of three years, in the car for 10 hours, when the outside temperature was over 100 degrees (it’s Arizona, for chrissakes!), while he took a nap inside his house and went out to dinner with his wife. Of course, the dog died, probably within the first hour or two. A lot of the commentary about this event consists of indignant reactions to the slap on the wrist Lovejoy received (he was charged with only a misdemeanor of animal cruelty). And rightly so. A police dog is not just a valuable piece of equipment — he is an officer, and presumably one that is so dedicated, he would lay down his life for his partner. I just never would have imagined it would be at the hands of his partner!
There doesn’t seem to be enough information out there to know what really happened. Did he do it intentionally? Was he so unhappy with the dog or his performance on duty that he decided to execute him a la Michael Vick, with the exception of trying to make it look like an accident? If that is true, than Lovejoy is just pure evil. But if he simply forgot about the dog, than he is something much worse — insane maybe? I don’t even know what to call it, but he is certainly not fit to be an police officer, entrusted with ensuring the welfare of citizens. It is a sad statement about our society when we lock up innocent dogs in the pound, euthanizing them when no one comes to bail them out, yet rabid animals like Lovejoy are allowed to roam the streets, unmuzzled.
This Lovejoy guy is obviously too stupid & lazy to be trusted to “Serve & Protect” so why is he still a cop? I don’t want an imbecile carrying a gun! I just know that poor dogs last thoughts were, “I bet that stupid bastard fell asleep on the couch in there”…
You people are freaking nutjobs. You don’t know facts, you know nothing of what you speak of. Sit back and judge people, slander them when you are so ignorant to the situation. Your words will come back and bit you in the ass really hard some day. Wish I was there to see it. This man is a great guy who unintentionally made a human tragic error. Shame on you. You will be judged someday for your words and actions by the only one that matters. Enjoy eternity in hell!
Okay, so Lovejoy is probably not a rabid animal. He probably just forgot about the dog after a long and tiring night shift. I’ve heard in the news of at least two different elderly people doing the same thing with sleeping grandchildren in the car. However, I stand by my contention that the guy is not fit to be a police officer. After his nap and before going out to dinner, didn’t he wonder where the dog was, didn’t he think it was time to feed the dog? When I’m home, my dog is wherever I am all the time, and when she’s not, I check up on her. Police officers are supposed to be extremely observant. If the guy is so tired, that he forgets about his dog all day, I would be worried about having him assigned to serve and protect me.