A Durango woman who took it upon herself to free a puppy from a parked truck last week in Durango said she had the best of intentions; unfortunately, she accidentally broke a window and may have broken the law.
Shelby Perovich, 25, has been cited with criminal trespass for freeing Meeko, a 6-week-old American bully from a blue 1996 Chevy pickup.
“My intentions were good at heart,” she said. “Obviously, I had no idea how long the dog had been in the car.”
The incident occurred shortly after 4:30 p.m. June 7 in the parking lot at Mercy Regional Medical Center. Durango resident Victoria Fristensky, a health benefit adviser at Mercy, heard the dog whining and reported it to hospital security, she said.
She then called 911 and Animal Protection.
While she waited for police and Animal Protection, Perovich walked out of the hospital and also heard the puppy crying.
The dog was under the driver’s seat, possibly seeking shade, she said. Perovich said she reached through a rear pop-out window, but the latch broke and the window came loose from its hinges.
“I couldn’t hold the window – it’s heavy – so it dropped, and it shattered,” she said. “Obviously, that’s not what I wanted to do. Things just turned bad.”
Kia Willden, owner of the truck, said she was inside the hospital for only 6 minutes before Fristensky called 911 and Perovich broke the window.
“She didn’t just try to unlock the window,” Willden said. “She busted it out. The hinges are gone. She ripped it out.”
Chevy no longer manufactures the window, and a replacement must be custom-made at a cost of $1,800, according to one estimate, she said. The plastic hinges were broken off the frame of the truck.
Willden’s husband was at the hospital recovering from back surgery, and he didn’t need the added stress, she said. “I am going to sue them because it is not OK,” Willden said.
Willden was notified of the situation by a security guard as she was exiting the hospital. She and Perovich didn’t talk to one another in the hospital parking lot. But after the incident, Willden’s husband, Ronnie, said he offered to split the cost of replacing the window with Perovich and her husband, but they backed out of the deal.
“I honestly believe she was trying to take the dog, and when she busted the window out, she knew she wasn’t going to get away with it,” Willden said.
Perovich said that is “ridiculous,” saying she already has a dog, cat and toddler, and she doesn’t need a puppy.
“It’s not like I was trying to rob them,” she said. Perovich said she usually takes her dog everywhere, but during the summer, she leaves him at home.
“We love him to death, but it’s too hot,” she said.
Perovich said she realizes there’s a difference between human life and a dog’s life, but it’s not right to leave any living creature in a hot car.
“It’s kind of frustrating to me,” she said. “Had it been an infant in that car, nobody would have questioned what I’d done, no matter how long it would have been.”
Animal Protection officers took the dog to a veterinarian who determined the dog was in good health.
Next time, Perovich said she will wait for police or Animal Protection rather than take matters into her own hands.
“Had I known the protocol, I would have abided by that,” she said.
shane@durangoherald.com
Tips for pets in cars
Animal Protection officers encourage residents to leave multiple windows cracked open to create airflow and park in the shade if possible if they have pets onboard.
If someone sees a pet left inside a hot car, they should:
Record the car’s make, model and license plate number.
If there is a business nearby, notify an on-duty manager or security guard and ask them to make an announcement to find the car’s owner. Many people will quickly return to their vehicle once they are alerted to the situation.
If the owner can’t be found, call the nonemergency number of the local police or Animal Protection and wait by the car for them to arrive.
Humane Society of the United States
