Another dog tale captures the hearts of Tennesseans By SHEILA BURKE Staff Writer For the second time this year, people are getting all fired up about a dog in Tennessee. This time it's Bishop, a year-old pit bull whose rescue led to charges against owner Jarrod Martin. Earlier this year, animal lovers around the world followed the story of Patton, shot by a Cookeville police officer during a highway traffic stop. Yesterday, callers and e-mailers deluged news outlets with opinions agreeing with or criticizing Martin's citations at a Nashville fire scene. Several callers to The Tennessean said they were willing to put up their own money for Martin's legal defense. Martin ran into a burning building to rescue his dog and was later handcuffed and cited with misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. But why is it that these two stories involving dogs have garnered so much attention among readers when the newspaper is filled with stories of death and destruction every day? Many people have animals of their own and think they'd do the same thing as Martin, said Robert Watts, a veterinarian at Nashville Pet Emergency Clinic. ''I guess it's so easy to relate to that,'' Watts said. ''You have a dog in there that's so helpless. The vast majority of people think, 'I'd do the same thing.' '' Sometimes people injured with their pets in fires or accidents will seek medical treatment for the animals first, Watts said. ''I've seen people come in here with injuries, and I wish they had gone to the emergency clinic themselves,'' he said. Martin's story generated more response from readers than the death of 4-year-old Luis Cisneros, who was killed and dumped in a west Nashville park in February. However, one Nashville expert in mental health said it was impossible to compare the responses to the two stories. No one can do anything to change the outcome in the boy's death, said Oakley Ray, a professor emeritus of psychology, psychiatry and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. But in the case of the dog, Ray said, people believe they can put pressure on the police to try to influence the outcome of Martin's legal battles. In both dog cases, many people saw the dogs on film. A videotape of Martin climbing up his second-floor balcony and smashing in a window to rescue the dog has received wide media attention. The Tennessean got calls from people in several other states, including Washington. Readers drew parallels between the incident Wednesday and a January traffic stop in which the Cookeville officer's shooting to death a family dog. Some, including Nashvillian Thom Roberts, did not appreciate the bad publicity. ''For the second time this year, there is a story in the national media regarding Tennessee, a dog owner and the police,'' Roberts wrote to The Tennessean. ''Friends have e-mailed me from out of state expressing surprise that this dog was not shot, too. Obviously, that is an exaggeration, in this instance, but it is embarrassing and hard to defend.'' Metro police and Nashville fire officials said Martin had risked the lives of firefighters when he ran into the apartment. Fire officials said it was too hot to go into the building and that they would have rescued the dog when they knocked down the flames. I understand why they arrested this guy, but come on, it is his own dog, I think they could overlook that.
Just another news story that makes the police look like keystone cops. If the dog was his bestfriend he had that right to risk his life. Whats that saying on the front of the power dancers outfits sometimes...."Animals have rights to"
The dog would've gone in to get him, this man was showing the same respect for his dog. This is total B.S.
Tell me about it. I am still trying to figure out how this guy jeopardized the firefighters' lives. All it would say is that his breaking in gave the fire a chance of spreading or something like that. Big deal...the fire has a good chance of spreading as it is already.
Manny, The argument was that breaking the window could have caused a backdraft. Still ridiculous. Basically the cops told him not to do it and he did it anyway. Life and death matters are nothing next to disobeying an order from a cop.
manny.. . since i live in nashville and all most the year.. when i saw this story and that p*rn thing I was thinking doesnt nashville have other things to be spending time worrying about.. like their horrible pot holes! .. ah back to tx in 11 days
Its pretty sad when someone is jailed for saving a life. If my pets were about to be burned to death I would make some sort of effort to save them. Even if I was arrested I would feel much better than if just stood there and let them burn. Watching the video I saw a bunch of firefighters standing around with their hands in their pockets. If he was in such danger they should have at least ran over and stopped him before he broke the glass, right?
Sometimes some cops are just f-ing idiots. Most cops are resonable adults, but sometimes you have to wonder about some of them.
I saw the news and heard the same argument that Batman did. I don't know. If his move endangered fire fighters I think he needs to do some penance. Those facts were not clearly laid out in the news story I saw... only that he defied orders. If the orders weer empty and he knew that... good for him and his dog! Anybody know the full story. I think backdrafts can be very deadly.
