No one is going to be comfortable when confronted about their own irresponsibility or thoughtless behaviors. When a couple in New Jersey was confronted by waitress Cristal Perez, this August, they retaliated against her instead of owning up to their actions. You'll never believe what the couple had done!
The girl was serving them at a Longhorn Steakhouse in Millville. She had worked there for more than a year, and she noticed their little dog was getting panicky in the car. That day it was hot outside. Records show it was anywhere from 84-90 degrees, which means in a closed car it could get up to 120 degrees or higher in just minutes.
Perez doesn’t particularly like dogs, but says she was just looking out for the canine's best interest. Other customers were also highly concerned about this that they had already called the police.
There are two major concerns with how Perez was treated by trying to help this innocent creature. First, the couple complained about her to the restaurant instead of accepting they had done something wrong. They should have just realized they made a mistake and thanked her for pointing it out. Chances are, they were embarrassed for being irresponsible pet owners.
The second major problem with how Perez was treated was that the restaurant staff put the customers above her, and even though she did the right thing, she was fired. The manager who fired her claims the air conditioning was on in the car, but allegedly the couple was dining for at least an hour.
Could they really have left their car running that whole time?
Perez was immediately suspended for four days at the scene of the ‘crime’ and then told she no longer had a job when she returned because she didn’t follow policy about the guest dining experience. Maybe Longhorn Steakhouse was worried about a bad yelp review, but did they really do the right thing?
RELATED: Reducing Risk: How to Keep Your Dog Safe in the Car
Animals left in cars die very often. They don’t have a cell phone they can use to call 911, and their fur makes them even hotter. They can’t open a water bottle or break a window to save themselves. They just suffer.
Dogs left in hot cars have become a hot button issue, and people are now looking out for this in parking lots. Many states have even adopted laws protecting animals left in vehicles. The temperatures inside the cars can reach up to 120 degrees on a 78 degree day, so when temperatures are in the high 80’s or 90’s, it could be lethal for any dog within just a few minutes.
If you see a dog or a person in a hot car, call someone right away. Even four police dogs died last year from this same scenario and it’s something that watchful citizens can help mitigate. The fact that this waitress tried to do something good and was retaliated against shows that people are more concerned about their business than about doing the right thing.
This story has raced through the internet because people are highly alarmed at what happened to Perez. The good news is, people are recognizing when something is off and they want to share it to stop it from happening again. While we can’t be sure if the AC was in fact on in that car, the girl shouldn’t have been punished for trying to do the right thing. She was brave and that’s what really counts.
