Woman fined for 911 call about Great Dane
Rose Lakey, the Missouri woman who called 911 when her Great Dane collapsed on Easter Sunday, paid a $100 fine this week for what authorities said was a misuse of the emergency number.
Lakey, of O’Fallon, referred to her dog Oreo as her “daughter” on the phone, leading emergency workers to assume they were rushing to save a human.
One paramedic, upon entering the Lakey home, threw her hands up into the air and said, “It’s just a dog,” Lakey said. Other, more soft-hearted paramedics helped Lakey and her husband Randy load the 140-pound dog into their car. Oreo died at the animal hospital.
The next day, O’Fallon police appeared at the Lakeys’ door with a notice for an ordinance violation.
Lakey said that in her conversation with dispatchers she said her dog collapsed, then later used the word “daughter.”
She pleaded not guilty during a court appearance a few weeks ago, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. But at a hearing this week — facing the prospect of hiring a lawyer and paying a $1,000 fine if she lost the case — she agreed to pay the $100 municipal fine.
(Photo: Oreo, in a parade; St. Louis Post-Dispatch file photo)
Posted by jwoestendiek June 7th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: 911, animals, call, collapsed, court, death, died, dog, dogs, emergency, fine, great dane, health, law enforcement, missouri, ofallon, oreo, paid, paramedics, pets, police, randy lakey, rose lakey, veterinary
Comments
Comment from Marge
Time June 9, 2012 at 8:16 pm
I live in MO and after this I would never think to move to Ofallon MO. The city should be ashamed of themselves.
Comment from Shirley Driggars, Trail Paws Market
Time June 7, 2012 at 1:05 pm
I would have done the same thing!