Motorists on the Pennsylvania Turnpike might have received quite the surprise last night if they passed a blue Chevy S10 pickup, specifically one that had a dog crate in the bed. While it’s not rare to see someone traveling with a cage (hopefully) securely strapped in the back of a truck, this specific truck and crate turned heads because it contained not only a dog but a 10-year old child.
Twenty-nine year old Abbey Carlson and her husband were driving home from his mother’s house in Beaver County, PA, when other motorists called the police over the fact that they saw a caged child in the back of a small pickup truck. Carlson and 30-year old Thomas Fishinger, who is the young girl’s stepfather, were promptly pulled over and arrested for endangering the welfare of a child.
But, of course, it’s all just a huge misunderstanding.
“She wanted to be with her dog. She plays with him in [the cage] all the time. They were strapped in,” Carlson told the station. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. We weren’t going fast. We weren’t,” Carlson said.
The couple said the dog was crying so Fishinger told the station he allowed the girl to get in the cage because he felt sorry for the animal.
“I don’t want the dog to suffer,” he said. “That’s like animal cruelty to me, you know, the dog crying like that.” (Via the HuffPo)
Now, I’m no parent, so I never like being that guy who writes about how parents should do this or that, but as a dog owner, I wouldn’t even put my dog in a dog crate in the back of a truck. It’s also worth pointing out that Carlson and Fishinger were driving from Beaver County to Millvale, which is approximately a 45-minute drive, depending on traffic and whether or not they take I-376 or the 65, and they were on the freaking Turnpike.
Again, far be it for me to judge, but I’d be better off watching Toddlers & Tiaras and Dance Moms for parenting advice than ever asking Carol and Jason Seaver here.
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