Welcome to the Arizona Sparrows

     

Where it's all just ones and zeros.

"I'm just saying" reflects some of my personal thoughts - nothing more.

How sad is it that people forget?

The story you are about to read is true - No names have been changed.

On June 28, 2010, Dan Harkins (AKA Dirt Bag) left a defenseless dog in his BMW for almost 4 hours and people have forgotten about it.  For those of you that don't know who Dan Harkins is, I'm sure a quick Google will help.

At the same time, he parked in a handicap zone (OMG?) and people have forgotten about it.

(Link to the story is below - BTW - He has tried to remove this story from the internet for years)

https://www.foxnews.com/us/harkins-theatres-owner-cited-by-scottsdale-police-for-animal-neglect

He said on the news that he had “Never done this before”. I think we all know that is just not true. He even posted a video apology on You Tube for a few days but then pulled it.

Personally, I did not find his apology to be genuine or even worthy of my attention. If you watch the video, I think it’s obvious that the apology had only one objective... to reduce the financial meltdown that would surely resulted from the "incident". 

He even had the balls to say "I'm very sorry about what happened" (no admission of wrong-doing). He also said "I was in no violation of any law what-so-ever" (and that's not true either).
I’m guessing his marketing team and his Lawyers are hoping people will forget.

Someone once said, “The true measurement of a man's character is what he does when nobody is looking”. I’m willing to bet that if there had been a group of regular people standing around in the parking lot to witness the actions on that fateful afternoon, Mr. Harkins would have never left his dog in the car nor would he have parked in a handicap space. That statement sums up what I think about the whole mess.

The day the event made the news, I sent an e-mail through the Harkins web site spelling out my disgust. Dan Harkins called me that day and wanted to talk and apologize. I called the number he left only to be sent to the voice mailbox of his “executive assistant”. Later that day I received a voice message from Dan himself. 

The funny thing is - He thought I was someone else (At the time, there was a radio personality here in Phoenix with a very similar name to mine) and he wanted to talk. He thought I was the person on the radio and was just trying to cover his a@@ with the media. How sad is that? When I left a message informing him that I was NOT the person he thought I was, they never called back. I’m sure they expected me to forget about the whole thing.
I’m not famous, I’m not rich and I’m not important. I am just someone that used to go to Harkins movie theaters... but never will again... and I will not forget.
  • I will not forget. I refuse to step foot in a Harkins theater ever again.
  • I will not help support a person that thinks it is OK to do those things.
  • I have asked my friends to not support Harkins in any way.
Thanks for listening...

Here’s what Mr. Harkins (AKA Dirt Bag) SHOULD have done for his dog:
 

  • Never left the dog in the car.  It is unbelievable that someone would leave their dog in a car while watching a movie. Especially considering that it was 102 degrees out. A car acts like a convection oven, quickly getting much hotter than the outside temperature. The photo above is from my car; that's what it told me the temperature was when I got in one 112 degree afternoon.  So it's no surprise that a dog left in a car can die in as little as 30 minutes.
  • Left the dog somewhere suitable for a dog.  Mr. Harkins could have taken the dog into his office in the theatre, left Tanga at home or taken her to a doggie day-care or boarding facility. There are plenty of safe places to leave a dog.  A car is not one of them.
  • Made water constantly available. A dog should never be without water, especially in temperatures like Tanga experienced. The first step to preventing heat stroke is a cool environment; the second step is hydration.  A no, leaving the water in the car wouldn't be a 'safe' solution, as the water would get as hot as the car, thus when your dog drinks from it it has no cooling effect.
  • Reduced the dog’s temperature with cool water. In previous posts about keeping a dog cool, we’ve shared that dogs can only cool themselves by panting or sweating through the pads of their feet. You can help to speed up the process by spraying the dog with cool (not cold) water to bring its temperature down.  Cold water can actually slow down the cooling process.
  • Known the signs of heat stroke. Signs include excessive panting, weakness, dizziness, collapsing, very red gums and/or a body temperature of 105 degrees or higher. If a dog demonstrates these signs, start cooling the dog off and get to the vet. Now.


Every dog owner needs to know these points.  Big dogs, dogs with short snouts (like Mastiffs) and dogs from cold climates (like Huskies) are especially susceptible to heat stroke.

Please take care of your big dogs and share, email, or tweet this article with other dog owners. It may save a life.

Questions, Comments?

E-mail me!

Web site by Stan Sparrow

Copyright © - - All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.