Being fired for being a hero isn’t rare in the history of HRSBT. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that the hero in this story was fired as well!
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A waitress in Millville, New Jersey was fired after trying to help a dog that was trapped in a hot car. However, her heroic attempts weren’t what landed her in the unemployment line.
If you’ve never been to New Jersey in August, then you’ve never dealt with the heat and humidity! Temperatures can get very high, and the dew point makes the air oppressive. On August 11, the temperature at the Longhorn Steakhouse® where the waitress worked was 84 degrees Fahrenheit, with a heat index that made the air feel like it was actually 90 degrees. The waitress overheard customers calling the police about an animal being trapped in the car.
The waitress happened to be serving the owners of the dog and proclaimed that leaving the dog in the car was wrong, and that they were lucky to be leaving before the cops came. The owners said the dog was special needs, and that they left the air conditioner on for it. However, the waitress claimed, “… (the dog) was panting pretty heavily. It looked like he was having an anxiety attack.”
The owners of the dog were not happy with the waitress’s input and they quickly voiced their outrage to management at the restaurant, resulting in the waitress’s termination. The restaurant claims the waitress violated its policy on giving customers a good dining experience. The waitress responded by saying that she probably did make the couple feel uneasy, but that she’s not sorry for what she said. She also added, “I don’t even like dogs that much.”
Most companies and organizations have policies in place to protect their workers and customers from potential dangers, but should there be policies in place to protect pets too? This isn’t the first instance where an animal has been locked in a car, and it certainly won’t be the last. Kudos to the waitress for trying to protect something that had no means of protecting itself!
Sounds like the employer seriously overreacted.
I think the customers should have checked on their pet to make sure all was ok, instead of getting angry with the waitress. In most states they would have gone to jail. Kudos to the waitress, for having a voice for the pooch