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Texas Couple Claims Dog Died During Interstate 35 Traffic Stop
A man and his girlfriend claim their pet poodle died after they were stopped for speeding on Interstate 35 as they rushed to get the dog to an emergency veterinary clinic and say the officer who stopped them told them, “Chill out, it’s just a dog.”
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156 Comments 
(August 14, 2008)--San Marcos police are investigating an officer who stopped a car on Interstate 35 as a man and his girlfriend rushed their pet poodle to an emergency veterinary clinic.
The couple claims the dog died while they were kept waiting for a speeding ticket.
Michael Gonzalez was allegedly driving 95 miles per hour when he and girlfriend Krystal Hernandez were stopped early Aug. 5 as they drove south on Interstate 35 toward the New Braunfels clinic.
Missy, their teacup poodle, died as the pair said they waited 20 minutes for Officer Paul Stephens to issue a ticket.
"This was not our finest hour,” said San Marcos Police Chief Howard Williams.
Williams said the department began an investigation after Gonzalez filed a complaint about the incident.
Gonzalez and Hernandez said they pleaded with Stephens to allow them to continue on and later turn themselves in to be ticketed.
They also said they offered for Gonzalez to stay behind while Hernandez drove with Missy to New Braunfels.
Hernandez said Stephens responded: "Chill out, it's just a dog, you can buy another one."
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Latest Comments
Sorry, but I don't understand why this couple thought it okay to put the lives of every motorist on that highway in danger just to save a pet. I understand our pets are our family, but if they had caused an accident due to their excess speed there would have been more deaths than just the dog.
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First, I just want to see what the procedure is for a police officer in that situation. The law is supreme and if it states that a speeding motorist must receive a ticket even if there is clear and present danger to an animal, then he is justified in doing so. In that case, the question would arise why it took 20 minutes to issue the ticket and a vet. would have to determine whether arriving at the clinic 20 minutes earlier would have saved the dog's life. Also, it is very possible that the couple is exagerating the 20 minutes and lying about the officer's comment. I wonder what the procedure is when a car is speeding to the hospital because a woman is in labor. In any case, I think speeding would often cause a more serious incident.
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Am in total shock and disbelief that this poor couple not only watched their beloved pet pass away a terrible death but to be ridiculed for their love of Missy by a member of the police force who should be there to serve and protect as a caring member of the community. Surely the Texas Police Service could restore the community's faith by at least offering an apology to this couple & providing support/donations to the local animal rescue service in the area Hernando and Krystal live in to show they aren't as heartless as this one officer has shown the Department to be. Here in Australia this would not happen - only because yes u would be pulled over but there would not be any waving of weapons or treating a member of the public with ridicule & cynicism while being faced with a crying grown man with an equally distressed woman in the vehicle clutching a pet dog. The officer needs a reality check and get over his delusional power trip.
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