Gee, If Only This Had Happened at WalMart Where There Is Lotsa Guns and Ammo
So, Daniel Pirtle, 45, decided to go to WalMart to do some shopping in Anchorage, Alaska.
Daniel is a double amputee, which I feel real bad about, so he has a service dog. Only problem was that his service dog was running wild around the store.
So, along comes WalMart employee Jason Mahi, 33, who asked Pirtle “to place the animal under control.”
That, for some reason really hacked off Pirtle so he did what any grown man does when WalMart employees make unreasonable requests.
His request sparked an argument, during which Pirtle pull out a weapon and shoot Mahi in the stomach, witnesses said.
Gosh almighty. That there might be what you call an over-response. Thanks goodness, Mahi survived and was taken to the hospital, but not before Pirtle tried to escape in his electric vehicle. Now I’m betting that his odds of outrunning the police in an electric wheelchair or, hell, even a Prius were about the same as Rick Perry being elected President.
I wonder if Pirtle bought his gun and ammo at WalMart, which would move this story from better-than-average to outstanding.
I am also wondering if Mahi has one of those illusive WalMart employee health insurance plans. That’s the story, Darlin’.
Thanks to Rick for the heads up.
If only WalMart guy Mahi had been packin’ then this wouldn’t have happened. Or if all the other WalMart customers were carrying they could have drawn a bead and taken Pritle out. Or maybe shot out one of his bionic legs so he would have fallen and he woulda missed. Or … well, you know … if everyone is armed with assualt weapons then nothing bad ever happens. Just ask the NRA!
1I’m sorry, a dog is only allowed in stores/restaurants/etc. if it is a service animal, wearing its vest, and providing its service. If it is running around the store unrestrained, it is not providing its service. I think Service Dogs for America or whatever group placed the animal with him should remove it and place it in a safer environment where it is being used correctly.
A service animal does you no good if it is not WITH YOU.
That said, I have an acquaintance who has a dazzling scarlet macaw as her service animal. Notifies her of oncoming seizures and helps her with panic attacks. When in restaurants, he is in a Lucite cart that is fully enclosed except for large airholes. Otherwise, he’s attached on or near her by jesses.
2I second SusanF’s remarks about service animals.
We had a case the other day in a (ritzier than mine) suburb outside of DC where a drunk teenage boy was dropped off by his buddies at 2 AM, tried to sneak back into the house, and by mistake got into the house two doors down. The homeowner, after calling the cops, shot and killed him. “Tragic accident.” No, another case of dead person who wouldn’t be dead if somebody hadn’t had a gun in his hand.
3I doubt WalMart employees can pack heat. There would be no surviving management.
4I’m thinkin that this is a “companion” animal, not a “service” animal. Some companion animals are CONSIDERED by their fond persons to be service animals, but a dog that calms his owner and helps him with his PTSD is not the equivalent of a dog that provides sensory input to a person who has suffered a deficiency of some sort. Neither are they clad or restrained/connected in the same way.
Opinions?
5@Aggieland liz: Why wouldn’t a “companion” animal not need to be restrained in a public place? Your dog needs to be on a leash at all times outside the home in DC. Some people just have no sense at all.
6“illusive” — I like that word. If it’s real, that’s cool, if not, it’s a new portmanteau of “ill” and “elusive” and maybe “illusory”.
7Apparently this guy had TWO guns on him. Also, he only just recently lost his legs to uncontrolled diabetes complications. Apparently he was having “issues” with all this. Excuse his behavior? Certainly not! And I know many people with companion and service dogs, and there’s protocol and yes, even leashes, involved. I live in Alaska. Its bad enough I always get asked about Sarah Palin now as opposed to, say, the northern lights or how cold it really is. Nut jobs like this continue to focus the attention on just how many nut jobs we have up here. We used to say the cold keeps the riff raff down, but apparently, not true.
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