Physical description of caregiver: Nanny was approximately 45 years old, Caucasian with a English(?) accent, dark blonde hair, 5 ft. 9 inches tall with a stocky but not fat build. She was driving a cream colored Chrysler PT Cruiser with the CA license plate 5SXS391.Physical description of involved child/children: Approx 2 year old, adorable boy with med. length brown hair with highlights. The little boy has beautiful, big brown eyes.
Address or venue of observed incident: At Boehm Child Connection in Palm Desert, CA. Your son is in the toddler class (18 mos - 2 1/2 years)
Date and time of incident: Friday, 6/13/08 at 11:50 AM
Detailed description of what you witnessed: It was 105 degrees and a black cocker spaniel was left in a PT Cruiser outside Boehm in direct sun with windows down about 2-3 inches. The dog was panting heavily and looked distressed. When I entered the pre-school I looked for the driver of the car to let them know their dog needed help. I encountered the woman described above waiting outside the toddler classroom. I asked her if she left her doggy in the car in a nice tone and that it looked hot. She told me she would only be 2 minutes and that it's legal because the window was cracked. I told her that it's not legal and she got very agitated and aggressive, raising her voice and repeatedly asking me if "I was done yet". Since the woman seemed to be unstable, I left her with no further comment and went into the toddler classroom to pick up my child. I told the Teachers in the classroom that the woman outside was insane. Teacher Sara in the 3-4 year old classroom witnessed this exchange. Teacher Sara commented on how rude the lady was to me. Before I picked up my 4 year old, I peaked outside to check on the dog and thankfully the lady had taken the dog out of the car and was standing outside of Boehm with him. I felt relieved. Some people don't realize how quickly the car can heat up and that dogs don't have a good way of cooling off. FACT: On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a shaded car is 90 degrees, while the inside of a car parked in the sun can reach 160 degrees in minutes. This dog was left in full sun on a 105-degree day in the desert! Here's the kicker, as I was leaving the preschool, holding my toddler and walking with my 4 year old, she made a comment in a threatening tone "that I picked the wrong person to mess with and I better not mess with her (or else she would...)". The part in parentheses was not said was that was her tone and body language. I couldn't believe this woman was threatening me in a church, at a preschool, while I had my babies with me. I told her that she was insane and kept on walking right past her. Who was this crazy woman?! I got my kids buckled into the car seat and saw her come out with that cute little boy and I knew for sure that she was NOT the mother and was probably the nanny. I wrote down her license plate because her behavior was so off and she made more aggressive comments to me about taking down her information. I drove off and we were stopped at Portola & Country Club in our cars, when I looked over she was gesturing and trying to say something to me. I refused to engage with her, since she was clearly not in control of her emotions and drove off when the light turned green. My fear is that if she is this hostile & threatening to an adult in a public sanctuary... What in the world is she doing in the privacy of a home with no one around, with a little boy who can not fully express himself because he's too young to talk. I'm worried about that little guy. If my nanny was acting this way, I would absolutely want to know about it so that I could get rid of her or at the very least set up some video surveillance at my home to see what was going on there while I was out. I reported the incident to the management at Boehm and they have promised to call the little boy's parents to let them know what happened.
Description of vehicle that may aid in identifying involved caregiver: cream colored Chrysler PT Cruiser with the CA license plate 5SXS391
Talk to Mary Helen at Boehm for more information.
35 comments:
Sweet Jesus, what a nutter. And this is why most people don't say anything. They have heard of people like you being attacked for saying something. Who is going to speak up for that poor dog? I would assume it is the family's dog.
This nanny is clearly off her nut.
I pray that the parents see this and that we get an update on this horrible woman.
Someone who behaves like that to another adult in the presence of small children should not be left alone with small children.
Great details OP. I think we'll find her.
That is very scary. But I'm not entirely sure it's legal to display the license plate numbers on the internet with a full description of the person driving the car--you could be endangering the little boy. If you reported the incident to the management who will report it to the boy's parents, was there really a reason to put the license plate number up in the first place?
I'm really not sure why there is even a discussion about "identifying" the nanny... won't the parents of the boy (who are being notified by the management) know who their nanny is?
kaitlyn from gentle farm,
yes it is perfectly legal!
Like, duh.
http://www.platewire.com/
No. Never count on the management doing anything! I had a similiar situation occur with a nanny at my child's ballet class where the nanny berated my child in front of everyone and told her, 'and that is why you have no friend'. My child was sobbing. The nanny said, "oh, so now you're crying, boo-hoo". Besides being furious that she spoke to my child like this, I had to wonder how she treated the little girl in her care. The offending thing my daughter had said? Called her a meanie because the nanny's charge was wincing and moaning while the nanny tightened her bun. The nanny grabbed her charge and left as soon as I rounded the corner. I was too shocked and confused by what I saw. At first, I had to think the nanny was joking. Then I saw my daughter was seriously upset. I spoke to the woman who runs the ballet class and asked for the name of her employers so I could contact them. She would not provide that for me but told me she would pass along news of the incident. Four weeks later, my husband takes my daugter to ballet class and I suppose my daughter pointed out the offending nanny. My husband engaged her in a dialogue and mentioned to her how upset she had made my daughter. The nanny said my daughter was telling stories and nothing like that happened. My hubsand asked her, "who do you work for". She replied, "who do you work for".
And so it went. My husband ended the conversation so it did not turn high ended in front of the children. Another nanny, the following week told me who the nanny worked for and what her name was. I called up the mother at 8 PM on a Thursday night and introduced myself. I explained what I had witnessed and my concern with regard to the nanny's sensibility and maturity. The mother had not heard a single word about this. She told me that she was very troubled over what I had shared with her. She then told me her own daughter had made a couple of comments and that she really needed to tune in to what was going on.
Long story short- never give up trying to get the information about a bad sitter or nanny to her employers! There are enough sitter and nanny horror stories in the news to know that at some point, someone had to see a clue that this sitter wasn't "quite right".
There could be a chance that Boehm doesn't bother telling the parents. They said they promised but probably won't bother saying anything.
And if I see a dog left alone in a car on a hot day I just call the police. It happened to my sister, near where she resides. A Mercedes was parked with a dog inside on a hot day. Not even a window opened. She called 911 and the police came. The owner happened to come out around the same time as the police arrived. I think I am not sure but he was given a citation. My sister said the police were so nice and thanked her for calling.
And the kicker to this story the person who was given the citation was the owner of a pet store on the same block!
Can someone please explain how giving out the license plate number could endanger the little boy? That really makes no sense what so ever. You see license plates everyday. If you mean someone will now know there is a child in that car they would know to go sit in front of that preschool anyway since the place was named. I don't know, I just don't get the license plate issue and just think some of you are too paranoid.
Ditto on the license plate.
It's right there. On your car. Out in the open. For the world to see.
Great post, OP. I'm hopeful the Parents will hear about this one.
Wow I would contact the police, what she said would constitute a threat.
Are you friends with any of the other parents in the class that might know the parents of this little boy? maybe you can contact them that way.
How old is your child? Old enough to talk? When I worked in the 2 year old room I had some hard to handle kids. Instead of calling them just by their first names we would call them by their first and last names. Maybe your child can tell you the name of the child in question.
the nanny sounds like a nut. i'd follow up with the preschool and make sure they know you want the parents informed about the nanny's threats toward you on their property. if you need to talk to the director to get results, do that.
that poor doggy. i'd call the police over that. i can't believe that in this day and age there are people who don't comprehend how quickly a car in the sun heats up.
I don't know how hot it was, but I do hate people who are obnoxious about people leaving dogs in their cars.
My mother has received countless notes, and even a police call. Her dog always has the window cracked AND has two travel bowls with food and water in the back. People still tell her she's a horrible person.
If only they knew it was the dog who is horrible. So horrible that if she left him at home he would destroy her house out of spite.
She did recently adopt this beast out... but only after he tripped, knocking her unconscious in the middle of the road.
Just had to get that off my chest!
animal hater,
your mother is a lying bitch.
Yeah, call the police, call the army.
I would love for her to turn out a mom or grandma. How many abusive, unstable and highly irresposible parents have I seen?
More than nannies, for sure.
Because usually they are trained and highly qualified, as opposing to all manicured mommies who can't take proper care of their kids but always complaing about their caregivers.
This page is annoying me soo much.
How exactly is my mother a liar?
I was there the day the police were called, and the officer looked at the window, looked at the dishes in the back, and called the woman who complained crazy. Not to her face, of course. She drove off looking smug as soon as she saw us.
It wasn't hard to see that this fat weinerdog, spoiled in his winter booties because he "doesn't like snow on his feet" was very much loved.
And mind you, I live in Canada and this was winter. It was no 106 degree desert.
This nanny probably isn't the best choice to take care of the family's pooch, let alone their child.
Lady with the mom with the crazy dog, If oyu had said up forn tit was winter when this incident occurred I doubt anybody would have jumped on you. But leaving oyur dog in the car, even with a water bowl, in the summer heat is always a bad thing to do....even if the dog will tear up your sofa while you are out. Make a nice spot for the dog to stay in either in the garage, the yard, or an indoor crate and both your dog and your furniture will be fine when you return home.
OP,
I believe that a bodily threat, with the ability to carry it out, constitutes a legal battery? I may be wrong...but I think this is the case. Since she made two threats at the preschool and then made attempt to engage you again in traffic, you might just call the police and make a report. This would definitely alert her (and hopefully her employers) to the seriousness of acting that way, and make her think twice before she acts like a rabid animal in public. Since she sounds like she is unstable, I would think you might have cause to justifiably be concerned that she might act on her threats at some point.
I made a lady mad in traffic once and she kept on following me, honking, and gesturing for me to pull over so we could have a fight! What a nut! I have no doubt she would have actually tried to have a fight had I pulled over for her. Some people are just that crazy. People have been shot over parking spots!
MY sister in law took exception to the apparent lack of sportsmanship a child on an opposing team showed at one of her son's soccer games. After the game she encountered him in the parking lot (his parents were nearby) and gave him a piece of her mind. In the process, she opted to poke him in the chest with her finger (this now moves the assault up to battery because she touched him.) A little while later the police showed up at her house (the family had recorded her license plate no.) to tell her the family had filed a police report and were pressing charges. It scared the crud out of her and it took a long time for her to rid herself of the incident. I'll bet she never pokes another kid! (And she lives in a BIG city...so don't automatically say that the police will ignore you. This might be, as one poster said above, one of those cases where people are later scratching their heads and wondering why nobody ever saw anything unusual.)
At least she didn't leave the kid in the car!That's 3 points for her am i right or am i right.
12:12 Your sister deserved to have the police called on her. I would have pressed charges too. She had no right to "poke" someone elses child.
To the woman with the mother who left the dog in the car, all your mom had to do was put the dog in a crate.would you leave a child in a car on a cold winter day or a hot summer day and say "oh its okay because I left food and water"? Winter in Canada... too cold for a kid in a car. Dogs are like children in the sense that the are totally dependent on us. Someone should lock your sorry butt in a car on a hot day with dog food and water and see how long you like it. Pull your head out of your ass and show some compassion.
I am a nanny and quite frankly a few of you scare the crap out of me because you have no business taking care of kids. Where are your hearts? Do you really believe ther garbage you post on here or do you lack a real life so you post for shock value?
To OP... You should absolutely get the police involved.
"Sweet Jesus, what a nutter."
HA! Ro, you're post makes me giggle every time I see it. My boyfriends is British and says "nutter" all the time.
Anyway..
What an awkward situation. Good for you OP for standing your ground and not letting the "nutter" intimidate you. I personally would have been shaking in my heels. I HATE confrontation.
I meant "your" not "you're" sorry about that grammatical error in my previous post above.
The minute that woman threatened you , OP you should have called the police. The day care center should have stepped up to the plate on this one. You were on their property, if this woman assaults you they are liable because you asked them how to contact the employer and also told them of her behavior and they have done nothing to protect you or your child from her . I would march my self right down to the police station and tell them this story. Give them the information and they will contact this nanny and the employer.
That Center is not going to do anything about this. They do not want to be involved. If something ever happens to this child because of this woman they will find out just how much trouble they can be in because this woman did this on their property and they never notified the parents of her behavior.
Ummm...jenn..it was my sister in law, not my sister...and I totally agree. I think she deserved to be charged, and I would have called the police on her too. She had no business putting her hands on anybody...especially somebody else's child. And, from what she described about the kid that prompted her outburst, although I can't remember exactly what he had done, I remember thinking it was not that big of a deal. He wasn't being overly aggressive...maybe just cheering too loudly or something stupid like that. She's just one of "those" people who is always overly protective of her sons and the entire environment that surrounds them. She had some complaint to make up at her kids' schools on a nearly weekly basis (which she proudly retold to us week after week)...and last I heard from her, her husband was even personally calling their son't teachers when they went off to COLLEGE! Nuts. Both of them.
"Mom" ... It sounds like she is a horror to be around. I can't believe they are calling thei sons teachers now that they are in college! That is insane!
even though i think the caretaker was a weirdo i think anyone who would go up to someone and tell them what to do is equally weird.
What? And let the dog suffer and possibly die?
How stupid to leave a dog in the car? In Phoenix we have a zero tolerance policy for this. Sheriff Joe would arrest on site. When I see that I call 911. I can't believe someone could be that stupid. She is probably the type to leave the child in the car too.
People who abuse animals in anyway (and this is one way) should be called out, reported, or whatever will help the situation. I've often pulled up beside people who have dogs running around or even tied up in the bed of their pick up trucks and gotten their attention so that I could admonish them for putting their pet in danger. It's maddening to see the number of clueless, cruel or indifferent animal owners in our society.
xoxoxoxo
ok....i can understand calling the police...but 911? i think that's a little extreme to call on someone leaving a dog in a car. i have never called the police on a dog left in the car. i go into the store and have them paged :D and then i tell them i will call the police if they don't do something.
don't call 911!!!!!!!!! that is for saving HUMAN lives. why tie up a line if someone really needs a paramedic?
Call the police because next time oyu might not be there to page the idiot. Having been cited by th epolice may prevent them from doing it again.
Ro, I love the phrase "Sweet Jesus!" you use it often and I think I will start to. You just can't hear it enough!
As for the post, the women is cleary unstable. I hope they find her-- can you call the police regarding it?
I'm wondering if the parents were ever contacted by the school or the original poster. OP are you able to give an update?
A message from the Original Poster (almost 2 years later): The management at Boehm handled this situation promptly and professionally. They contacted the parents of the child (and puppy dog) to discuss. Boehm is a great pre-school with attentive staff and leadership.
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