Tennessee Woman In Trouble For Granting Two Children The Wonderful Joy Of Riding In Kennels In The Trunk

NY Times- The video showed a woman unlatching one of two pet kennels that were stowed in the trunk of a car. A pair of hot pink sneakers poked through the small opening. Then a young girl came into view, inching out of the kennel, stepping onto the street and walking unsteadily to the sidewalk.

The video, recorded by a bystander in Memphis on Saturday, was widely shared online, leading to the arrest of the woman, Leimome J. Cheeks, 62, on charges of child endangerment, police and jail records show. She had put two children, ages 8 and 7, inside the kennels, the police said.

Everything looks bad out of context. All we saw was a five-second clip of a woman letting her grandchildren out of dog cages in the trunk. What’s wrong with that? Show me a video of her putting the kids in the trunk, and I’ll bite. For all we know, these children love dogs more than anything in the world. They have dog-themed birthday parties, hundreds of stuffed animal dogs, and they do the open-mouth tongue kissing with dogs that you see from adults with inadequate sex lives. It’s entirely possible that these children begged her to let them ride in the cages. Remember Anna Salander? She like to jump like a horse. Some kids like to travel like a dog. Who are we to call foul?

According to the affidavit, the children told officers that there had been no room inside the car, so Ms. Cheeks “told them to get inside the kennel.”

Alright, so that first theory is toast. But at least Ms. Cheeks wasn’t a total monster. Turns out she was simply trying to fit everyone into the car, and there wasn’t any space in the middle seats. There was a method to her madness! It’s not like she wanted to punish the kids or make them feel like dogs, even though they probably enjoy that as we established in the first paragraph. Honestly, did that little girl look unhappy or uncomfortable when she stepped out of the crate? Not for a wink. Just like a pup after a long ride, she was thrilled to stretch her legs.

It all seems pretty above-board to me. But I like enclosed spaces. They make me feel safe for some reason. All my best nights of sleep have occurred in tunnels, caves, and coffins.

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