Eastern Waste Management, PUT THE LIDS DOWN

This is a petition to get Eastern Waste Management to change their policies so that employees have to put the lids back down on garbage boxes after collecting the bags.

Here is an (unanswered) Email I sent to the company on Friday, September 22, 2017.

To whom it may concern:

I am writing this letter to you to ask what your policy is when it comes to employees collecting garbage, and whether or not they are supposed to put down the lid on the garbage box after collecting garbage bags. If they are required to put down the lids, the rules need to be enforced or the employees need to be better trained. If they are not required to put down the lids, I ask that you change this rule right away and I’ll tell you why.

Let me first off start by telling you about my cat Max. Some people might think that a cat is just a pet and those people are wrong. Cats and dogs are to be treated as family members and I’m sure most people agree. I’m not biased in saying this, but Max was the best cat anyone ever knew. When I saw his picture on the SPCA website it was love at first sight and I knew I had to have him. He had the nicest olive green eyes, fur like a cloud, tail like a feather duster and the best personality you could ask for. He was so friendly and would cuddle into and purr on everyone he met. I never once heard him growl, hiss, or saw him draw his claws out (in fact I thought he was declawed until I got him a scratching post) in the short seven months that I had the pleasure of calling him mine. When he was still alive I had so many people tell me that he was the best cat they had ever met, even people who never liked cats or were afraid of him instantly fell in love with my baby.

This is where it gets bad.

On the evening of September 19, 2017, Max had a terrible freak accident. He went outside earlier in the day, and when he didn’t return for supper I knew something was wrong. People told me he was fine and he’d be back soon but I was his mom and I knew he would never miss a chance to eat. When you have a cat that goes outdoors, you always fear something bad happening. Caught by a coyote, stuck in a rabbit slip, run down by a vehicle…. What happened to Max was something that would never even cross your mind.

I got in my car and went to look for him, thinking he might have wandered over to my parents’ house where we both had to spend some time living this summer. My parents weren’t home and there was no sign of Max. I asked my nan if she saw him that day and she said no. I drove back towards my house, checking the sides of the road with no sign of him. I pulled into my driveway and parked the car. Little did I know that I had passed Max twice, crying out in pain, without even noticing. When I got out of the car I called for him and heard him in the distance. I went towards the sound of him and saw him on the garbage box. I called for him and he didn’t move, which was when I knew something was wrong because he always ran towards me when he saw me. As I approached the garbage box I realized his meows weren’t just for attention or to say hello, but he was crying in pain. I got there and tried to lift him up, thinking maybe he did get struck by a vehicle and was damaged that way. But when I tried to lift him up it was like a weight was holding him down. There was no way I was getting him out. I used the flashlight on my phone and realized that he was trapped where the lid attaches to the box. There were puffs of his fur everywhere and a puddle of blood. I tried again to get him out but he wouldn’t budge. He was trying to pull himself out and howling in pain, a sound that I’ll never get out of my head. I thought about lifting up the lid to free him but I knew that would squat him more. There was nothing I could do to help. I looked at my phone and it was on 2% so I ran up the driveway to my house, plugged my phone in, and called my mom who was at my aunts to visit on her birthday. At this point I was hysterical, trying to talk to my aunt who couldn’t understand what I was saying but knew something bad was happening. I told her to tell mom to come over ASAP and hung up the phone. I tried to find the number to the emergency vet line but between my hands shaking so much and the tears falling on the phone screen I could not for the life of me find the right number. I posted a status asking for someone to tell me the number then grabbed my phone and charger and ran out the door again. Immediately my phone started going off with people asking what was going on, which animal was hurt, etc. along with the number I needed. I drove my car back down to the end of the driveway to shine the lights on the garbage box and the saddest sight I had ever seen. I went back to Max and tried to sooth him while he was still trying to get himself out. My mom was about a three minute drive away but it felt like I waited for an hour for her to get there. When she got out of the car I was screaming and crying because Max was in obvious excruciating pain wanting my help to get out and I was helpless. Mom ran up and I tried to explain to her what was going on when it still didn’t even make sense to me how it could have happened. We realized that the cover must have been left up, and he tried to jump on the garbage box, slamming the cover down and crushing himself in the process. She told me to hold him while she tried to pull him out but I knew that wasn’t possible. She told me to go to my Aunts house and get my uncle to come and help us. I drove the three minute drive and it felt like the world was going in slow motion. Seconds felt like hours and I just couldn’t get there fast enough. Finally I got there, ran inside trying again to explain what had happened and sounding like a crazy person, and my uncle followed me out the door and got in his truck to follow me over. He arrived at my place about a minute after me, and he had my cousin and a crow bar with him. I ran back to my house to get some ice and a blanket and called the vet after hours line. I barely remember this phone call as it was all a blur but I remember telling her my cats legs were crushed and I was leaving in a minute, and I would be there in an hour. By the time I hung up the phone and went outside, my mom, uncle, and cousin were on the patio along with Max who was still screaming in pain. They tried to convince me he just needed a few stitches and he’d be fine but I knew it was more serious than that. We left for the vet and I had to drive because my mom didn’t have her contacts in. She wrapped Max in a blanket and held him on the way to the vet and tried to comfort him but he was howling the whole way. The hour long drive to the vet was the most heartbreaking and gut wrenching thing I’ve ever experienced. Again it felt like I just could not drive fast enough, and was moving in slow motion.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we arrived at the vet clinic. The vet brought us in the exam room and weighed him, and then he was put on the floor to see if he could walk at all. I don’t know if you’ve ever watched Family Guy, but Max was dragging his back half like the dog on the show. Initially the vet was worried that he might have a broken pelvis, and we were basically told to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. She sedated him and brought him for X-rays which showed that one foot was completely shattered, with broken bones and torn ligaments. The other leg looked fine. She also noticed that there were three broken vertebrae. She said she would have to send off the X-rays in the morning to a specialist because she had no idea what to do with the foot. Best case scenario was amputation. But, the fact that he was dragging both legs when only one was crushed, was a cause for worry. This most likely indicated that it was due to the spinal damage. And we all know a broken back is usually irreversible damage, not only in animals but in humans too. She told me she would keep him in overnight until she could send away the X-rays, so I said goodbye to him and we headed home again. It was after midnight at this point and we were exhausted, but I still got no sleep that night.

The next morning the vet called me again, saying that she again had him out to try to walk but he was dragging himself. She said the prognosis wasn’t looking good and asked for consent to sedate him again. I told her to do what she had to do, and that I was on the way. I met up with my boyfriend and we went to the vet together where we went in to see Max. The vet then told me that she could send away the X-rays, but I would spend thousands and thousands of dollars and he still might never recover, or ever have a good quality of life again. She said if it was her own cat, she would put him to sleep. So, in the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, I agreed that this was the best option. If I thought that he could ever recover and go back to his normal self, I would have agreed in a heartbeat. But that was not the case. So we said our goodbyes and had one last cuddle with him. No more pain and suffering (for him anyway).

I know this letter was long and maybe boring and very detailed, but I had to get my point across. This freak accident was a totally preventable tragedy that never should have happened.

I’m not trying to place blame on anyone, because it would never occur in your brain that something like this would happen. And I know people can say to me that if I kept him indoors this never would have happened. The thing is, Max was four years old when I adopted him, and was an outdoor cat his whole life. I tried to keep him inside but he loved being outdoors, so much that he would claw at window screens trying to get out, or escape between the feet of anyone who opened the door. I don’t need anyone trying to make me feel bad for this because the guilt is something I have to life with for the rest of my life.

Please, change your rules or enforce them better so that nobody has to go through the emotional and financial pain that I went through. Not to mention the pain that Max felt while he was trapped with a crushed foot, broken bones, torn ligament, spinal damage, and bleeding out. They even found wood behind his teeth from trying to chew his way out.

I’m hoping this letter reaches someone who can make sure that the garbage collectors take the extra two seconds to put the lid back down. Since this happened I have been talking to a few people who told me that letters have been written to the company already, asking that the covers be put back down, but nothing has changed. If someone listened the first time my Max would still be alive today.

The next time, it could be someone’s child to get trapped or crushed. I’m sure you don’t want that on your conscience.
----------------------------
Update: Monday, September 25, 2017: Today was garbage day for us. I tracked down the garbage truck and compactor to talk to the employees and talk to them. I asked if there was any specific reason for keeping the lids up after collection and was told "it's just a habit". One worker was also very rude and said they'd be there all day if they had to go back and put the lids back down after taking the bags to the truck. I told him it takes literally two seconds to put the lid back down after taking the bags out. Apparently this is just too much of an inconvenience in their day. Know what else was an inconvenience? My cat crushed between the garbage box and the lid because of their LAZINESS. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, but after finding out that someone had already told them about Max's incident, and seeing the employees continue to leave the lids up, be rude and snappy to me, and offer no apology whatsoever, I have no choice but to go further with this. And I will continue to do so until something changes.

Eastern Waste Management has a blatant disrespect for public safety and community concerns. The unanswered emails and phone calls from myself and others show that they do NOT care (unless you need to pay your bill, I can guarantee they wouldn't be long picking up the phone then).

If you're still reading all this, thank you for your time. I know it was long, but it was necessary. Thanks in advance for your signatures, shares, and support. Facebook group: Lids Down For Max