Today was a horrible day. This day made my heart hurt and I just can't shake it. I hit a dog today while driving. It died. I feel horrible. I've been blue all day. The worst part? I had the kids with me. I was driving down the road, and out of no where this dog runs out onto the road. I swerved to try and miss it, but it was impossible. I immediately made a u-turn, another car had already stopped. The dog was laying on the road, shivering in pain and struggling to breath. I can't explain how horrible I felt watching this dog suffer this way. It was a pit bull, and if you know me, you know I am deathly afraid of large dogs but I couldn't let me my fear keep me from helping this poor dog.
When I had gotten out of the car, I told Little Leonard he was to stay in his car seat. For once, he listened to me. He didn't even remove his seat belt as I sat on the side of the road with this dog. The lady who had stopped sent her son to the nearby houses to find the dog's owner since it had no identifying tags on its collar, he was unable to find anyone. So as the lady grabbed the collar to move this dog off the road, to rot away she commented, 'Well, she's dead now, there's nothing you can do for her' I realized I would not leave this dog this way.
I went to my car, grabbed a blanket and drove her to my veterinarian's office. I told Little Leonard he was not to look in the back, and he never did. We had a long discussion about why I was taking this animal to Dr. Hill. I explained Jesus taught us to love all his creatures, and by taking this dog, treating it with kindness and compassion, I was following his ways. He could tell I was distraught so he offered up his pearls of wisdom, 'Don't worry Mom, don't be sad, she's in heaven now.' I love that little guy. We've talked about heaven before, and he knows that's where his Abuelo is but this was different.
All day I have thought about this dog, and I know it's silly to let it affect me this way but I feel sad for the people who are missing their dog right now. I have questioned my actions all day. Should I have left her on the road in case they went looking for her? Did I over react? How did watching this happen and knowing there was a dead animal in the back of our car affect my child?
I know there was nothing I could do and I know this happens all the time but I still mourn for this poor dog and its family.
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2 comments:
Your son will never see this experience as a negative one. He might remember it until he is an adult. It's real life and there are a lot of good lessons to be learned. I am really sorry you had to go through this. I think you did the best you could under the circumstances. Most people would have kept driving, to avoid conflict. I would recommend that you take a few hours to volunteer yourself as a sacrifice, to a cause. I am not saying this will make you feel better, but at least you can say that you took this experience and did something good for someone else in honor of this dog. Leonard is right, the dog is in heaven. I am sending you a big hug and hope your heart recovers soon.
Your son totally "gets it" even at his young age! At first I was going to be a smarty pants by saying, "Welcome to my wordl.", I feel just as bad as you do with a big ol' lump in my throat. (sigh) You're better than me for sure. It gives you the weebie jeebies & here it is over 20, 30 years for the 2 I hit & I still remember every little thing except for the last one when I was losing my vision. (another sigh) Sorry you had to go thru that.
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