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Sadness...
17 years ago
General
Hello everyone,
I'm not looking for sympathy, but I just need to talk. I was driving down a busy street today and cars were all stopped for a red light. Traffic began moving when I saw a big orange tabby in the center median attempting to make a dash across the road when a small SUV in the fast lane clipped the animal in the head. The poor cat's life was extinguished immediately, almost as if someone had just turned off a switch.. Then to top it all off, some oblivious older woman in a Suburban finished off the cat if there was anything left to finsh and in my rear view mirror, I saw her just keep on yakking away on her cell phone. But what makes me want to cry the most is that I am as guilty as the small SUV that hit the cat as I too, never even slowed down or stopped to take the cat off the road. I just watched horrified and kept going. I have confirmed that I am a total hypocrite of one trying to 'help' animals, but then not stopping because I am embarrassed to confront others or to make "a stand". I feel for the protection of dolphins and elephants, or will feed and "fix" strays, but swat flies, use mousetraps and eat beef. I don't know why the tabby decided that it needed to cross the road during rush hour, but it's life is gone, in a blink of an eye and I wasn't willing to make a stand. Thanks for listening to me blather on. My soul appreciates it.
Sincerely,
Neysa
I'm not looking for sympathy, but I just need to talk. I was driving down a busy street today and cars were all stopped for a red light. Traffic began moving when I saw a big orange tabby in the center median attempting to make a dash across the road when a small SUV in the fast lane clipped the animal in the head. The poor cat's life was extinguished immediately, almost as if someone had just turned off a switch.. Then to top it all off, some oblivious older woman in a Suburban finished off the cat if there was anything left to finsh and in my rear view mirror, I saw her just keep on yakking away on her cell phone. But what makes me want to cry the most is that I am as guilty as the small SUV that hit the cat as I too, never even slowed down or stopped to take the cat off the road. I just watched horrified and kept going. I have confirmed that I am a total hypocrite of one trying to 'help' animals, but then not stopping because I am embarrassed to confront others or to make "a stand". I feel for the protection of dolphins and elephants, or will feed and "fix" strays, but swat flies, use mousetraps and eat beef. I don't know why the tabby decided that it needed to cross the road during rush hour, but it's life is gone, in a blink of an eye and I wasn't willing to make a stand. Thanks for listening to me blather on. My soul appreciates it.
Sincerely,
Neysa
It was rush hour.
I was 10 at the time.
I can't ever forget the laughing and the sound of my dog being hit.
Sometimes you are helpless to intervene , no matter how much you mean to or want to.
And as much as it does hurt, it's also not sensible to contemplate putting yourself in harm's way, cause a traffic slowdown, or even a collision for the sake of something you couldn't have helped in the first place...
I once saw a rabbit hopping around in the middle of the freeway as I was driving up the onramp, and...well, thankfully I didn't see the making of a bunny pancake since the cars were moving extremely slowly, but really, there wasn't anything that could be done; didn't stop the irrational corner of my mind from going "you could go out there," though. ;p
Anyway I am rambling. I think the point is unlike the others you witnessed... you cared.
It's haunted me the last few days that, in my shock at seeing him there, I'd not thought of checking his ear for an ID tattoo that cats have these days, and perhaps calling the vet's to identify who this poor tom belonged to. For me, it was the end of a very bad day, and I only hope that he appreciates that I did what I could, and that I wish I could have done more for him...
Now I have to go find and hug my parents' cat, and cuddle her mercilessly, to cheer myself up.
A few years later I spotted another turtle trying to cross the road, not too far from the spot where that other turtle tried in vain to cross. Luckily, this time the road was less busy and I was able to hop out and get it to the swampy side of the road. Do not be fooled by the stereotypes -- these little guys can really book if they want to. And Mr. Turtle was none to appreciative of my efforts, given all the hissing and fussing he made. Still, I was happy that I was able to keep at least one of them from becoming road pizza.
Snapping turtles, on the other hand, are on their own. :)
The moral is that even if you wanted to, you can't save every creature in need. There will be other times that will test your courage, and other opportunities to take "a stand."