This morning while driving to the train station, I witnessed something (on my birthday, no less) that I’d thankfully never seen before.
About 300 feet in front of me, I saw an animal suddenly dart across the street (a two-lane road). Unfortunately for the animal, a car was moving about 25-30 mph (normal speed for the area) in the opposite direction from me. The animal had absolutely no chance of crossing the street safely. The car hit the animal, the animal then seemed to get “tangled up” in the front driver’s side wheel, and finally ended up in the middle of the lane. I was horrified. I’ve seen plenty of road kill in my life, but always “after the fact”.
By this point I was very close to the accident site. There was nobody behind me so I slowed down and what I saw confirmed my worst fears, judging by the animal’s gait. As you’ve no doubt guessed, it was a cat.
I pulled into a nearby lot and ran out to check on the cat. Since I was only about a tenth of a mile away from my house, I was hoping to be able to scoop the cat up, put him or her on the back seat, drive back home, get a carrier, and rush the cat to the emergency vet.
Sadly, that wasn’t necessary. The cat was dead. The eyes were glassy and completely unresponsive to my hand motions, and there was no movement, no twitching, and no vocalization. There was quite a bit of blood in the stomach/pelvic area as well. I thought I was going to be sick.
What angers me (though doesn’t surprise me, given my low opinion of human nature) is that the driver did not even stop afterwards. Nor did he slow down. He was driving a small sedan and, using my cats’ weights as a rough guide, this cat must have weighed at least 12 pounds. The driver simply had to know that he hit something. It all happened to fast that I cannot fault the driver for not swerving to avoid the cat (which, as much as I love animals, I don’t recommend), or for not slamming on the brakes. But to not even break stride afterwards? To carry on as though nothing of significance happened?
There was no collar, so I have no idea whether this was someone’s pet. But regardless, a life was lost in gruesome fashion all the same.
An experience like this is probably commonplace for a number of you, particularly those of you who live in the suburbs. But it’s brand new to me, and I hope that I never see anything like it again. The only thing that would have made me feel worse is if I were the driver.
Rest in peace, little one. I’m sorry that there was nothing I could do to help you.
About 300 feet in front of me, I saw an animal suddenly dart across the street (a two-lane road). Unfortunately for the animal, a car was moving about 25-30 mph (normal speed for the area) in the opposite direction from me. The animal had absolutely no chance of crossing the street safely. The car hit the animal, the animal then seemed to get “tangled up” in the front driver’s side wheel, and finally ended up in the middle of the lane. I was horrified. I’ve seen plenty of road kill in my life, but always “after the fact”.
By this point I was very close to the accident site. There was nobody behind me so I slowed down and what I saw confirmed my worst fears, judging by the animal’s gait. As you’ve no doubt guessed, it was a cat.
I pulled into a nearby lot and ran out to check on the cat. Since I was only about a tenth of a mile away from my house, I was hoping to be able to scoop the cat up, put him or her on the back seat, drive back home, get a carrier, and rush the cat to the emergency vet.
Sadly, that wasn’t necessary. The cat was dead. The eyes were glassy and completely unresponsive to my hand motions, and there was no movement, no twitching, and no vocalization. There was quite a bit of blood in the stomach/pelvic area as well. I thought I was going to be sick.
What angers me (though doesn’t surprise me, given my low opinion of human nature) is that the driver did not even stop afterwards. Nor did he slow down. He was driving a small sedan and, using my cats’ weights as a rough guide, this cat must have weighed at least 12 pounds. The driver simply had to know that he hit something. It all happened to fast that I cannot fault the driver for not swerving to avoid the cat (which, as much as I love animals, I don’t recommend), or for not slamming on the brakes. But to not even break stride afterwards? To carry on as though nothing of significance happened?
There was no collar, so I have no idea whether this was someone’s pet. But regardless, a life was lost in gruesome fashion all the same.
An experience like this is probably commonplace for a number of you, particularly those of you who live in the suburbs. But it’s brand new to me, and I hope that I never see anything like it again. The only thing that would have made me feel worse is if I were the driver.
Rest in peace, little one. I’m sorry that there was nothing I could do to help you.