Poor Little Doggie

Coming home from the grocery store I came upon a small brown and white dog lying in the middle of the street dead.  I didn't see who hit the dog but I did see a car parked in someone's driveway.  Two people got out of the car.  One was a  lady, she got out of the drivers side, and the other was a teenage boy.  Were these the people who hit the dog or the people who lived at the house just coming home?  I don't know.  As I slowed down to go around the poor animal, I saw the lady walk out to the dog and lift the dog's front leg and begin to pull him to the side of the road.  The expression on the lady's face looked sad to me.  I myself felt sad as I watched her.

I remember the time I killed someone's pet.  It happened about 25 years ago when I was on my way to work.  A little white dog came out of the woods and ran in front of my car.  Thump.  I remember the sound.  I pulled my car over as soon as I could and started to walk back to where the dog was lying about 25 feet away.  Another car also stopped.  It stopped closer to the little dog.  As I was walking towards the dog, the young man from the other car motioned for me to stop, saying the dog was dead and there was nothing I could do for it.  I guess he wanted to spare me the gruesome sight.  I started crying as I walked back to my car.  I cried all the way to work, I felt so sad at what had just happened.  I thought about the people who owned that dog.  Did they love him?  Did he have children to play with?  How would the children feel when they learned their doggie was gone?  I felt so much guilt at the pain they would feel over the loss of their pet, all I could do was cry for them.

It's a sad story but I'm optimistic.  I'm reminded of the movie All Dogs Go To Heaven.  I hope that's true.