I was at a mechanics shop on a busy street, when I saw a little dog, no bigger than about 10 lbs, trying to cross the road. The shop is situated just a half a block from a busy intersection, with the road directly in front being a 3 lane going both directions to the right and left. The little guy was coming from the bus station a few yards down the sidewalk, while 5 of the 6 people at the bus stop just sat and watched. The person that brought the unfolding events to mine and the mechanics attention, was yelling "NO" at the top of his lungs, so we turned around and looked. A car was slamming on their brakes in the lane closest to us, but the car in the middle lane could not possibly see the wee puppy and slammed right into him. He was pitched at least 30-40 feet, he rolled then the car passed over him, and the car never even slowed down. I know I screamed pretty loud, I thought for sure the puppy was dead, or close to dead. It really was like I was watching this unfolding in slow motion, and the feeling of being helpless was totally and completely devastating.
The man at the bus stop that yelled, ran out into the street to stop the cars as I got to the puppy, we both saw him lift his head at the same time, and realized he was still alive. I scooped him up in a towel that I grabbed from the shop....I didn't ask, oops!....and ran out of the street to the shop. He was shaking and obviously very scared, but I saw no blood, and he never once made a sound, nor did he try to bite me...I thought he was just in shock. I thought for sure he had horrible internal injuries, so I jumped in the car and ran him to the Humane Society North Texas knowing that if he was severely injured they would at least humanely euthanize him.
When I walked into the lobby I immediately told the desk clerk that he had been hit by a car, and explained that I did NOT have enough money to take him to the vet, but I couldn't just let him lay there. The desk clerk called the vet down, the vet took the puppy and ran off to the back with him. I was spooled up to the point of a panic attack, I thought he was surely going to have to be euthanized. I filled out the paperwork and left feeling very sad.
Fast forward to the next day....we have a puppy that has distemper that the vet suggested euthanasia because of the intensity of the disease. This was a sad day, this would be the second puppy in two days that was going to die, and I was now feeling very, very sad because it is horrible when a life ends. As I was in the lobby talking to the same clerk as the day before, I happened to ask about the puppy. I NEVER expected what she told me next, the little guy didn't have any broken bones, no internal injuries, and just some minor road rash on his hip. If we had not stopped traffic he would have surely been hit again, and most certainly would have died! I felt so guilty because I was actually happy, even though I was there to have a puppy euthanized that was waiting in the car with another volunteer. The clerk even told me that the two off site adoption centers were both very excited to take him, so he could find a home. Apparently he has a wonderful temperament, and only has to wait until his "stray hold" is up to go to the off site adoption center.
On a day that we had to do such a horrendous thing, we got a small glimmer of good news. We will watch him and make sure that he is indeed going up for adoption, and hope that he will now find a good home. It is mind boggling that such a little puppy could survive such an impact!
R.I.P. dear little Sapphire, you fought hard and we will miss you. It is always a sad day when a puppy passes away. Distemper is a horrible disease....she was too young to have been completely vaccinated, but she is a perfect example of why everyone should vaccinate their dog as soon as the vet suggests and make sure NOT to expose unvaccinated puppies to ANY other animals until they are fully vaccinated.
Well, that is enough for today, thank you for reading, and don't forget, "A rescued pet is love recycled, don't shop, adopt until they all have homes".
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