Wednesday, June 18, 2003

On June 1 we attended church and chatted afterward in the church parking lot with friends for about 30 minutes. Our friends got in their truck and were several minutes ahead of us on the same highway. As we drove down the road plotted with its well-appointed homes, my husband was recounting his Marine training days. I said "Watch!" But it was too late.

We ran over a golden retriever. I ran up a long driveway (the woman of the house saw me coming) she came out and asked, "What's wrong?"

I asked her if she had a golden retriever. No, but their next-door neighbors did. She went back in her house to call them. I ran up the neighbor's driveway: No one at home.

The woman and her husband got the dog on a blanket. We put the dog in the back of our truck and were on our way to the emergency animal clinic. The woman said she would call ahead to let them know we were coming. Understandably the emergency animal clinic will not provide emergency medical care without payment first. Although we were prepared to pay, the neighbor who called ahead had given the clinic a credit card number!

The golden didn't make it. A preventable waste of a good dog. I saw the dog's face just before we hit him : he was just being a dog, running with abandon and enjoying the wonderful morning.

Dogs are not road savvy. Your pet may spot another animal or anything on the other side of the road that raises its curiosity, and before you know it, your pet is in full speed pursuit toward its objective. Even if your pet never goes near the road, there's always that chance that it will, and that chance should not be taken.

If this letter makes just one dog owner think twice about letting the family pet run loose and acting on that thought, if this letter makes someone do something about the family pet always getting loose or running away (such as walking one's dog or fixing the fence), then this letter has done its job.

Name withheld by request

Fayetteville