It was 10 p.m. on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009.. My sister came into the living room as I was on my laptop about to show my brother a YouTube video and reply to a comment on my FaceBook page. “Olivia!” she said. “Come look! There’s a doggie outside.” I got up and followed her into the kitchen to look out the window that had a view of the street. It was lit up from street lights, vehicle lights, the lights from the bus stop, house lights from the other side of the railroad tracks and flashing lights from the planes flying far off in the distance.
When we both got to the window, my sister pointed out side in the direction of the street. “There”, she said. “It came out of nowhere..” I scanned the street for what she was talking about and I finally found it. It was trotting on the sidewalk. Before I could say anything on the matter, I watched as it began walking towards the street and my hear sank. It was going to try and cross!
My first instinct was to grab my coat and slippers and run out there to try and help it away safely. What stopped me was what my sister might think of me. Going out there for a stray dog would’ve seemed silly. But I knew what was going to happen if I didn’t do anything and in the next moment, it unfortunately came true.
The dog crossed into the street as the cars went zooming by… not even bothering to slow down. I could do nothing but watch as each car nearly hit the poor thing. It wasn’t long before my fears came true. A car collided with the dog’s head [on the left side], leaving him disoriented and causing him to go straight into another car.
My sister was on the phone with her boyfriend at the time and I could here him yelling on the phone. For he was down there in his car, watching this happen as well. As soon as my sister confirmed it was hit, I immediately ran into my room, grabbed my coat, slippers, keys and ran to the door. It may have been too late, but I just had to see for myself…
It was cold outside, but I couldn’t feel any of it due to the mixture of emotions I had coursing through me. I was a block away from the site when I realized that the dog was still breathing. I quickly into the middle of the street. I checked its vitals and told my sis’ bf that it was still alive and to call the ambulance. He did and said they were on their way.
For the next 20 minutes, I steered cars, truck and buses out of the way so that the dog wouldn’t be road-kill by the time the ambulance got their. But the fact that it was taking so long was making me angry. After a while, all I could do was basically watch helplessly as the dog died. I named him Scottie. Yes, I named the stray dog Scottie. The moment I saw the young Border Collie, I was attached. He was healthy for a stray.
When Scottie was no longer breathing, I grew cold. (..Er, temperature-wise.) All I wanted to do at that point was get his body out of the street. With my sis’ bf’s help, I did just that. A cop car cruised along and we let him know what had happened. They said that they’d contact the local ASPCA to come and have him picked up.
I couldn’t stay out there any longer. I went upstairs… and cried. Now, you may think it’s ridiculous of me to have done so, but I truly don’t care. I felt horrible. I felt like I should’ve just gone with my first instinct and run out there as soon as I saw it on the sidewalk. If I’d have been a couple of minutes early, it would still be alive today.
The reason why it effected me so much is because I felt the same way with my son. If I’d have woken up just a little earlier… I hate drivers today. They zoom around as if their destination is going to disappear if they don’t make it on time or whatever. Just like they hit Scottie, they could do the same thing to a small child. It’s horrible!
Everyone, please be safe. Whether you’re behind the wheel or not, be safe. Let’s make 2010 a better year. Happy Holidays everyone. R.I.P. Scottie. I’ll miss you, even if nobody else does.
~ BoKo