“Look!” Aday yelled.

 

I glanced up from whatever I was doing just in time to see a large dog, a boxer, bolt into the street about 20 yards in front of us. The car in front of us was also about 20 yards in front of us. Unfortunately, a car and a dog can’t occupy the same space at the same time. There was a loud thud and the dog was propelled into the air about 10 feet, hit the ground, and then skidded and bumped another 50 feet along the pavement.

 

The angle the car and the dog met worsened the whole scene. The car’s front end hit the dog’s head and neck while going around 50 mph turning the dog into a spinning mess of a head and limbs. For a moment, I didn’t think the body was going to come to a stand still, but after what seemed like an eternity, the body slammed against the curb distorting it even more with a loud crack and a shriek.

 

The shriek, however, did not originate from the collision with the curb. The dog’s owner had come out of her house just in time to witness the whole catastrophe. Her face was contorted with a mix of shock and horror. Her cries bested any horror movie. She sat their clutching the misshapen body as her tears sprung forth in a deluge of sadness.

 

The odd thing about death is that it can cause the electrical impulses to go haywire and the body twitches as if it still has life left in it. This was the case with the dog. As she sat their holding its twitching body, clutched in the grip of despair, time seemed to stand still. Although the whole event probably only lasted 15 seconds.

 

Pretty depressing way to start off the week.

 

The car that hit the dog slowed for a second and then continued on its path. They didn’t stop to help or apologize. In reality it wasn’t his fault. The dog should have been on a leash or in a fenced-in back yard. But should the driver have stopped to help? I really don’t know if I would have or not. I like to think I would, but what does it help. The dog was obviously gone and stopping could have caused a bigger scene or problems.

 

So I ask you, what is the proper procedure? Do you stop and risk causing a scene or do you pretend nothing happened and keep going?