When you get hit by a van, you don't come back

I think I killed a dog today. It's ironic that the closure to my last blog was 'peace dawgs'. It wasn't first-degree murder or anything but as I was driving home a man with two dogs was standing by the road. One of the dogs looked like it was coming out on the street but then it stopped so I kept proceeding a little slower. Apparently the man had his own dog on a leash but not the other one because it wasn't his. In fact it was an escaped dog.

Just as I was going by it suddenly ran out in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel but smack! It felt like it hit the bumper and made quite nasty sound. I was like "oh, shit!" I don't know, it might have gone under the front tire! In a flash it was gone! I pulled over and got out. It had ran away and the guardian was after it. I followed him and looked with him over the field where it went. I was shocked and they were shocked and him and another man were talking. I asked about the dog and they didn't realize who I was until I said "I tried to stop but..." "Oh, you're the one who hit the dog." "Yeah." The truth sank into the air. In the distance we saw a black figure dart in and out of the long grass. "There it is!" said the one man.

I ran around looking for it and whistling everywhere but I couldn't figure out where it went. It just disappeared. The man explained that the owner was sleeping and he was just taking the dog out to play with his but said two cars before mine almost hit the dog. He said the dog yelped and may have gone under the wheel, blood was coming from his mouth (even though there wasn't any on the road or my tire) so maybe I ran over its head. I don't know. The man was fairly loopy but kept telling me it wasn't my fault and he was just glad I had no damage done. He was pretty sure about one thing: the dog wouldn't go chasing rabbits with a broken jaw or at least it wouldn't be able to eat them if it caught them. Sometimes strange ideas stand out when your mind is in shock. He was about to cry. He said that maybe he could call the humane society and they would come and look with their helicopters. Does the humane society own helicopters?

It was a confusing and strange situation but then he saw someone he knew who with disabilities across the street. He called to him: "Hey! Come here! I need your help!" The kid maybe thought he was joking or something because he just smiled warmly, waved back and started walking away. The man ran after him screaming: "No wait! Come back I need your help" but then another van rolled up and the kid got in and was driven away promptly. I didn't know what to do really except tell him to go home and call the humane society. I got his number and told him I'd call if I saw the dog again. We stood there and waited there idly for closure but ultimately I just had to go home. After confirming more to himself than to tell me, he said several times that "it's all we can do." He took his huskie on its way. I think the thing that really sucked is that he knew he had to go tell the owner that his dog just got hit. As I was driving I thought I saw it again in a field so I pulled in but it was just a really ugly wild cat. No luck.

I felt bad but I didn't feel guilty because it was strange how it darted out at me just as I was coming up. Cars are dangerous. Maybe it was suicidal. Anyways, it was a pretty tough dog so I hope it's still out there running around. If not, hopefully it is chasing tires in a better place.