Friday, August 24, 2007

I Feel SO Bad...

I have to make this short so that I can get to work, but I am devastated. I ran over and killed someone's cat this morning on the way to work. I've hit wild animals before, but never an animal that had an emotional connection to a human, and visa versa.

If you're already rolling your eyes, you might as well skip this post, cause I'm only going to continue on this same thought pattern.

I think that if this had happened when I "didn't like cats," I would have felt horrible, but it wouldn't have affected me the same way. After I hit her though, I saw that she had a collar and I absolutely lost it. All I could imagine was someone sitting at home getting ready for work thinking that their cat had gone on their daily stalking adventures, who will never see their cat again. I'm tearing up again just thinking about it. Picturing Lucy out there...

I watched the poor thing go through convulsions before taking her last breath and I'm just glad she wasn't totally alone in the middle of the street. I called the city, but after 30 minutes, I had to just move her off the street myself and get to work. It ripped my heart out to just leave her on the side of the road. Her collar was just a flea collar, but I am hoping she was micro-chipped. I left clear instructions to please pass on my apologies, condolences, and even my phone number if the owner was contacted.

It was very interesting to watch people change as they drove by my car, parked half-way in the middle of the road to keep others from running over her. The area that I was in is known for being the home of some not so nice or law-abiding citizens. However, even those that were carreening around the corner, wondering why there was a sobbing woman in a black Jetta in their way, displayed expressions of sympathy, hurt, or empathy as they continued on their way. I even had a lady in a mini van, with literally 10 passengers, stop and console me, telling me it was allright and that "she was already in heaven". Very kind of her, and completely unneccesary, but appreciated.

If you haven't yet experienced this humbling and heartbreaking experience, I hope you never do. If you have, I hope that you had closure, cause that's all I'm hoping for. I just hope that the family is notified and knows that the "culprit" is incredibly sorry for their loss.

1 comment:

Shannon said...

Awwww, Kristin! I'm so sorry! I hit a baby raccoon a few months back and found myself sobbing through it's little convulsions. It was terrible, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, least of all you. I commend you for your soft heart and caring compassion on both the cat and her family. It really will be ok. :(