Dog

Death. Nothing quite as instantly, reliably saddening as death. Or a dead something or someone. Even dead cities are sad. I was particularly struck by the site of the dog lying on the side of the road. Dead. I thought “who would hit a dog and just leave it here?!”

I thought about what I could do. Nothing really. I thought about the dogs I’ve known in my life and how difficult this would be for the people that loved this dog.

About three feet from the body I slowed down and thought I would at least pay my respects for whatever that was worth. “I’m sorry for you.. poor doggy.” When the head snapped up and our eyes locked, I nearly fell off my bike. In shock, slow motion, body flips up, hind legs cock back, front legs spring forward, mouth open, teeth white wide hungry, growl turns to bark turns to grrrrrrrooooowwwwwllll, back legs spring lurching forward with all the hunger and anger of tornado thats “just gettin’ warmed up.”

I downshifted. This could be a long day. Andiamo.