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I just watched a dog get killed

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R

RealDeadOne

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Hey GAF.

I was driving on the highway and the car next to me hit a dog, he went flying past my car onto the shoulder.

I pulled off the rroad and went to see if I could do anything, I just stared at him for a moment trying to figure out if he was alive, then he moved his head towards me and made an expression that looked like pain, and then seemed to die.

I really wanted to do something, all I could think was the call 911, but they just gave me the number for animal control, who were closed, and forwarded me to Highway control, who were also closed. I left a message but theres no way anyone is gonna do anything.

I got in the car and called my girlfriend in a panic, and when the image of what just happened played out in my head, the look in the eye of the dog as his helpless body skidded past me, that final moment as all he saw were cars rushing inches away from his face and a possible enemy approaching, I just completely lost it and started crying. She came and picked me up.

It's probably not normal to be this upset but I am a lifelong lover of animals, especially dogs and cats, and seeing that was just as affective to me as if it were a person, except when a person is hit, everyone rushes to the scene, when it's a dog, they'll get to it tomorrow. I'm not making any statement as to whether that's right or wrong, but that's why it hurt me especially.

My girlfriend is giving me her full support but I still feel embarrassed. Is this normal? Am I overreacting and being a baby? Could I have done anything at all?
 
Wow, that was really sad. Suffering is suffering regardless of whether it's an animal or human. Don't be embarassed about you're reaction. I probably would have responded the same way.
 
Holy shit that's horrible, I've almost hit a loose dog before and it was terrifying. I can only imagine what you're feeling. Don't feel bad about how you feel, sounds like you're a good dude.

Know that it's not likely to happen to dogs that are properly cared for. So when you see a loose dog (or cat I guess), call somebody about it, because it's not safe. Also spay and neuter your animals unless you're a professional breeder.
 
It's perfectly normal OP, you shouldn't worry about your struggle is ok. Focus instead on the process of growing out of it.

About two years ago i saw an aunt's dog get run over by a car after he got away from us. He was fine afterwards, he was just the right height to (kinda) safely roll under the car. Only got a few bruises and some sore muscles. But it was definitely one of the most shocking things i've seen, i was in pretty bad condition for a while and could not for the life of me forget the sound of the car hitting him and the immediate shock. I still can't forget it. I would literally break apart if i had gone through what you just described. So don't worry about whether you're normal or not, you feel bad and no one has the right to tell you that your struggle is any less real or important that you feel it is.

Arkos said:
Holy shit that's horrible, I've almost hit a loose dog before and it was terrifying.
Click to expand...

Oh man, this too. I once almost ran over a bunch of dogs who just ran into the street, i had to stop for 15 minutes just to get over the shock.
 
I remember I hit a raccoon once, I thought it was a dog, and I fucking freaked out. It was a horrible feeling.
 
OP...to be completely honest with you, the way I just imagined this scene made me cry. I agree with you. It's so heartless sometimes when people kill animals they have no soul because to them its like, sure someone will pick it up in the morning but don't realise that those animals have families and people who care about them. They don't realise that those families will be just as hurt if they children died - if they found out there pet was killed. It's so disgusting but you shouldn't feel bad OP. At the end of the day, you got out your car to see if he/she was okay and the driver in the other vehicle didn't even care to check. You did good.
 
No one should feel strange about experiencing extra pain at the suffering of a dog - the domesticated dog is something we created. We're responsible for making them as they are and creating the bond between man and canine.
 
...I take pictures of road kill (cats, dogs, squirrels etc). People think it's sick but I actually do it because I find it so incredibly sad.
 
Aiustis said:
...I take pictures of road kill (cats, dogs, squirrels etc). People think it's sick but I actually do it because I find it so incredibly sad.
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image.php
 
I was in a similar situation before OP.

The last house I lived it, was right on the expressway. There was this dog (rottweiler) a few houses down that would always escape. One night, I was in the car with my (ex) gf and we see it going down the block on the expressway. I jump out the car and tried to get it, but he ran. The owner comes out a few seconds later, walking calmly and I tell him his dog is down the block.

Then the dog, trying to avoid the owner, goes onto the expressway. I start my car and tried to slow down traffic. It was about a minute later that the dog was hit. My heart sank.

The worst part of it, the damn dog was still alive and in a great deal of pain. Jaw was broken, blood everywhere. Trying so hard to breathe. I fucking called and called animal shelters, anything, to try and save it. But nobody could do a damn thing. That pissed me off. The damn owner just fucking walked back to his house. I don't know if he was crying or upset, and didn't want to see his dog like that, but in my view, he should have been there.

I still hate driving down that stretch of the expressway.
 
No, you are not overreacting. If i had seen something like that happen i would've broken down as well. You're a very good guy OP for at least trying to get someone to pay attention to the dog, most people wouldn't give a dead animal lying by the road a second thought.
 
Don't be ashamed. I have a strong love for animals, myself. Good on you for pulling over even if nothing could be done to help the poor dog. Maybe you'd feel better if you went to a shelter and adopted a dog or cat? You'd be saving an animal's life which is very noble in my opinion.
 
I'm incredibly desensitized to most things, but I'll never forget seeing a dog get killed by a truck two years ago. It was the most graphic/violent thing I've ever seen with my own eyes, and I can still see it play out in my mind to this day. You didn't overreact, OP, so don't worry about that.
 
Aiustis said:
...I take pictures of road kill (cats, dogs, squirrels etc). People think it's sick but I actually do it because I find it so incredibly sad.
Click to expand...

I live on a relatively un-busy road and I see a disturbing amount of animals on the road. It's sad.

Horrible terrible stuff spoiler alert:
I know a number of people who, at least in the past when we were younger, considered hitting animals on the road a kind of game. Like, "oh shit, there's a squirrel, try to get it!" Yeah it's horrible and I am not friends with these people. But I bet other people are familiar with this.
 
Eh don't feel bad or embarrassed man, I think that will get some kind of reaction like that out of most people. Feel good for actually stopping and looking at the dog, to see if there was anything to do.
 
You shouldn't be embarrassed or feel bad about feeling bad. Perfectly healthy reaction to seeing something like that.

If you felt nothing at all, that would be worrisome.
 
Oh man that would be horrible to witness.

You did not overreact at all I would have done the same thing.

At least the dog did not die alone, it is sick that all the animal control places are always closed. Wazzy and I found a coyote in our work parking lot and we were feeding it to keep it away from people and cars, I phoned spca, they were closed and I got the number for another place which directed me to another number for a coyote crisis center which was also closed, it is such bullshit.

It is so nice to hear you care so much about another living thing, there are many other people that would not have even batted an eye at the incident, which to me is crazy.
 
I'd probably done the same thing so don't be embarrassed. I love animals and something like this happening to me would break my heart.

Edit:
Aiustis said:
...I take pictures of road kill (cats, dogs, squirrels etc). People think it's sick but I actually do it because I find it so incredibly sad.
Click to expand...

Seeing road kill makes me sad as well.
 
Thanks for the encouragement guys, it's really helping me. Right now I'm at home just feeding chicken to my cat, staring at nothing.

By tomorrow iI'll be fully functional again, but it was very much one of the most shocking things I've ever seen. The dog had a collar, I really regret now not trying to check it for information on the owner. I keep thinking about how that was a member of someone's family, like my cat here, or my two dogs, he had a personality, and now he's just erased.

I had left a message on the Highway control line to call me tomorrow if my information was any help at all to anyone, but now I'm kind of dreading hearing anything more about it.
 
Arkos said:
I live on a relatively un-busy road and I see a disturbing amount of animals on the road. It's sad.

Horrible terrible stuff spoiler alert:
I know a number of people who, at least in the past when we were younger, considered hitting animals on the road a kind of game. Like, "oh shit, there's a squirrel, try to get it!" Yeah it's horrible and I am not friends with these people. But I bet other people are familiar with this.
Click to expand...

Living near busy roads sucks, where I used to live there was always a raccoon or squirrel sprayed across the road.

I have met people like you describe, and to me it is terrifying and makes me wonder if they are evil lol.
 
RealDeadOne said:
Thanks for the encouragement guys, it's really helping me. Right now I'm at home just feeding chicken to my cat, staring at nothing.
Click to expand...

Oh shit, now it's on. There's nothing quite like the loving that you get after you feed your kitty fresh chicken. DogGAF, you are missing out.
 
When I was in high school I was at a friend's house and his family was looking after his sister's friend's dog. We were playing basketball in his front yard and noticed the dog (it was a Beagle) had wandered off and crossed the semi busy road into a small field.

We stopped playing and went across to get him. We were trying to pick him up but he thought we were playing a game and was running around happily barking as he evaded our grasps. He then darts across the street and a guy in a Ford Bronco going about 45mph smashes into him and sends the poor dog skidding down the road a good 50 feet. We all ran towards the dog as he whimpered in pain and was bleeding out since the side of his body that skidded across the ground had almost all the fur sheered off and was cut open really badly. I picked him up to get him out of the street and as I got to the egde he spat up blood all over me, which shocked me and I dropped him from chest level. We tried calling for help but he was dead about 60 seconds later.

We all were crying/teary eyed after that (especially when his owner came to pick him up later that day and we had to explain to her what happened). I still feel like shit when it pops into my head. Watching him go from a happy dog playfully running around a field to a mangled, bloody corpse in the matter of 2 minutes really hit hard and made me realize just how fragile life is.

I don't think you're acting like a baby OP. We have all seen roadkill and such on the side of the road, but its much more uncommon to physically see something die.
 
Sad stuff. I've been in the exact same situation. Dogs do it to me the most. That's mans best friend for a reason.
 
I think I care more about animals suffering than people. Watching horror movies for years I would watch the people die for giggles, but the second some poor animal got killed in the story it would annoy me. ;_;
 
Aiustis said:
lol that's my little princess RIP. I kept rats as pets for several years, but they are short lived and I can't really handle it when they die.
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I always thought that was a giant, dead wasp in your hand. Rats can be quite loving pets. Too bad they are so short-lived.
 
I've hit so many animals, I hate myself. I live in a very rural area, so there's animals all over the place jumping into the road.

warning mildly sad and gruesome:
The worst was a raccoon I hit that got stuck in my wheel well for a solid 30 seconds. I could hear every bone in his body crunching. The sound it made was horrifying. When I got home there was blood, fur, and chunks of hamburger meat splattered all over my tire and wheel well. Another time I saw a young moose get hit by a logging truck in front of me and before I could react I ran over its face. When I stopped and checked it out its eyeballs were popped out. It was neat

Aiustis said:
...I take pictures of road kill (cats, dogs, squirrels etc). People think it's sick but I actually do it because I find it so incredibly sad.
Click to expand...

I knew a kid who collected roadkill and fed it to his dermestid beetles to collect the skeletons. It was creepy but cool.

anyone curious about these beetles should watch this, they're awesome: caution you see dead animals get eaten by bugs
 
Aiustis said:
lol that's my little princess RIP. I kept rats as pets for several years, but they are short lived and I can't really handle it when they die.
Click to expand...

I know that feeling, I always have hamsters and they always have lived 4-5 years which is over their average 3 year span, and when they pass I always cry and bury them.
 
That would upset me too. No need to be embarrassed.

I had to have my 12 year old German Shepard Axel put to sleep two days before Christmas. It has totally broken mine and my wife's hearts. He died in my arms in the vets, he was looking up at me, really happy because we were all making a fuss out of him while they shaved the fur off his leg for the injection. So fucking down right now as I write this.

RIP dude
eJEoyHI.jpg
 
The dog's death, while tragic, was not completely in vain. You accompanied him in his last moment, likely a comfort to him having been someone's pet. And you were made a better, more empathetic person with a reinforced love of and connection to the living beings that walk the journey of life alongside us.
 
Absolutely not OP. You did the best you could.

I witnessed a bird that had been hit by traffic. It was reported to me by somebody, and when I found it was still alive, but staring at me and blinking. It was breathing quickly, its insides were hanging out, and it was quite obviously on its way out.

I'd been asked to put it out of its misery, but I just couldn't. I stroked it gently, but had to walk away and ask somebody else to do it. I got very upset because the bird was watching me, and I had to wonder what was going through its mind in the last moments of its life.
 
My friend had a big pet bird in his home, it was free to roam and happy. One day I walk in and theres blood everywhere. A cat had snuck in and killed the bird. Tore it right open, blood and guts everywhere. I was mortified.
 
Arkos said:
I live on a relatively un-busy road and I see a disturbing amount of animals on the road. It's sad.

Horrible terrible stuff spoiler alert:
I know a number of people who, at least in the past when we were younger, considered hitting animals on the road a kind of game. Like, "oh shit, there's a squirrel, try to get it!" Yeah it's horrible and I am not friends with these people. But I bet other people are familiar with this.
Click to expand...

I see & hear that kind of stuff from people around here too often, it makes me sick. & I hate it when I confront people about it & they just pin on some personal problem or something.
 
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