There are moments in life ….

There are moments in life where I really have to wonder at people – at the beauty within and at the total lack of respect and compassion for others.  Tonight I saw both – the beauty and the ugliness that makes up our species.

I was driving home from having spent a delightful evening with some of my oldest and dearest friends and there in the middle of the road lay a body.  Do you think anybody stopped?  Of course not.  It wasn’t their problem.  They hadn’t hit it. And whomever had hit it had high tailed it out of there.

Photo by Ben Shepherd

I pulled over.  Waited until it was save and walked out into the middle of the road to retrieve the body. As I bent down to pick up the poor soul, I was, of course, honked at.

The body belonged to the most beautiful and well fed midnight black gentleman. Obviously well cared for and loved. I could see someone not seeing him until it was too late, but there was no way they could not have realized that they’d hit him.

I carried him to the nearest house hoping to find his family and still holding out hope that he might be alive and that they could call the nearest emergency clinic.  No answer.  I tried the neighbours next door. As I stood there waiting, my eyes fell on his face.  His eyes bulged in an expression of terror, mouth frozen in a scream.  Although I still tried to tell myself that he was alive, his body was still warm after all, it was at this moment that I knew and felt the terror of his last few seconds.

Photo by Eric Hunt

A woman, my first angel of the evening, answered.  She didn’t know him.  But did get on the phone for me and tried to find out just what to do and who to call for help.  Enter angel #2, her daughter and a local vet’s assistant.  She confirmed for me what I feared, but was determined to find the beautiful fellow’s family.  In case, any of you ever end up in a similar situation, you want to get the cat to a local vet or the SPCA.  Look for a collar – anything that will tell you something about the cat’s family.  If the cat doesn’t have a collar, the vet will check for an ear tattoo.

As the lovely Miss Cato now snuggles into my lap, my heart goes out to a family nearby that is wondering why their beloved feline hasn’t come home.  I only hope that the vet is able to find out whom they are in the morning.

Pet owners make sure your pet has some form of ID so this doesn’t happen to your family.

And to the driver – you should be ashamed.  You might scoff at this, but our pets are a part of our families – a beloved part of our family.  When I lost dear little Blackberry last year, I cried more then then I have ever cried for any human, aside from my grandmother.  Accidents happen, but when they do you need to take responsibility for them, especially when they involve someone’s life.

My love to the dear midnight black cat and his family,

Erica