Well, today was an exciting and unexpected day. It started off as a regular work day, at least until noon when I had a weird feeling that I should call my financial aid advisor. When I did, she told me that my application was on hold; I told her what for and she tells me she does not know and to call admissions (hmmm?) wonder what that could be then it suddenly dawned on me I forgot to take care of my physical exam. Actually, I had not forgot … I kind of put it on the backburner because I don’t like doctors (which is ironic because I want to be an animal doctor). There is nothing sexy about a man you don’t know with instruments hanging off of him like antennas, a fuzzy face and glasses feeling up on you (well, at least for most people its not “kewl” at all) asking you if you have kept up with your pap smears. Anywho, time caught up with me.
So I took off from work to go to the “people vet”. I was afraid to go mostly for nothing. All they did was dig the wax out my ears and asked how short I was. I did have to wear the ever classic fashion statement of the “open-back smock”. There was none of that bending over while hearing the pop of latex like I thought it would be; the only discomfort I had was I left $59 poorer. I was in and out in about 2 hours which only left an hour of work but I had to drive my exam to HU.
As I came off the interstate and drove down to the front gate of the school, I saw a pit bull trot across the adjacent field. I knew he was not going to stop for cars and it ran out in front of me but I was doing 25mph (the speed limit) so I just slowed down (I saw him coming any way so, no big deal. But the car in the opposite direction apparently was not paying attention because they made no efforts to slow down. The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion for me because I could not make it to my horn fast enough (sort of like when you are dreaming and when you are trying to knock the living daylights out of your attacker but you move in slow motion so they have plenty of time to duck out the way) to queue the other driver of the dog. I was playing my classical music, as always, but over the music, once I saw the car hit the dog, a blood-curdling crunch of bones, and then the dog began to scream and yelp. It’s a sound I hope I never hear again.
I immediately pulled over, got out the car, called a vet. Weird how there was nothing but a scratch on the dog’s leg but I figured he was going into shock so I covered the dog with my jacket (my favorite New York jacket at that) to keep him warm. The other women gave him water. The girl who hit the dog came running over crying and another pedestrian (a school teacher) told her to call the police so the other girl did. Everytime I tried to call the vet though, it said the number was not available and the police told the girl to call the SPCA. So she did, line was also busy. I put my hand on the dog’s chest and felt a heartbeat but it was fading … I knew the dog was going to die but I was not going to admit it. Then one of the other ladies said, “he’s dead”. Then the girl who hit the dog screams out “I’M A MURDERER!!!” We all tried to calm her down but she broke down into tears.
Then the most uncanny thing happened. As we all stood around the dog waiting for the COPS to show up, we hear a scream from a car “OH MY GOD MY DOG!!!” WE all turned around and saw a girl driving down the street, hanging out the window, face as red as a beet and that’s all she kept saying was “My dog, my dog”. I thought to myself, “Oh shit, it wasn’t me”. My first instinct was to leave because some people really get anal about their pets and I was not trying to have her get loco on me.
Once she was able to get a grip on herself, she said she was at home, holding the dog and he got away from her (I guess so in in her 3″ heels); you could not hold a religion in them let alone a PIT BULL. She didn’t ask who hit the dog but the girl who hit it admitted it and they both started hugging each other and crying (at this point I was like “okay people, let’s not overdo it”. When I saw everyone else was crying, I tried to look sad, and squeeze some watery eyes – I did not want to seem callus about it but I was waiting for someone to bring out the lighters and sing Kumbaya. I have worked in a veterinary hospital for over 2 years in my life and I have seen alot if not all, from amputating a kitten’s leg which is nothing but a bone hanging from skin to dogs in wheelchairs and I guess after all this time, it just did not phase me like that. But then again, it was not my dog and I didn’t hit it. We all did what we could and we certainly did not think the owner would show up.
I was going to take a pic from my camera phone of it, but then I thought that would be REALLY callus and also disrespectful so I didn’t.
But wait. That’s not all folks. Then the girl who owned the dog boyfriend or brother showed up in a golf cart (why he was driving a golf cart I don’t know). He just walked up and said what I had been thinking the entire time, “He’s done for”. He said it loud and clear in the open and we all just turned and looked at him with the most evilest eyes we could find, meanwhile, the girl is begging and screaming to take him to the vet. IMHO, the dog was “done for” when he was hit. Not only did he catch both front and back wheels but animals are not as “sturdy” as people. Willpower is what keeps people kickin, some animals don’t have that. The boyfriend got a towel out the car and wrapped the dog up and drove off. Well, the girl drove off, he rode off in his golf cart.
After all the drama went down, I noticed that I had 30 minutes before Admissions office closed, so I balled on campus only for the receptionist to send me to the infirmary which ironically was where the whole ordeal with the dog happened. So I drove back through there (everyone was gone by that time). Pushed through the doors to find it empty. Then an older lady came out and I told her that I brought my phys exam so they could clear my application. She looked over it, did some scribble with a red pen, wrote “OK” at the top and stamped it. And she told me all was good and to have a nice day.
Whew! As I walked out the door, with a full view of the campus, and the street where the girl hit the dog, I mumbled to myself, “The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away” …. but I guess today it was more, “The Lord taketh, the Lord giveth”.