Inhumanity on the Highway

* This is just a small letter, and maybe in the grand scheme of things, this is just another insignificant story of our society’s humanity slipping away.

I was driving home from work July 4, northbound on Pacific Coast Highway going toward Ventura. About a half-dozen cars ahead, I saw what looked like someone throwing a dog out the back of a truck. The next car couldn’t stop fast enough and hit the dog--and just kept on going.

The poor animal just lay in the middle of the road while people just passed it by and ignored it.

I got off the road and turned around as fast as I could and went back to where the dog lay. He was still alive, but he was hurt too bad to even cry.

As gently as I could, I dragged him to the side of the road and then frantically tried waving anyone down to help me. He was so heavy, I couldn’t lift him into my VW by myself. I kept checking his breathing and heartbeat and he was hanging on.

All I could do was hold him as he just drifted away. And though it may sound silly or corny or unrealistic, maybe in those last few moments that poor animal could feel that someone loved him and cared. I have to cling to that hope.

It boggles my mind when I think of how hard I’ve tried to save to be able to rent a house with a yard, so I could get a dog just like that. Then I see that life taken away so cruelly. No matter what species, life is a gift and shouldn’t be wasted.

A CHP officer stopped and I told him what happened. He said he’d take care of everything.

I couldn’t stop crying all the way home.

I am writing this letter in hopes that maybe some people will read it. Maybe someone will think a little and consider a little.

If only it can make a difference in one person, that dog’s death will have meaning and his spirit won’t be lost.

MICHAEL J. MARSHAN

Ventura