[Vision2020] Letter to the editor

[Steven Basoa]

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the kind and wonderful  
person who ran over and killed my neighbors dog.  Your thoughtfulness  
and humanity are illustrated by your behavior.  Maybe you were in a  
hurry.  Maybe you were too busy talking on the phone.  Maybe you  
didn't even notice that you ran over the poor little thing.  When I  
got to the scene of the crime, there was this poor little dog staring  
up at me, looking really sad, scared and bewildered.  It's little  
buddy/sibling was lying there in a pool of blood, dead.  You didn't  
even have the decency to stop and pull the dog off the road, much  
less contact the owners and clean up the mess.  I did.  The  
unfortunate owner was in shock and nearly fainted.  To you, maybe it  
was just a stray dog.  To the owner, the dog was family, a cherished  
and loved animal.  A cherished and loved family member.

When driving in the country, remember: there are wild animals that  
may jump out in the road at any second.  Deer, moose, elk, racoon,  
the list is long.  There are also dogs and cats.  And even people.   
Drive slower, drive safer.  Domestic animals are rarely chained or  
secured in the country.  We live with the knowledge that a family pet  
might get run over or otherwise injured.  What we hope for is, if  
such an unfortunate event occurs, that the driver has the common  
decency and integrity to at least try to locate the owner and clean  
up the mess.

To whomever ran over my neighbor's dog: I hope you read this letter.   
I hope it weighs on your conscience.  Would you react the same way if  
was a person you ran over?  I certainly hope not.  But your reckless  
behavior leaves one to wonder.

Steven Basoa