That said, I would like to tell about the different animal encounters I had on my most recent trip across the country. If you are a sensitive animal lover, I suggest you leave this blog post now. Karen, that means you. I mean it.
The first of any note occurred near Denver airport, soon after I had a nice time with Paperskater (Susie from the cruise) I was on a ramp that led to this bizarre "pay your toll by license plate thing." Oh, brief side note... my license plate wasn't visible because the tail gate was down, so I'll be super impressed if I actually get a bill or something. Anyway, back to the animal encounter...
As I was rounding the curve, the road filled with creatures the size of beanie babies. At first I thought something had spilled out of a truck or something, and then I realized what I was seeing: about fifty prairie dogs crossing the roadway en masse. I noticed that they had holes very close to the sides of the road, and sure enough, they were road savvy. They left a gap big enough for my truck to go through, and then continued the migration. Casualty count: 0.
(Yes, the dramatic rodent in this famous clip IS a prairie dog.)
Next, while heading into Nebraska, a shadow passed over the car... and stayed for a while. I thought I was being followed by a plane... perhaps a "bear in the air" for anyone old enough to remember the 70's, but in fact, it was an American Bald Eagle. It was just soaring there as it headed east along the highway, just like me. It was probably looking for road kill. Ben Franklin was famously opposed to choosing this bird as the symbol of a new nation because of its scavenging habits. He preferred the Turkey, which he thought more dignified. All things considered, I'm fine with having the eagle on the seal and the turkey on my plate.
In Chicago, I encountered a house cat with a rather unusual behavior. When she first saw me, she approached in that casual "hey, a new person.... meh" way that cats have. I knelt down and held out my hand, allowing her to come to me. I gave her the standard chin rub and few strokes on the head, and she seemed grateful. But the SECOND I stopped, she hissed and took a swipe at me. I later learned that her name was Sidney Vicious, and that this, in fact, was her modus operandi. I have no idea about cat psychology, but I suspect this cat needed some sort of therapy maybe involving a shaver and some conductive gel. And yet I feel affection for her and her owner.
And of course there were the deer. Not so many, and not so lively. Just a couple here and there lying by the side of the road. I figure that automobiles have replaced wolves as the major predator these days, and having nearly totaled two vehicles this way, I have an appreciation for the eficacy of hunting.
In Ohio, I saw something that took me a while to identify. It was a large black pile of rotten flesh and blood-matted fur on the shoulder. I analyzed the mental snapshot in my head trying to find a pattern until something finally clicked: bear-muzzle. It was a dead black bear of decent size. I believe that's the first one I've seen dead on the road (though I have seen them in my back yard), and somehow I'm amazed it was just left there to rot. Sure, I expect deer and domestic animals to be ignored to some extent, but somehow the novelty of hitting a bear makes me think that something would have been done. By the way, unless I'm mistaken, if you hit a bear (or anything else) in Vermont, you're allowed to take it home and eat it. I have eaten road kill moose, and it was delicious.
This is where it starts getting sad. I passed a farm house (this was actually in Northern NY, but it fits best in the story here) and kids were swinging on a play set in the yard. There was a low white picket fence next to the guardrail, and in front of the guardrail was a dead house cat. It had gray and white fur, and it still looked soft and "pettable," if that makes any sense, though the animal was quite deformed from whatever impact it has sustained. Of course I don't know the history, but I could only imagine one scenario and I wondered if those kids would spend the rest of the day looking for their lost pet. And this is one of the reasons kids should have pets. They will inevitably learn important life lessons.
Like this one.
I was in Indiana about 100 miles from the Illinois border when I noticed the cars on the opposite side swerving madly. I immediately canceled the cruise control and scanned the roadway for danger, when a shape in the median caught my attention. It was a black lab, intently sniffing grass and weeds and completely oblivious of the speeding cars whizzing past her. I was marveling that in this dense traffic she had made it that far... when I saw the golden retriever on the opposite shoulder. Clearly an older dog, I caught sight of her just as she caught sight of her companion. She bolted across the highway, making it to the middle lane before being struck by a Toyota Corolla at about 70MPH. Her instantly lifeless body rolled and slid across the highway like a car with a blow engine... seeming to move backwards as it passed a variety of vehicles undergoing evasive maneuvers.
I, of course, was going 70MPH in the opposite direction, so these cars and I were traveling at the equivalent of 140MPH away from each other. I was at the exact right place to see this unfold. And the very last thing I saw was the black lab looking at her companion and taking a step forward towards the onrushing traffic.
For a moment, I considered stopping and then I called 911 to report the incident. I had absolutely no illusions of saving the black lab or any other dogs that might have been there... after all, just because I had seen two dogs doesn't mean there weren't more. But this was a major traffic hazard and someone could get seriously injured. And this leads me to two thoughts.
1) What on Earth were two traffic-naive dogs doing on the highway miles from the nearest house or business? I can only speculate, but my unsupported conclusion is that some human somewhere failed them completely.
2) A message to all the swerving cars.... DON'T. Yes, your instinct will be to avoid man's best friend on the highway, but unless the animal is large enough to cause you to lose control of the vehicle (deer, moose, bear) please... hit it, especially if you're in heavy traffic like this. The driver of the Toyota Corolla who hit the golden retriever probably feels terrible that this happened, but whoever that was did EXACTLY THE RIGHT THING. It may seem cruel, but in the end it is not worth risking human life to save an animal in the road. If you find yourself in this situation and can keep your wits about you, drive straight ahead and hope for the best. Swerving is likely to kill you and the others around you, and you have no idea what the animal will do anyway; it might very well run into your swerve path.
So there's my animal story from the road. I have a tale of three dogs that I might tell some other time, but in many ways it's sadder than this one, and I don't feel up to it just yet.
Location:Highland Rd,Underhill,United States
1 comments:
Roadkill stories are fascinating. My parents live in the middle of nowhere. No cops = lots of speeding = abundant corpses. The best tableau was of a squished rabbit being feasted upon by a gaggle of vultures, who were also squished. A Russian doll of vehicular homicide.
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