A bit of a damper to the evening.

Last night I sat with a man as his dog died.

We were having a bonfire at Michelle's house in the back yard. We heard the screeching of tires followed by some awful noises. We ran out into the back alley, not knowing if a person or animal had been hit. I think the noise we heard was a combination of the dog squeeling and the man screaming. It was really awful to see. The driver didn't stick around very long at all...I mean, it wasn't his fault; the dog ran out in front of him, but still...he could have stayed.

Anyway, we helped stop a few cars and then I asked him if we could help him out by sitting with his other dog. He was very much in shock and sort of just nodded. So I took Vicki over to the curb and sat down. The guy picked up his other dog and brought him over to the lawn...it had happened right across the street from his house. Vicki was so spooked, she didn't know what to do. Everytime a car drove by she got upset again. And yet, she didn't try to go over to her owner; I think she knew what was happening.

We had assumed the other dog was already dead because it wasn't really moving and there was a lot of blood. But when he stood up to call his friend, I could see the injured dog's chest rising and falling. We sat on the lawn for about 15 minutes, and the guy just knelt beside the dog, softly talking to it as it died. His friend arrived and called an emergency vet, thinking they could take it in, but as his friend was talking, the guy turned and said, "He's gone."

It was very sad.