Ethics and Animals

I was cruising along in the county car; leaving one client's house and on my way to another home. I was driving approximately 40-45 miles an hour. Out of the corner of my left eye I saw a garbage truck with its occupant going about his/her daily duties. From the corner of my right eye I saw a galloping dog running towards the car. I paid no mind. This was a smart pooch. It wouldn't run into my car. It would gallivant in a different direction. It would continue running and I would continue driving.

BUT WAIT! Said poochie did NOT change its course of action! Said pooch darted in front of me! I, Chandra D. Lockett, heard it before I realized it: I CREAMED A DOG! A look in my review mirror confirmed that the THUD noise was not a speed bump, but the noise of a dog gasping for its last and final breath on planet Earth.

I did what any nice, young lady would do. I slammed on my brakes, created a dust cloud, and pulled over on the side of the road. The trash man/woman (sadly, I couldn't decipher the gender of the driver) looked at me and then looked at the dog. Yes, that's right. Someone in a CA EXEMPT car killed a dog. I found my county issued cell phone, dialed Delano Police Department, selected Animal Control, and left some kind of message in code about a dog I killed that was lying in the middle of X and X cross streets. I then made a U-Turn and looked at the sad dog and realized it had no collar and I didn't have to deliver sad news to a lonely family in the rural outskirts of Delano.

Had I not been enrolled in and Ethics and Animals course this fall I would have said that I had simply ran over a dog. However, this crazy class has brain washed us students and we must not use polluted jargon when referring to animals. We have to say things like, "Oooh. Would you like some cow carcass, with lettuce, and cheese?" So yes. Not only did I hit a dog. I killed it.

I think I need to buy some new shoes to brighten my mood. Vegan shoes. Not made of cow carcass.