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Old 08-20-2009, 09:03 AM   #1
ldvpool7
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Location: Indianola Iowa
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Default [News]HIT IT HARD: Injured dog stirs up emotions, Indianola Iowa Record Hearld 8.12.9

Sometimes we don’t realize how great we are affected by events. As innocent bystanders we are sometimes thrown in to a situation in which we have no idea how we will react. I told my wife, Susie I was going to run some errands. About 30 minutes later I came back in the house grabbed a cup of coffee and stood in the kitchen craving a cigarette. I haven’t smoked in four years. What’s wrong?” Susie asked. Suddenly the tears flowed from my eyes and I couldn’t speak. “What happened?” she asked again, this time with the sound of panic in her voice.
Then I became upset with myself for my obvious emotional reaction and told her I can’t believe how affected I was by what happened and finally got the story out from under my emotions.
I had only driven about four blocks when I pulled over. There in the street, along busy Iowa Highway 92 a woman was standing over something. As I jumped out of the truck, I suddenly realized it was a dog.
“Are you all right? Do you need any help?” I yelled as I ran across the highway. This poor woman was obviously distraught. The dog, a beautiful little Yorkie, was lying helpless in the gutter. She thought the dog was dead and suddenly it started to get up. It was bleeding profusely from the mouth and was staggering.
“I was just driving when I saw a car hit this little dog. I don’t think the driver knew they had hit the dog and it drove off.” The woman told me. She was trying to keep the dog from wandering further into the street and protect it from the very busy oncoming traffic. I could feel the emotion in her voice as she too, felt helpless.
I started directing traffic away from the lane. Someone had come from one of the businesses along Hwy. 92 and he called the Kiya Koda Humane Society. I continued to redirect traffic when one car pulled up behind us and a young man and his daughter got out. The man came over and started to examine the dog. “I’m a veterinarian,” he said.
He carefully examined the little creature and was explaining his concerns to us about the dog’s injuries. He was concerned about the brain swelling due to the trauma to the dog’s head. A couple of kids on bikes showed up. “That’s our dog,” the kids said. “We live across the street.” I think all of us were a little surprised at the lack of emotional reaction from the kids.
The vet asked the kids if their parents were home. “Yes,” the little girl said, “But my dad doesn’t want the dog anyway.” Upon hearing that, the poor woman who witnessed the accident burst into tears. I tried to console her but was afraid I was about to do the same.
A good journalist would have had the names of all parties involved and would have been able to give an objective account of the accident. I didn’t get anyone’s name. That’s why I’m a columnist. I was so caught up in the emotion of the entire event I don’t think I could have even given my name.
Folks from Kiya Koda arrived and the vet left because there wasn’t much he could do without the permission of the owners. Then the police arrived and the kid’s father finally arrived. When I left it was up to the human society, the police and the father to resolve everything. I jumped in my truck and came straight home. I felt like someone had just ripped my heart out.
I want to thank the veterinarian who stopped and gave his assistance and the woman who witnessed the event for stopping and trying to protect the little dog. It was obvious to me, the vet and the woman that this innocent and loving little creature didn’t have much of a chance in life with this family.
I called the humane society the next day and they said the dog is recovering and one of the business owners who came out to help during the accident said they would take the dog if the family doesn’t want him back.
Just as I’m certain some people should never be allowed to have children, I am firmly convinced that some folks should never be allowed to have a pet.

Bob Kling is a regular columnist for the RHT and an Indianola resident.
Reprinted with permission from Bob Kling, RHT
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