When we were walking home from the bus stop this afternoon there was a young puppy running down the opposite side of the street. An older woman was chasing after him yelling something along the lines of “Stop!”. It might have been in French, I’m not sure.
The puppy thought this was a game. He’d stop or slow down, wait for her to start to get close and then run off again.
This was kinda scary as while the puppy kept to the side of the road there were cars coming in both directions. Some cars on our side actually stopped and pulled over just in case. Others who got off the bus at the same stop were walking up that side of the street tried to get the puppy to come to them.
Only he wanted to keep playing. So the little gray puppy darted out into the street.
In front of a oncoming little gray car.
I don’t know how the woman driving didn’t notice the stopped cars, the gathered people, or the obvious gray doggy against the green grass on the side of the road. Maybe some people just get tunnel vision when they drive. (I am seriously jinxing myself with that…)
Now, she did hit the breaks. Not soon enough, but she did use them.
I am thankful beyond words that I couldn’t actually see anything because of the stopped minivan. Regardless I turned away and shut my eyes tight. Anita actually let out a small scream at the dull thud and the screech of the tires.
This was one of those moments where seconds are suppose to feel like hours.
I’ve got to be honest, I lied before. He didn’t walk away.
Before I could have a moment to imagine the horror of what lay behind the minivan out pops this little gray bullet. No longer playing, but not sure what to do, he ran back up the street from the direction he had come.
The woman who had been chasing him was kinda lost. I think she was dumbfounded that he was still moving. The woman who was driving the minivan said she’d get him and tore off up the street. Those who were trying to catch the puppy were talking and, I assume, comforting the owner.
We continued up the street till we saw the minivan woman walking back down the street with the puppy in her arms.
With nothing left that we could do we headed home. The woman driving the car hadn’t really moved for a while but as everyone gradually dispersed she slowly drove away.
I could do with less days like this.
