Dogs and Cars!

As winter nears an end it seems people are already in the mindset of summer driving. The roads are still icy and very slippery with slush, this combined with summer attitudes is creating some very dangerous driving conditions.

These conditions add to an increased amount of animal hit and runs. It’s incredibly upsetting to hear and read how many dogs and cats are being hit by vehicles and left behind.

Recently, I was a witness to a dog being hit on the highway.

 I was merging onto the Patbay Highway heading Southbound, coming from McTavish when I saw a black German shepherd climb onto the highway. I stopped, put on my hazard lights and raced from the car. I almost had the dog when a person honked. The dog then ran back onto the highway, crossing lanes and running along the edge close to the median. The dog rounded the corner and was hit. It was devastating. What I found to be really hard to take was the lack of help and care from the many passerby’s. I was trying desperately to get to the other side of the highway, to see to the dog. This was impossible as no one slowed down, only sped up. When I was unable to cross over I called the police. The dog didn’t survive and no family has been located yet.

This incident has spurred me on to research other situations like this and to see if there are any resources out there to help inform people on what to do. Thankfully there is some information out there but not enough. We as a community need to spread cars and dogs awareness.

When a dog becomes frightened its instinct is to run. Try to reduce the animal’s stress by:

1. Staying calm
2. Slowly approaching.
3. Not honking
4. Not flashing your lights
5. Not screaming at the animal.

I hope that people reading this will be encouraged to share this story and to help people be aware of what to do and what not to do.

Some additional tips for drivers that see animals on the road and aren’t sure what do are:

1. Turn on your hazard lights
2. Slow down and see if you can safely stop traffic with your vehicle, not your body.
3. Call animal services or/and the police.

The most important this is to not just drive on by. Please do something and to always be aware and watch, you never know who or what may run onto the road.  ~ Katrina

event events like this in the future. If you see a scared animal that is near a person, don't honk. Please take a minute to maybe consider slowing down and staying alert when driving, especially on icy winter mornings. I know everyone's tired and most are already mentally at work on a Wednesday morning but still please watch, you never know who or what may run onto the road Also, if you see a person frantically running along the highway waving their arms, slow down and don't speed up please. Definitely a sad morning.