Commentary

Today you killed my dog. Tomorrow…who knows?

My question…how could you slow down, knowing what you had just done and then speed off as if this action would absolve you of any responsibility? Speeding past homes in the center of the west Charlotte Village at 50 mph is not appropriate behavior, driving this fast and killing a homeowner’s pet, unconscionable. Sure, the speed limit is 25 mph, but what are a few lives in the name of speed…or in this case expediency? Granted, none of us is perfect and we all make mistakes, but you didn’t even try or pretend to care about the tragedy you caused. You left two young girls, 11 and 6 standing in shock, then screams, followed by tears, to deal with your carnage without a care in the world. They were less than 20 feet away when you ran over my dog. Were they lucky or were you actually aiming for the dog? Just curious. Either way…you are reckless!
I have a solution that I think the town of Charlotte should seriously consider. I’d like to invite all Charlotters to drive by my home even faster from now on. Let’s turn Greenbush Road right in the heart of the village into an interstate. Let’s make it a drive-as-fast-as-you-can-everyday zone. We could schedule weekend drag races…the more speed the better. Why should anyone ever have to worry about those silly old speed limit signs away? Surely they’re meant more as speed guidelines than actual speed limits. And if there are children, pets, joggers and bikers present…hey, that makes it all the more interesting. We could sell it as a pay-for-view event on cable television! Better yet, we could mount webcams on Greenbush Road and offer the paying public live streaming video of animal and human carnage every weekend.
Granted, I’m a little upset about what happened today. I feel guilty I wasn’t home to remind my girls to watch the dog and stay away from the road. Tears will come to my eyes when I come home tomorrow night expecting to be greeted first by a cold black nose, then four-legged aerial acrobatics, infectious affection and unquestioning faith – and instead find nothing. Saddened by not keeping this faith and realizing this failure means tonight my daughters sleep without their bedmate of the last several years. Desperate to take away the pain and a little girl’s memory of what happened today. Unprepared to deal with the grief she feels as she replays today’s events over and over in her mind. Stunned by her belief that if she had only acted quickly enough she could have saved her pet from the 4,000-pound killing machine rocketing down a 25-mph lane in the heart of the west Charlotte Village. Last night we hosted a slumber party in Mom and Dad’s room. It was Mom’s idea. Brilliant. It helped get everyone settled. It helped quell the realization…past bedmates would be no more.
Have we lost our humanity? Are we so absorbed in ourselves that we simply don’t care about the consequences of our actions on others? Not sure about others but I am pretty clear about consequences…suffice to say, so are my daughters.
We buried him tonight, between two lilac trees. I said a few words – more tears all around. My six-year-old wanted to place the first shovel of dirt over the body. More dirt, sod, bricks lining the grave, tiger lilies, black eyed susan and a green tomato, his favorite snack. His collar hangs from the marker. The name, Obi, engraved on a dog-bone-shaped nametag. At the time it felt right not to wait to bury Obi. Better to honor his memory now and keep faith that tomorrow will bring a better day.
Oh, and to the person who killed my dog today: I don’t know you, I don’t know what kind of car you drive and I only have one thing to say to you, if you can’t be considerate, at least be safe…for all our sakes.

John Murphy