A Prayer For A Roadkill

It was a pleasant January night, and I was walking back home from the store.

As I approached the entrance to my complex something caught my eye further down the street. There was something sort of lumpy lying there, I thought perhaps a dark bag or something. As I approached I noticed the cars turning slightly as they made their way up the street to avoid it. I seen it was a decent size and furry as I approached.


It was an animal killed trying to cross the street. I went home and grabbed some gloves, a bag, threw on a higher viz vest, and went back to check it out. When the coast was clear, I approached fearing perhaps it may be someone's dog or cat. It was neither, a poor raccoon. Looks like our local four legger just about made it, but not quite.

The end of his muzzle was crushed and he had just recently passed. His body was tender, I was not going to leave him there. I took him back into the local forest to put him to rest. I usually wing it in this scenario with my hopes, but still felt restless afterwards. I wrote a poem afterwards to remind myself to try to bury or put them back in the forest at least. That feels better for me then leaving them there or throwing them out, they are not trash.....


I did not get to know you,
or your name.
I seen your family around,
up and down,
inside and outside of town.

We changed the place,
it is not your fault.
Life is not black and white,
death comes for us all.

I saw you lying there,
on the concrete.
A cruel way to go,
when the odds and fate meet.

Life passes by,
you did nothing wrong.
Please forgive those who left you dead.
Here is a better place,
to make your way home.

Scale, fur, skin or feather,
our clothes vary with the weather.
Father In Heaven,
Mother Nature,
Welcome back,
one of your own.

Innocence is not lost on you,
embrace in your arms
a meekest of your parts.
What the road kills,
in you lives evermore.

May this prayer,
encourage peace,
and a better end,
for all your fine creatures.
Amen

a reply to: dffrntkndfnml

I'm always bothered by the sight of animals killed by the industrial activity or products of humanity. They evolved well to survive in the natural world and people upended that during the industrial revolution. I've buried more than a few dead animals I've found.

Cheers

a reply to: dffrntkndfnml

We fight over roadkill around here.



That was very thoughtful of you.

a reply to: F2d5thCavv2

It is really hard to deal with when I think of their suffering. I am no saint, but it does feel better to at least bury them or put them back in the forest.

The local coyotes have taken their fair share of pets, my terrier before even. It's Saturday night and the road is dark but busy. I wanted take it off the road and have a more natural end at least. If the coyotes get to it, then perhaps someone's cat will be ok. The crows too have often made an impression on me, having learned to appreciate nature often through them. They grieve when one passes, they should be placed to rest if at all possible.

Thank you for burying them, they offer us so much even if sometimes it is just enjoying their company from time to time in the neighbourhood.

a reply to: MykeNukem

Depending on what it is I can imagine. They should not be left to get pulverized however, imo.

I was working one time up in Fraser Lake. It was a dark cold December evening. The moon was shining brightly and we had a great day at work building part of a local mine. I had a nice dinner, and needed a calling card to call my Wife. After dinner I looked forward to a walk into town, perhaps about 45 minutes or so.

It was cool and crispy and the iciness on the ground created a beautiful diamond kind of glitter to everything. So I started walking and except for the occasional vehicle it was just peace as I admired that stretch of highway.

I looked down the road and saw something bulky, a lighter brown. Eh? What is that? I thought to myself, as I approached. I thought I heard something almost in the bushes, but my cheese has slid off it's cracker a few times before so I did not really think to much of it, lol.

Well when I got closer I could see it was a deer. The side of it's body was broken open, I got the impression that it had been hit by a truck or something? My friends have told me they sometimes get hit as they are jumping out of the way or something like that. I do not drive often, and live in the city most of the time. I looked at the deer intently, I did not notice anything unusual other then this injury that had killed it.

I started to walk again, but stopped. I had that uncanny feeling you get when you think you may have heard something, but it may have been so quite you are not sure. I turned and look back into the clearing towards the bushes instinctively. There were like three sets of glimmers looking back at me, I just noticed their sparkle. I do not know what it was, but I could feel their glance. I quickly started walking away, I did not hear any thing so I may have interrupted somebodies late dinner?

I went to the gas station, picked up the calling card. I figured I would have something a little more interesting to tell my Wife, once I was back at camp. Now Idk what to think, a part of me was fearful on the way to my home away from home. The light of the moon kind of seemed a little eerie, I thought perhaps I would hitchhike (I am glad I didn't, that is NOT the highway to do that on). Nobody came by anyways.

I did not know what to expect walking back, but I was a little anxious. I was wondering where the spot was exactly I was unfamiliar with the area. Well I noticed I was like right there, the deer was gone! I did not see any like parts or anything and there is next to no traffic compared to some places. Very strange, I think whatever was watching me from the bushes made off with it or ate it relatively quickly. It was probably about an hour tops since I had seen it.

originally posted by: dffrntkndfnml
a reply to: MykeNukem

Depending on what it is I can imagine. They should not be left to get pulverized however, imo.

I was working one time up in Fraser Lake. It was a dark cold December evening. The moon was shining brightly and we had a great day at work building part of a local mine. I had a nice dinner, and needed a calling card to call my Wife. After dinner I looked forward to a walk into town, perhaps about 45 minutes or so.

It was cool and crispy and the iciness on the ground created a beautiful diamond kind of glitter to everything. So I started walking and except for the occasional vehicle it was just peace as I admired that stretch of highway.

I looked down the road and saw something bulky, a lighter brown. Eh? What is that? I thought to myself, as I approached. I thought I heard something almost in the bushes, but my cheese has slid off it's cracker a few times before so I did not really think to much of it, lol.

Well when I got closer I could see it was a deer. The side of it's body was broken open, I got the impression that it had been hit by a truck or something? My friends have told me they sometimes get hit as they are jumping out of the way or something like that. I do not drive often, and live in the city most of the time. I looked at the deer intently, I did not notice anything unusual other then this injury that had killed it.

I started to walk again, but stopped. I had that uncanny feeling you get when you think you may have heard something, but it may have been so quite you are not sure. I turned and look back into the clearing towards the bushes instinctively. There were like three sets of glimmers looking back at me, I just noticed their sparkle. I do not know what it was, but I could feel their glance. I quickly started walking away, I did not hear any thing so I may have interrupted somebodies late dinner?

I went to the gas station, picked up the calling card. I figured I would have something a little more interesting to tell my Wife, once I was back at camp. Now Idk what to think, a part of me was fearful on the way to my home away from home. The light of the moon kind of seemed a little eerie, I thought perhaps I would hitchhike (I am glad I didn't, that is NOT the highway to do that on). Nobody came by anyways.

I did not know what to expect walking back, but I was a little anxious. I was wondering where the spot was exactly I was unfamiliar with the area. Well I noticed I was like right there, the deer was gone! I did not see any like parts or anything and there is next to no traffic compared to some places. Very strange, I think whatever was watching me from the bushes made off with it or ate it relatively quickly. It was probably about an hour tops since I had seen it.

I have deer, moose, elk, bear, coyote, wolf, etc, all on my property, which is just East of the TransCanada Highway (not gonna get too specific).

We have a huge problem with deer and moose on the roads around here, to the extent that there are electric sensors on the highway to let us know of animal activity.

It's against the law for us to tamper with roadkill, but, they don't really enforce it.

I've taken a few animals off the road and gave them a place in the bush, where they belong.

I respect that.

Cool story, too!

a reply to: dffrntkndfnml
Just as MykeNukem said, it can get competitive for fresh roadkill around here. Hit a deer on time on the way to pick up my son from work at night and there was two guys who saw. I planned on picking it up on my way back about ten minutes later but the guys had already gotten it. Good not to waste if it's fresh.

Depends on the species though. I've hit a few animals over the years and always hate it. They are always someone's family wild or domesticated.

I hit a cat very late another night while picking up my son. We got out to check and it was unconscious but not bleeding. We waited for about ten minutes and there was no change.

If it was dead, I would have left it so the owner would have closure, but move it off the road of course.

The nearest emergency vet was an hour away and I didn't have enough gas to get there either so I took it home. I knew it would either recover or die and I didn't want it waking up staggering all over the road either. I'm a farmer and sometimes have to put animals down so that was my plan should it awake in massive pain. We put it in a cabin and took turns checking all night. Out cold but still a heart beat.

Imagine my surprise in the morning opening the door and it was standing and walked over to me. So I fed it and posted about a lost cat on fb. The owner was so pleased and actually contacted me later to say the cat only needed it's tail amputated. I guess the pain of the injury made it pass out. Poor thing. Never told her I was very close to putting him down. Yikes, and she was so happy that I didn't leave him and took care of him.

Sometimes the happy endings balance the damage I've done driving other times, like killed a baby deer and having to watch its mom's sad confusion.

a reply to: igloo

Ideally, animals lives are not in vain.

I live in the Lower Mainland, so most often the creatures I’ve seen like this are dogs, cats, birds, raccoons, squirrels and the occasional skunks. The coyotes and bears perhaps help to clean up at night I figure, but get the impression the bodies may often end up in the trash.

My Wife and I were going for a drive back in the day, on the back roads by our provincial park. We were chatting and having a good time listening to music. In an unusual turn of events, there were like a bunch of frogs on the road. We did not expect them, she was not driving fast at all. We drove past, she did her best to avoid them, but felt bad. She asked me to go see, and one of the frogs was unlucky. I did not tell her, but when she asked she knew by the look on my face. I tried to reassure her, but even a frog has a life.


That actually reminds me, my daughter ended up in a similar situation riding her mountain bike with her friend around here. This time they were a smaller species. She told me there were actually some signs posted, we have a natural area along our local river that has been restored for the benefits of the fish and fauna.

She had seen the sign, but told me there was an incredible amount of these little frogs all massed together on the trail all of a sudden. I got the impression it was like over 100 or something, just many many frogs. I reassured her, I don’t think any were harmed. It was actually nice to hear that about the frogs, I often wonder how they make out with pollution more lately.

Thank you so much for looking out for that cat. I have often wondered about cats, having seen some appear to get run over and run away afterwards even. I almost wonder if I dreamt one particular memory, but I think they have some special adaptions about the way their shoulders and bodies are that make them more flexible, iirc.

It must of been stressful given that situation, thank goodness you did your best even not knowing how it was going to turn out. Life is painful but hopefully suffering is not so much, especially when it comes how we treat the animals. It takes character to be willing to put them out of their misery, if there are not many choices.

Imagine my surprise in the morning opening the door and it was standing and walked over to me. So I fed it and posted about a lost cat on fb. The owner was so pleased and actually contacted me later to say the cat only needed it's tail amputated. I guess the pain of the injury made it pass out. Poor thing. Never told her I was very close to putting him down. Yikes, and she was so happy that I didn't leave him and took care of him.

What a happy turn of events. The cat and his family had many more happy memories together, thanks to you for going the extra mile. Unexpected things happen, and duality can be a downer, but that does not mean we need to be.

a reply to: dffrntkndfnml

Wild animals are often frozen in fear and tranced by the headlights, if the driver sees them most people will slow down or stop or avoid the poor creature but there is the odd one that will accelerate toward it, cruelty and psychopathy perhaps.

I like this story and the remorse felt by the character toward the poor animal.

Still there is a booming culinary trend in cooking road kill so I am sure someone will pipe up with what a waste, seriously though so be prepared to chuckle at what others will eat.

There are even some that deliberately look for road kill in order to fill there appetite.

Some of the most nasty story's I have heard have come from down under (Australia), you know those massive road trains they have well they can't really stop for anything and so everything from wild camel's to native animals are victims of those Kenworth's.

a reply to: dffrntkndfnml

We are trying to change the law in the UK because currently drivers run over people's domestic cat's and just drive away so that they will then have to report the incident to police as after all it's someone pet.

And yes animals lives are NOT in vain, every creature has a unique personality, every one is a little person and only the most callous can deny that, still I can't live without meat so that is not coming from a vegan and thanking God for what we receive is also a way of praying for the animals that gave there lives so that we should live.

a reply to: LABTECH767

I am not a picky eater, and there is room for me to practice improving in that department. I have no issue with someone or another animal eating what may other wise end up in the trash. I would have buried him, but I remembered my dog and my neighbours' cats.

I had been speeding more then I like to admit before in the past, and seen a jack rabbit on a desert highway. I did not want to kill it, but did not think twice about it compared to myself and family at the time. It is good to practice compassion when possible, what that looks like to each of us often depends on the situation we find ourselves in.

I like those proposed changes to the laws in your area, closure is a part of the healing process. The reminder to practice giving thanks took the words out of my mouth!

I love this post and thumbs up for doing what you did.

I believe you did the right thing.

originally posted by: dffrntkndfnml
It was a pleasant January night, and I was walking back home from the store.

As I approached the entrance to my complex something caught my eye further down the street. There was something sort of lumpy lying there, I thought perhaps a dark bag or something. As I approached I noticed the cars turning slightly as they made their way up the street to avoid it. I seen it was a decent size and furry as I approached.

It was an animal killed trying to cross the street. I went home and grabbed some gloves, a bag, threw on a higher viz vest, and went back to check it out. When the coast was clear, I approached fearing perhaps it may be someone's dog or cat. It was neither, a poor raccoon. Looks like our local four legger just about made it, but not quite.

The end of his muzzle was crushed and he had just recently passed. His body was tender, I was not going to leave him there. I took him back into the local forest to put him to rest. I usually wing it in this scenario with my hopes, but still felt restless afterwards. I wrote a poem afterwards to remind myself to try to bury or put them back in the forest at least. That feels better for me then leaving them there or throwing them out, they are not trash.....


I did not get to know you,
or your name.
I seen your family around,
up and down,
inside and outside of town.

We changed the place,
it is not your fault.
Life is not black and white,
death comes for us all.

I saw you lying there,
on the concrete.
A cruel way to go,
when the odds and fate meet.

Life passes by,
you did nothing wrong.
Please forgive those who left you dead.
Here is a better place,
to make your way home.

Scale, fur, skin or feather,
our clothes vary with the weather.
Father In Heaven,
Mother Nature,
Welcome back,
one of your own.

Innocence is not lost on you,
embrace in your arms
a meekest of your parts.
What the road kills,
in you lives evermore.

May this prayer,
encourage peace,
and a better end,
for all your fine creatures.
Amen

And an injured dove at the state animal clinic?

Sorry they're non-indigenous animals,
In fact, considered "pests".

You might as well bring an injured cockroach or a sewer rat.

And now?
Well either you euthanize it or we do.

If we do, er, there is a bill.

a reply to: dffrntkndfnml

Beautiful. Where I live, there are always cats and feral chickens on the road. I tell myself that they passed quickly and without pain. I rarely see truly wild animals here killed on the road, for which I am grateful.

Your prose was elegant and thought-provoking and I loved it, not that you asked for input.

Beautiful.