Back sometime in the nineties, I do not remember exactly what year, maybe around ninety-five or ninety-six.
A neighbor on my block had gotten a puppy. I did not know this neighbor personally just enough to say hello back to her and her adult son when they spoke to me and my mom.
The puppy was so little and adorable.
One particular day the puppy was running around loose on our block, playing and following around the young children that were playing in the street.
It was a nice sunny day. I had passed by, on my way to the store when the puppy spotted me and ran up to me.
She was so energetic, lively, and friendly. I had instant affection for her.
Hours had passed.
Later, by nightfall, a family associate and I departed from hanging out on my stoop. He left to go across the street to his home and I stayed outside for a few moments more.
Not too long after, I was looking down the block. The puppy was still out running loose unsupervised.
Then, in a split second, a car drove up and hit the puppy in the middle of the street. I witnessed the entire scene, horrified at what I heard and saw.
I immediately went across the street to get my associate.
He came out the house and we both went down the block.
There the puppy lay dead in the street with a crowd of preteens and younger children surrounded.
My associate dragged the puppy from the center of the street to the curb.
All I could recall was earlier within the day how happy, lively, and energetic that puppy was. How friendly she was when she ran up to me and, I was heart-broken.
She was so full of life, and now she was lifeless.
I was angry at my neighbor, thinking to myself how she was irresponsible and that she did not deserve a little innocent puppy.
That puppy should have been on a leash until she was properly trained to be out on her own within her surroundings.
I had puppies and dogs all of my life and never let them out of my sight so young.
It was a senseless death that could have been avoided.
