Being a professional driver, my travels take me all over this city. Even in my former professions, I found myself traveling the highways and bi-ways of our fair province, so I've had the privilege to see many great things. I've gotten to see a wild bison. That was cool. I had a near-miss collision with a moose. That was an interesting experience. I've even gotten to see the midnight sky, lit up by the dancing Aurora Borealis. Unfortunately, there are some things I wish I hadn't seen.
The first time I ever drove solo as a long distance courier, a small bird flew in front of the van I was driving and sadly, before I had a chance to slow the vehicle, the bird had tried to fly out from in front of me, but I clipped it with the radio antenna and (thankfully) it was killed instantly. I had to pull over to remove the little bird from the antenna, as it's neck had fractured and was still attached to the van. I recall crying real tears as I knelt on the side of the road, this little bird lying before me.
Driving transit, I've seen many deceased carcasses on the road. Birds, dogs, cats, etcetera. Yesterday, I saw a small fox lying at the side of Lowe Road just before you enter into Evergreen in Saskatoon. The needless loss of life, broke my heart, but because it was a fox, it reminded me of the time I was leaving Tisdale, heading south on highway 35. I passed by a scene that would have staggered even the most callous of hearts. It appeared that a mother fox had been hit by a car, but instead of running for safety, her two kits stayed by her side, ultimately being run over themselves. It was a horrifying scene and a memory I wish I would lose quickly.
In addition to that wild life, I'm seeing lots of birds about town. These ones baffle me, but I suspect that they're swooping down to grab the carcasses of the gophers that are strewn about on the streets. Wherever there's a park or a field, there's sure to be dead gophers about. I understand the plight of the birds. I recall once upon a time, driving a former bosses car back from Winnipeg, when I struck an owl that was swooping down to grab a quick meal. Instead it lost it's life and my boss needed to replace the grille in his VW Golf.
Worst thing I've seen, to date, was this morning. I was driving by a fresh kill. So fresh that the lower extremities of this poor little soul, was flattened by whatever motor vehicle happened by, it's limbs still flailing. It horrified me and shook me to the very core of my being.
Given the size ratio of a gopher to a motor vehicle is gargantuan. A forty foot transit bus weighing over 42K lbs, is no match for much of anything, especially a little gopher. On Friday morning I was heading south on Preston, when a little fella ran out in front of me. I damn near lost control of the bus as I hit the brakes. I missed it, but felt it wasn't long for this world and yep! On my next pass by that part of the street, it had, in fact, been hit and the magpies had already descended down for their feast.
One early morning in 2017, I was driving past an acreage outside of Birch Hills. They had two dogs, one a large shaggy white dog, while the other was a wiry black short-haired dog. They would often stand at the edge of the property and bark at passing traffic, even pursuing a foot chase on occasion. On this particular morning, I saw the two dogs, only their attention wasn't aimed at the traffic. Instead, I saw that the large shaggy white dog was motionless, laying on it's side, while the black dog was laying perpendicular, with it's head resting atop of it's pal. My heart broke. 💔 It was apparent that during one of their foot chases, the white dog had been hit and was deceased. My heart goes out to anyone who's lost a pet, especially when it's a hit and run case, like this seemed to be.
A few days later, I was passing that same acreage outside Birch Hills, when I was greeted by the same duo, standing out on the edge of the property, tails wagging and barking at passing vehicles and equipment. "What the hell?" I thought, to myself. I don't know the motive behind the dogs putting on that display prior to this day, but I thought they must have some kind of sense of humour. Silly dogs.
I don't handle death very well. People are one thing, but animals, man! I can't deal with that shit.
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