We are sad and angry to report that Sprocket was killed today.
He was run over by somone, who was speeding down the road to haul water for her trees and concrete ponds and so-called 'bird sanctuary'.
She didn't even stop after she hit him. In fact, she kept hauling the coliform-rich Ranch water all day.
Casey and I were preparing to leave San Angelo after our battery acquisition and some other shopping when we got a tearful call from Casey's Mom. Kathie and Bob unfortunately had to deal with the situation.
We are in so much pain and so angry about this. Naia is in shock, hiding under and behind things, and refusing water. There are no words to express our feelings.
So so sorry to hear about Sprocket. Nothing worse than death of a beloved pet - they become almost your child in so many ways.
ReplyDeleteI would be having more than a few words with the lady that hit him, indeed.
Sprocket is in our thoughts.
Steve and Elaine, Horizon City, TX
My condolences on your loss. I'm fairly certain that your neighbor is a complete ass. If the water is bad and she's using it for attracting wildlife, she may be in violation of several state and federal laws.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear about Sprocket. We recently lost our beloved Molly last Sept. It is still hard for me to see her pictures. I will keep you in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteLaura
In the interest of airing both sides of the story (and in most cases, there usually are several viewpoints), this was posted on one of the Terlingua Yahoo forums:
ReplyDeleteThis is very difficult for me to write because it was my vehicle that accidentally hit and killed someone's much loved dog. Words can't express how sad this has been for me. Here's the story of what happened.
I was driving to Terlingua Ranch lodge pulling a water trailer to buy water in a probably futile attempt to save my trees during Texas's worst drought ever. I've grown very attached to them and can't stand to see them die the way tens of millions of trees are throughout the state. But it's been so hard and I've had almost no help or support, which is very discouraging. So I was already down and depressed having to still be buying water. Every day I think about just giving up, but something keeps me going. So yesterday I found myself driving to the lodge for water. When I had been there 10-15 minutes (I know exactly how long it takes to fill the tank) a vehicle came speeding into the lot as I was getting ready to leave. The driver told me she wanted to inform me that I had killed their dog on the Lake Ament Road. I was speechless, since I had not so much as seen a dog on, or near, that road in about a month. I was too stunned to remember much of what was said, but I know I told her how sorry I was, and I remember her saying the dog got run over by my trailer tire. I want everyone to know that I would never knowingly hurt a dog and had I known I hit it I would have stopped.
Later I stopped by their place to apologize again. I told the gentleman there (I'm sorry I can't remember his name) that I hope the dog didn't suffer. He said it lingered for an hour. That really made me feel horrible until I realized that couldn't be true since the woman got to the lodge shortly after I did and the dog was already dead (according to her words) when she left to confront me at the lodge. So it had to have died almost instantly.
I'm sure the dog was just wanting to chase my pickup and didn't realize there was a trailer behind it. I was accused of traveling at least 45 mph, but it's not physically possible for me to go that fast on that rough winding road pulling a trailer and still stay on the road. The fastest I have ever made the six miles from my place to the lodge was in 20 minutes. That means at best I average 18 mph. Normally it takes much longer because I stop to pick up rocks in the road, or look at a bird, or check the trailer, etc. I'm sure watching your beloved pet get hit would make it seem like it had been by a speeding train. It had to have been heart-wrenching for them to see.
Yesterday I didn't stop to watch birds or pick up rocks and I made it there in slightly over 20 minutes at my normal steady pace. I'm a 72 year old woman just trying to help the environment for birds and wildlife and do the right thing.
The home where the dog was visiting stands on a hill quite some ways from the road and I theorize the dog ran from a distance hoping to chase the truck, and was focused solely on positioning himself behind the pickup. Because of bushes and vegetation along the road I didn't see it. I'm at least grateful the bereaved people, from their higher vantage point, saw what happened and know that I didn't knowingly hit it with my pickup, but that it accidentally got hit when it darted in front of the trailer tire.
In my whole life I've never run over a dog before. I've never even hit a deer. Never had a speeding ticket. I hope that Sprocket's owners, as well as the rest of the community, can find love and forgiveness in their hearts.
Sincerely, Carolyn Ohl-Johnson
Thank you, 'Truthly,' for restating this defense here. We had considered a public rebuttal, but we have gone over these details so many times and we are tired of crying every day. But given that some people seem to think that this statement vindicates or or even mitigates Ms. Ohl's actions, we will post our rebuttal publicly.
ReplyDelete