Underneath

Last weekend a forty-eight year old woman from this part of Minnesota was accidentally fatally shot by a member of her deer hunting party. The thought of this, the anguish of the family and the person who pulled the trigger have been bothering me all week. I have been thinking of writing about it all week.

Yesterday afternoon I was just coming out of Three Mile Woods headed west on 108 at about 45 mph when a little brown dog carrying something in its mouth darted out in front of my vehicle. With barely even time to think, let alone react and swerve, the dog was underneath my vehicle. There are nine inches of clearance under my Xterra. I hoped I could keep the dog between the wheels and under the bumpers. It seemed like an eternity before I felt the bump underneath at the rear of the vehicle. The dog rolled and stood there in the middle of the highway head rolling like a boxer who had taken a hit. I stopped at the next driveway and called who I thought to be the dog's owner. I explained what had happened and asked if he could care for the dog promptly, that I was a wuss when it came to wounded animals. He said he would.

My afternoon was plagued by the thought of what had happened. It was an accident, yet I felt guilt for not preventing it. Should I stop on my way home to see how the dog was doing? What if the dog had been put down? Nothing the owner could say to me, even if it was nice, would help me off the hook.

Deos anyone know of a link to a site that could describe what protocol might be when you run over a neighbor's pet? Do any of you have any ideas? Had the dog come under the wheels and lie there on the highway bleeding, am I to throw it in the backseat and head to the nearest pet ER? Had there been nobody home, what was I to do? I was lucky.

Just before dark I was out walking around the neighborhood, thinking of the experience. I had planned to walk perhaps fifteen minutes more when a rifle shot rang out from close range. It was almost dark. Somebody poaching a deer or sighting their scope for this weekend? I decided to hightail it for home instead. Before I got there, another shot in the dark, this time from across the lake.

My condolences to those in that hunting party. I hope this weekend does not bring more misery.

PS Wishful thinking that last sentence:

New York Mills man killed while hunting
PERHAM, Minn. – A 36-year-old man was shot and killed while hunting deer in Butler Township near here, the Otter Tail County Sheriff ’s Department reported Saturday. John Edward Nelson of New York Mills, Minnesota, was walking to his deer stand when he was accidentally shot by a member of his hunting party, authorities said. Authorities were notified of the shooting at 6:15 a.m. Saturday. Nelson was dead at the scene.