Passed dying animal during run

My college cross team was running is the woods near a highway, and there was a deer that had been hit and its back legs were broken. When it saw us running up on it it kept trying to stand up and its fractured legs would break even more every time. Finally it started scooting using its front legs. It was very sad, and we got some big rocks to kill it, but knowing it would take more than one blow, nobody could muster the guts to do it. We ran back and called the campus police and asked them to shoot it, but they basically told us they could care less.

Livin the Dream wrote:

I think at the '04 Oly Trials Alan Webb ran by a dead animal on the last lap of the 1500 final. I believe the dead animal's name was Michael Stember.

POD

LetsWorthless.com wrote:

I almost stepped on a blue jay running to work today. At first I thought it was dead, but then noticed it was breathing rapidly. It was very attentive, but I don't think it could move much of its lower body, most likely got hit by a car.

I felt like a jerk just moving on, but there was nothing really I could do 4 miles from home. I can't imagine passing a larger animal, broke my heart just to run across a blue jay.

Anyone ever had something like this happen?

(As a side note, I did run across a squirrel pancake 2 minutes later, and my only passing thought was "that's disgusting." Changed my perspective a lot when the animal was still alive.)

Don't mean to be insensitive, and certainly all life is valuable, and I'm even a bird lover, but Blue Jays are flying vermin. I'd let your broken heart mend.

that sucks wrote:

I wasn't running but I passed a racoon that got hit on the highway a year ago. It was on it's back and the lower half wasn't moving but it was sitting up with it's arms waving around like it was trying to get attention or grab something. I was doing 75 and I was just kind of stunned by the sight. By the time I even thought about putting it out of it's misery or something I was long past it. I've always felt like crap for that.

Same thing here with a possum (OK, I dislike the ugly things, but it was not my motivation here) it was in the middle of the road with bloody goo coming out of its mouth, split second call, but I ran over it and put it out of its misery.

Starvin Marvin wrote:

I passed a beetle yesterday. I couldn't believe that thing didn't digest. Perhaps I need to start chewing them.

Sweet jesus you made me laugh out loud -- at work no less! THANKS!

old haverholt wrote:

I passed a dying deer on the highway when I was doing an out/back run. I dragged it out of traffic still alive, but didn't have the balls to finish it off with a rock. I worked up the courage on the way back... but by that time it had already died. So much needless suffering. Deer population is ridiculous around here, probably 1 in 5 families has f***ed up a car on a deer at some point.

I guess I'd stop for Deer Kara Goucher, but any other regular deer... not so much.

I ran over a possum once (not on purpose and I tried to slow down) and it survived. I stopped the car and backed up and it had blood all over it's face and it looked really mad. I thought about running over it again but I just went home. In the morning it wasn't there.

I saw someone's house cat get hit right in front of me. I saw it coming racing across a yard, I waived to warn people, the other lane stopped, but this idiot came flying by, hit it and kept going like nothing happened. The cat was half alive and scrambled into thick brush/woods area with it's front legs. I went to house to notify them, but they had no idea. I went to look for the cat, but couldn't see it in the tall brush area. I am sure it died and I felt terrible.

Another one is a few college teammates were on a run and this big dog came running across the road, an old lady came nailed the dog and it went flying by the guys heads while they were running. She almost hit them too (one was clipped by her door mirror). She kept going, dog was dead and they were pretty shaken up by the close call of getting hit themselves.

I am not sure I could put an animal of its misery with a rock or blunt object.

They make it amusing in movies in Me, Myself and Irene when Jim Carrey tries repeatedly to put the nearly dead cow out of its misery and subjects it to so money things, yet it survives. Same thing in Sex Drive.

lol, money=many

euclid wrote:

The ones near the bottom.

What if the bottom's facing upward?

I had a bird fly right into my head, like he couldn't avoid it.

My wife told me a some story about her uncle a few months back. He saw his dog get mauled by either a mountain lion, or a pack of coyotes (can't remember). I guess it was pretty brutal and the guy was never the same again.

Well in 38 years of running I have seen many animals get hit and killed on my runs. But nothing good have pleased me more than the two Dobermans who would bark at me every day when I ran by there fenced in yard.It would have made me very happy if that car hit them in stead of me when they attacked me and made me jump into the street and get hit by that car. Lucky for me I was not hurt. The car was going only about 1 to 2 mph as it slowed for the red light. Yep, I called the pound. They were taken a way. I never had a problem by that house again. Oh, it happened in the fall of 1973. But I remember it like yesterday.

Dog Lover wrote:

Not a running story, but on my way to work one morning I drove past a golden retriever dead on the side of the road. Its eyes were open. Really made me depressed.

Dog tried to mess with Michael Vick.

Probably not the same for all people, but no matter how much I despise an animal, seeing one dying alway makes me sad.

Last summer, a friend and I were driving in the country. An opossum was standing in the middle of the lane and my friend drove right over the top of it with the undercarriage hitting the animal. He thought it was pretty funny and wanted to turn around and see it. The opossum was still there, squirming with its back ripped open and its head too. It was disgusting. I felt awful, as did my friend. He drove over it again, this time with the tires and put it out of his misery. Pretty mean on his part in the first place. I punched him in the dick.

Two days ago, I saw a squirrel get its tail severed by a passing car. The squirrel looked okay, but very surprised, just staring at its tail like it wanted it back. I thought about keeping the tail, but I didn't really want to carry a dead squirrel tail with me for 12 more miles.

Love my Dog wrote:

My wife told me a some story about her uncle a few months back. He saw his dog get mauled by either a mountain lion, or a pack of coyotes (can't remember). I guess it was pretty brutal and the guy was never the same again.

Unless my dog was getting attacked by a half ton bear, I'd do everything in my power to protect him. Grab a stick and try to beat the hell out of whatever was attacking him, fight with my bare hands, whatever I could. I could never ever let something like that happen to my dog. My dog is like a son to me.

and to the guy who said "which ones are the lower legs?" I laughed pretty hard.