Passed dying animal during run

Many years ago, I was running along a rural road and came across a sheep with its head stuck in a wire fence. Made my way through a ditch to the predicamented and pulled the the fence apart. Sheep wouldn't pull its head back. From my off-balance stance, did my best to bump the sheep backward; the darn thing pushed back at me but wouldn't go back. Tried screaming at it. No luck. After four or five minutes, gave up and left it and its silly head still in the fence.

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.

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.

Was this an adult deer? No offense, but I find it hard to believe that you dragged a deer, if adult likely 100-350 lbs. Even if near death, I'd think that thing would be thrashing about if someone was dragging it across pavement (you said you dragged it out of traffic) Again, no offense on not necessarily believing you, but people have died trying to tend to dying deer before and you make it sound as if you ho-hum matter of factly took care of business.

This isn't a running story, but a few days ago I ran over a damned alligator turtle. I tried to avoid, but couldn't. It was so huge it scraped the underside of my Jeep. But when I looked back in the rearview it didn't even really look damaged and it was still walking.

saywhat?!?! wrote:

Was this an adult deer? No offense, but I find it hard to believe that you dragged a deer, if adult likely 100-350 lbs. Even if near death, I'd think that thing would be thrashing about if someone was dragging it across pavement (you said you dragged it out of traffic) Again, no offense on not necessarily believing you, but people have died trying to tend to dying deer before and you make it sound as if you ho-hum matter of factly took care of business.

it was an adult, but a smaller one (female I think) probably no more that 150-200 lbs. and when you put it that way, I guess it must have been pretty far gone at that point because it mostly just twitched and groaned while I dragged it by the hind legs ~5 meters, down the shoulder. I suppose I got lucky, I can see how a dying deer could hurt you pretty bad.

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.

If it makes you feel any better, blue jays are pretty mean birds.

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

I saw a housecat get hit by a car while I was running. Pretty tabby cat. I watched it die a few minutes later - neighbor said they're over run (sorry-no pun intended) with feral cats.

I've dragged a dying deer off the road during a run. Sometimes they're comatose and not too hard to move if you grab them by the lower legs. I've dragged many gutted deer after hunts so I've got the routine down.

I run past rattlesnakes that have been hit by cars at least weekly. They barrel roll like crazy right after being hit.

Mcteagle wrote:

If it makes you feel any better, blue jays are pretty mean birds.

Blue Jays are bastards. When I was a kid, I watched one peck a chickadee to death for no reason. Horrifying.

nittanyboiler wrote:

not too hard to move if you grab them by the lower legs.

Which ones are the lower ones?

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.

When I was in college, a long time ago, several of us were out on a training run alongside a somewhat busy road, with fields on one side and woods on the other. A deer coming out of the fields jumped the fence, tried to run across the road, almost got hit by a car, slipped or stumbled and ended up hitting the wire fence on the other side of the road. It apparently broke its neck when it got tangled in the fence, by the time we got to the place where the deer was, it was dead. When we got back to campus, we called the Department of Environmental Conservation to tell them about the dead deer by the side of the road.

The guy seemed really excited about a dead deer on the side of the road. I don't know if it was just a slow day, or if he was thinking "Venison!"

gra ma ian wrote:

Which ones are the lower ones?

The ones near the bottom.

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.

Did this happen on on Tuesday (5/19/2009)?

I do not think that is what he meant.

I am sure I have killed many bugs running, most of which was by swallowing them.

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.

nope, couple years back.

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.