Death of an Animal

In one day both my cat and dog escaped from my house, and I saw a dog die.

Romeo now and a month after he was rescued

Now some readers are probably thinking, "Wait, hold-up, you have a dog?" The answer is yes. His name is Romeo (named after the famous Bachatero Romeo Sanchez), and he comes from a farm in my community that raises rescued dogs. The owner of the farm, a Canadian, thought Romeo would be perfect for me because he is afraid of Dominicans. He prefers people with white skin, yep, my dog is a racist. He was found as a puppy abandoned by the side of the road, with a bad case of mange that left him hairless, hence his dislike for Dominicans.

Romeo on the porch before he escaped.

Anyway, back to the story. On Tuesday Romeo and Pato (my cat) both escaped. Pato escaped first, through the back door while I was just about to close it. He can be such a sneaky little bugger. He came back around 11pm and was very hungry. Meanwhile, Romeo escaped while I was visiting a neighbor. I left him on my porch since he doesn't like being in the house alone, and he repaid me by jumping out of the porch via the side that only has chicken wire instead of metal bars. Another neighbor came running to tell me, and said he went running in the direction of the farm where he grew up. I went straight to the farm and when I called his name he came bounding out of the forest covered in burrs.

As we walked back home a dog crossed the street to bother Romeo. I threw some rocks in its general direction so it would leave us alone, and as it recrossed the street a truck came speeding by and hit the dog. The dog, which was probably only 25 lb., went flying up into the air and landed in the middle of the street, dead. I just stood there in shock and watched a man walk into the street and drag the dog to the other side. Everyone tells me that it wasn't my fault the dog died, including the owner, but I felt terrible afterward and I fear it could happen again as I walk Romeo.

The incident made me very upset about Dominican culture. No one ties up their dogs here, and everyone can tell you a story about a dog of theirs that was killed by a car; another dog died just last week. When I saw the dog die, I didn't hear any screams or cries or shouts, but I did see some people laugh. It makes me sad to think about how no one cares enough to protect their animals and that the cycle is going to continue. As with many aspects of life here in the D.R. the best thing I can do is lead by example.