Sometimes it's hard to figure out how to handle a situation. Your conscience can say one thing, social norms another, empathy, sympathy, timidity, insecurity, modesty, apprehension, whatever it is that you are fighting with in your head, sometimes it's a challenge to figure out how to act in certain situations.
My instincts are often 'rush in to help'.
Today, while leaving a movie I saw what looked like a dog wandering down the rows in the theatre parking lot. I exclaimed "Oh, look a dog!" I thought it might have jumped out of a car. So we circled our car around looking for it to see if we could help. After a few moments we saw it limping away and realized it was a coyote, and it was limping. It was limping badly enough it wouldn't put any weight on one of it's back legs; I assume it had been struck in the parking lot.
I pulled out my phone and called 911, I figured an injured wild animal wasn't a great thing to have wandering around restaurants and movie theatres; lots of people, lots of excitement, lots of chances for people to get hurt. Surprisingly the police said they couldn't do much, and gave me the number for animal control (actually, after calling I realized the number was wrong.)
We followed the injured coyote across a major street and toward the patio of a Milestones, and that's where we lost it. It disappeared into the shadows of the night, but I went in to speak with the manager of the restaurant to warn him about it anyway.
I guess he's not much of a dog person, or really worried about his staff because his response to me saying "I saw an injured coyote cross the street and come down toward your patio, you should keep a look out and call animal control, sorry I tried but the number I got is wrong." was "It's weird it would come here. But they're more scared of us than we are of them." Unhelpful.
We continued our way home and in the car I wondered what I would do next.
Do I ignore it? With the thinking "I tried" or do I go home and find the proper number for animal control and let them know everything I saw?
Of course, I picked the latter. Once I got home, I found the correct emergency number and told them all the details of our encounter with the injured coyote. I had addresses, intersections, the time I saw it, the direction it was headed, how it was injured, everything. I told them it was probably long gone, but I thought they ought to know in case anyone else had called in, either after hitting it, or finding it in their neighbourhood.
Compared to the restaurant manager, the animal control operator was very helpful. She was polite and thankful for the information. She agreed there wasn't much to be done since we had lost sight of the animal, but she would keep a special ear open for calls in the area about an injured coyote or dog.
After the call ended I felt great. I had done everything I could think of within my ability to help this animal and to protect the people in the area. It may never amount to anything, as they may never find the animal, but at least I tried.
At least I tried.
At least I tried is something I hear myself say every day. I am thankful for that. I will never have to wonder if that homeless person had enough to eat today, because I saw him and bought him a sandwich. I will never have to wonder if that old woman I passed on the sidewalk needed help getting up the steps to her building because I asked her and she said she was fine, I will never wonder if there was more I could do for the young girl who was looking lost on the subway because I asked if she needed directions and let her follow me to her destination (we happened to be going to the same stop, I just spent a few extra minutes to get her where she was going), because today, like everyday, I did it.
There are always more causes than you can think of, and I didn't do everything I could for everyone in the world, but I do what I can for the people that surround me in their moments of need. And that is a blessing.
-Brandolyn
No comments:
Post a Comment