Something caught my eye as I zoomed passed by.
It lay alone and frozen amidst the busy road, as if time wanted to capture its saddest moment on Earth, even just momentarily.
****
Twice a week, I venture out to the world I've left behind. Yes, majority of my hours are spent indoors, writing. And writing even more.
But it was time to take my child to one of his summer classes - a task which I committed to. So, I entered the car, sat behind the driver's seat and pulled my child close to me.
My lips curled into a smile as my eyes feasted on people we passed by, colorful cars whizzing about and tall buildings soaring.
It was nice to be out again.
But unbeknownst to me, my little joy would soon turn into something else.
Immediately after we turned left into a corner, something out of place, laying along the center island, made my head snap towards its direction.
There lay a dog's lifeless body.
I didn't recognize the breed, but what I did recognize was the pang I felt when one of our dogs' journey on Earth ended.
This dog on the street probably died alone. Our little dog didn't. He died in the loving arms of his carer, though, he died in pain after sustaining serious injuries.
This dog lay on a hard dry piece of soil where noisy engines roared by every minute. Our little dog died peacefully and quietly in the car as he was being rushed to the veterinarian.
This dog had no one to shed a tear over him as he passed on. Our little dog left the world with many pairs of eyes weeping at the misfortune.
Despite the our dog's death being better than the poor white dog's I saw on the road, it didn't seem to matter.
L,our dog, didn't know how fear gripped us when he was being rushed to the veterinarian.
He didn't know how much we pleaded God he be spared from death, to come back in our home so his high-pitched barking could fill our home again.
He didn't know how we would have to force ourselves to snap out of disbelief. Disbelief that he was gone.
Why?
Because all of these expressions of love happened after he passed on. And no, we weren't mean to him, but most of us in the household didn't show him how much he was appreciated either.
That is something I will ALWAYS regret. And I hate regrets.
So, today's challenge is to ponder on this: Are you treating your pet the way you should be?
Yes, some may say these are only pets, but they become such a part of your life that when they're gone, things are never the same again.