R.I.P. Tex

Early this evening as I was headed out to decorate for an event tomorrow, I noticed our neighbors' black cat Tex in the middle of the street. Not a big deal since Tex wanders the neighborhood all the time. Except this time Tex looked like he was trying to rub a scratch on his side. As I walked closer to shoo him from the middle of the street I realized with horror that Tex, who was twitching in a pool of blood, was the victim of a hit and run. I ran back in the house to get Brian and then over to Tex's owners house, unsure if they were there or if they had already left for the UND hockey game.

Turns out everyone was still home except for the mom who was out getting groceries. I went in to take care of their kids as the dad brought Tex from the scene of the murder to the backyard for a burial. The kids were eating pizza, happily watching Sponge Bob and telling me how excited they were for the hockey game. The whole situation was terribly sad. He didn't know how he was going to tell his wife or his children that Tex was gone.

As Brian, Lilly and I walked back to our house we talked about how thankful we are that Buttercup is a "scaredy cat" - she's afraid of cars and the street. She always walks on the sidewalk and doesn't go past the grass on the berm and runs back into the yard if a car is coming. We live on a one-way street and it's very upsetting to think that not only was someone driving that fast on a street with lots of kids and pets, but that they didn't stop for the animal to get out of the street. There was plenty of daylight and it's not a very busy street.

So please watch your kitties and doggies when they're outside and be aware of speeding cars and always BRAKE for animals, the balls bouncing into the street and the kids darting into the street to retrieve bouncing balls.