Irresponsible Pet Owners, Part Two...

If only I could get some democrats in front of my car...

Having regaled you with the semi-hilarious, somewhat-twisted, and I must admit, somewhat disturbingly-satisfying, tale of running over a cat last Saturday night/Sunday morning, I am somewhat sad to report that yesterday I nearly hit and ran over a dog.

If only someone would let Hillary off her leash...

So, there I am...stopped at a four-way stop sign, the way is clear, I pass through the intersection, and just as I've made it to the other side I see a woman, sitting in a parked car, suddenly thrust her arm out the window and start waving frantically at me.

I slow down, preparing to stop, and then...yelling from several people on the sidewalk  across the street.

I stop, put the car in park in the middle of the street, and get out.

"Did I hit something?"

Just then, a little grey dog comes running out from behind my vehicle. I'm not sure of the breed, but it's like a toy poodle or something. If it weighed 5 pounds, soaking wet, it would have been a lot.

The Woman in the Parked Car gets out of her vehicle, screaming:

"That dog belongs on a leash! You have a back yard with a fence! What's the matter with you?"

An elderly couple, the dog's owners, waddle up to their pet. The Old Lady scoops it up in her arms, like a baby, and begins asking it if it's injured. In both English and Italian. 
As if the dog is going to respond.

The Old Man is busy trying to tell everyone not to worry; the dog is only scared, everything is all right, nothing to see here, go back about your business.

The dog seems to be favoring a leg. I suggest that they take it to a vet, and that we call the cops, so as to have a police report of the incident. I don't know if I hit the dog -- I don't think I did, but then again, it's tiny and you never know. It came running out from the passenger side of my car, according to a witness from beneath a parked car, and it's doubtful I would have even seen the thing unless it was equipped with strobe lights.

Now, I'm confused: did I or did I not run over your dog? Why aren't you taking it to a vet, just to make sure nothing is wrong? If the idea of a dog off a leash and in danger worried you so much, why did you sit in a parked car, waving, instead of getting out and directing traffic?

"Don't worry about it", the Old Man says. "It's only scared".

"Are you sure? Just for everyone's peace of mind, please take it to the vet."

"No, no, no, no...nothing to worry about, just scared. Go ahead, go back in your car. It's all okay."

The witness, a skinny, buck-toothed black woman from the housing project across the street, is praising Jesus. Because I'm sure he had something to do with all of this.

I will be stopping by that house today to check on the dog. These folks are neighbors, living around the corner from my own house. It's the right thing to do.

I'm also pretty certain that when I do, the subject of money is going to come up. I don't know why, but I feel it in my bones.

Legally, even if I did hit the dog, I'm not responsible. The Law says it is the owner's responsibility to ensure his animal is under his control at all times. A dog, off a leash, running around in a busy two-way street is, by definition, not under his control.

Ethically, I find myself in a bit of a quandary: if the dog is injured, shouldn't I make some form of restitution on the basis of "the good/nice/neighborly/right thing to do?" As it is, I'm thinking just showing up to check is good enough. It's not as if I know these folks, and even after suggesting taking the dog to a vet, calling the police for a report, and pointing out the dog favoring a leg, the Old Man told me "Don't worry about it."

So, I won't. Except, I am.

Now, two incidents in less than a week involving my car and someone's pet, and I have to start wondering when the third is coming. Because these things always -- my Italian grandparents always told me -- happen in threes. And if that Old Wive's Tale should turn out to be true, is it really nasty of me to hope and pray that whatever or whoever I hit next turns out to truly deserve it?

I think I should probably also make an appointment with the eye doctor. Maybe I'm missing something.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Having received some forceful advice to "let sleeping dogs lie", as it were, I did not return to check on the status of the dog. Returning, I'm told, is an indication of guilt, which in today's litigious society, is automatically a strike against you in court -- even in a case where you bear no legal liability. The wrong judge, and the next thing you know, a simple case of someone else's negligence becomes a legal minefield that cannot be tap-danced out of.

As much as this decision offends me on moral and ethical grounds, it's probably the right one.