This past week was a tough one for two pet owners along busy South Street in Northampton.
On Wednesday, September 30 about mid-day I saw my neighbor Jean walking slowly and gingerly along the concrete sidewalk adjacent to her house. In tow behind her was a women dressed in green scrub-like clothes who was carrying a W.B. Mason paper supply box. I chirped, "Watcha got there?" Jean looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, "Max is gone." She could speak no more. Her cat had been struck by a car only minutes before and died. We placed the box on her picnic table and opened it. We unwrapped the towel that held the cat's remains and he looked like he was sleeping peacefully, but was not breathing. According to the woman accompanying Jean another women brought Max into the nearby vet clinic on South Street after picking him up off of the street corner near Hebert Ave. According to the vet technician the women who picked up Max said she saw him struck by a car after which he jumped into some nearby brush. He then staggered out of the brush and flopped to the ground with a little blood coming out of his mouth. No one acknowledged hitting the tiger-tabby. Personnel at the vet clinic ran a digital scan of Max to determine if he had been embedded with a computer chip and he had. That is how they knew to contact Jean.
I helped my neighbors dig a hole in their flower garden to bury Max. It was sober digging and my neighbor's remain in pet mourning several days later. Max was about five years old and I never saw him out by the street. He seemed to have a sense about not going near there. Usually he lay in the sun in my driveway passing the days. We speculated he must have been chasing a squirrel or a chipmunk and wasn't watching where he was going. I guess we'll never know why he ran into the street.
Two days later at about 7:00 pm on Friday, October 2 another pet was struck. I was on my way downtown to check out the new lights adorning the Academy of Music and to meet with some friends at Packards. As I approached the sidewalk in front of my home I heard a ruckus from the south. People were talking loud and cars were stopped and backed up on both sides of the street. I looked over towards Revell Ave. and saw a body laying near the center of South Street covered in a quilt. Five or six cars had pulled to the side of the road and about ten people hovered around the site talking on their cell phones while motorists continued trying to pass by. I quickly went over to see what had happened and to offer assistance. What I saw was surreal to a degree. A middle aged white-haired woman was shaking as she lit a cigarette and held it to her mouth. She apparently saw the accident but couldn't speak much.
A young women wearing a tee shirt and a crew cut hair style was hovering over a mid-sized buff colored dog that had been struck by a motorist. She was kneeling on the pavement soothing the animal's head while frantically trying to dial her cell phone with her free hand. The dog was wearing a collar with a tag. The woman aiding the dog said one of the dog's legs had been sticking straight up in the air as it lay there in shock. She must have put the leg down because it was no longer in that position. I crept in closer and could see blood oozing from the dog's mouth and nose creating a puddle about a foot across on the street. There was a deep gash over its right eye, large enough to encapsulate a walnut. His body was covered by the quilt and he was not moving. The animal's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. He was breathing laboriously but not blinking his eyes or otherwise responding. Each time he exhaled flits of blood shot from his nose.
The women was trying to call an emergency vet clinic in South Deerfield. She handed me her cell phone quickly saying, "Sir could you call the number my mother has for the vet clinic?" I took the phone and jotted down the number and tried to make the call. Unfortunately the number given me was not in service and I relayed this information to the woman kneeling with the dog. She then implored the other onlookers to help her lift the dog into the back of her cap-covered pick-up truck with a Vermont license plate. She intended to drive the dog to Deerfield. Another women came forward and the two lifted the dog up as carefully as they could and placed him in the truck getting blood on their hands and clothes. Another neighbor jumped into the passenger side of the vehicle and the two women left with the dog. This transpired over about a ten minute period and I don't know what happened to the pooch.
Someone had called the Northampton Police Department and a young white male officer had arrived after a few minutes. He was gentle in tone and asked if anyone had seen what had happened as he wrote down the dog tag number. Several women on the scene did see something but it was not clear. One said a large dark van hit the dog and sped away. Another neighbor out walking her dog said it was a large SUV and added she heard the dog yelp when it was struck. Along with the woman smoking the cigarette they both said the vehicle was traveling like a bat out of Hell traveling south. No one was able to get the license plate number. If anyone else witnessed the accident please call the Northampton Police Department at 587-1100 with your information.
A man driving an orange DPW truck pulled up and stopped a few minutes later and its driver stepped out and discussed with the officer what had happened. There was blood left in the street but I don't know what was done about it as I had to move on as I was now late and traffic had backed up in either direction. Motorists were getting annoyed and there was a lot of rubber-necking going on as the sun was setting.
This is notable because a week or two ago I had called National Grid to report a street light that needs fixing in the immediate vicinity, as I have done previously. The light has been flickering on and off for about a month. When it shuts off it is quite dark in the area. I kept forgetting to make the call but finally did when I realized the Gazette newspaper carrier must traverse the public way early in the mornings before most people arise. Moreover, as we head into fall the days grow shorter in duration and sometimes public school students can be out in the dark as they wait for their school buses. South Street is a heavily traveled artery and functioning street lights contribute favorably to its public safety. Besides motor vehicles it is also used by an ample number of pedestrians and bicyclists and its traffic counts are sure to increase as the State Hospital site to the south is redeveloped with Kollmorgen and new housing.
Anyway, National Grid's customer service representative informed me the city of Northampton had taken ownership of the light poles along South Street. This surprised me. I usually pay attention to these types of things but was unaware of the change in this case. Next I called the DPW and a pleasant woman answered the phone and seemed as surprised as I was that the city allegedly is responsible for these lights. She took my name and number and promised a call back. Later that day she called and said someone would be out to repair the light and I thanked her for her service. Unfortunately this still has not happened and I'm forced to wonder whether or not the light had flickered off before the dog had been hit, which certainly could have contributed to the accident if it had.
I guess when faced with such sad occurrences people try to figure out why these things happen and what there is that can be done about it. Were the motorists speeding? Why didn't they stop? Was the street light out? Why hasn't it been repaired? Should pets be confined indoors? Why wasn't the dog on a leash or a run?
Losing pets to car crashes on South Street is nothing new, but when these events occur they are still heart wrenching for pet lovers. I've seen the aftermath of many crashes on South Street over the years. Both humans and pets have been hurt or killed in addition to private property damage. I have yet to grow used to it and probably never will. Though I realize the city is struggling to pay its bills, when someone reports a street light outage on a busy artery to the DPW it should be addressed pronto in my view. The public's safety is more at risk otherwise and lives could be lost because of poor visibility.
