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[Croatoan]

Warning this might be disturbing to some.

First off, i am no tree hugger or lunatic peta person, I just want to get this off my chest as it just happened and I am feeling pretty depressed about it.

The wife and I were just eating lunch at Jersey Mike's when a little girl mentioned something about a doggy in the road. Being a dog lover I looked over hoping it was just sitting there or something. Well what the girl saw wasn't a dog, but a opossum and it was sitting oddly with its mouth open in the parking lot. I went outside to shoo it away so it wouldn't get hit by a car.

When I got closer to it I realised it was too late. Someone had literally just hit the animal and it was obviously in horrible pain. From what I could tell the opposum's jaw was broken and wouldn't close, it's two left legs were snapped which caused it to move in circles and I am pretty sure it could no longer see.

It was still alive though, and trying to make its broken jaw close. Even as someone who has seen plenty of dead and dying animals, I was fucking heart broken. I couldn't do anything for it so I just sat near it and made sure idiot drivers didn't hit it again.

My wife called animal control while waiting in line for our sandwiches and I just sat near the poor opposum for some reason. I don't know, I felt like sense nobody else in the packed restaurant gave a shit that i should. It honestly pissed me off how much people just don't care.

The Jersey Mike's had windows, and those windows had a prefect view of the creature the whole time. Yet none gave it more than passing notice. A few drove by laughing at me or the dying opposum which gave me the urge to key their fucking car. Others seemed annoyed that I made them drive to the side of the animal and not over it.

I don't fucking know why this bothered me so much, I don't know why I was sitting next to a dying opposum like it would somehow bring it comfort (I was far enough away that it didn't notice me, for those wondering if my presence could have been stressing it more), I just felt like I had to bare witness to another Human's crime against nature.

I left when the animal control showed up but I can't stop thinking about the opposum that literally know one gave a shit about. I kinda wonder if it was a dog, or even a human, if anyone would have cared more...

Shits depressing

 

[triplestation]

 

[5secondrulesucks]

 

[CatLady]

OP - You're a good guy for your kindness and empathy for this poor suffering, dying creature. This post breaks my heart I'm a huge animal lover and this is such a sad story.

 

[petran79]

You tell me...

We had taken an injured cat once, run over by car but he died the other day. Had him outside wrapped in towels.

Same with a kitten. A car had broken his leg and pelvis and it couldnt walk. Died few days later.

There was a case where a tom cat had his jaw broken and he was wandering for days. Because we knew him since he was a kitten, he came to us by himself for help. We took him to a vet and he sewed his jaw and he prescribed some medication for a wound he had. We had to put antispectic in his wound. Eventually his jaw and wound healed. But he was in heat and wanted to get out, so we let him free but apparantly the other cats must have chased him off.

Years ago same thing happened with our cat. A car broke her spine. Apparently she could have been saved but then we would have to take care of her toilet for life since she would be crippled. That was more than we could have handle and animal would suffer too so vet gave her a lethal dose to stop the suffering. Saddest day of my life

 

[Croatoan]

TBH I would never get that close.

Opposum are fairly docile but they will bite if you corner or piss them off. Fun fact, it is insanely rare for them to have rabies due to their low body tempreture. So rare that they are mostly thought to be immune.

 

[triplestation]

TBH I would never get that close.

Opposum are fairly docile but they will bite if you corner or piss them off. Fun fact, it is insanely rare for them to have rabies due to their low body tempreture. So rare that they are mostly thought to be immune.

I just love that that possum discovered kindness for the very first time, that things mind was blown. Probably craves more head scratching and petting.

 

[rorepmE]

My sister ran over a kitten years ago backing out of the parking lot. I came out wondering wtf was going on and saw a kitten with it's head crushed squirming in agony. I went to the garage and got a machete and did what I had to do.

I didn't feel any emotions one way or the other.

 

[Afro Republican]

Well for one an Opposune wouldn't help your crippled body off the road. Secondly the condition you described means that animal will inevitably die. So not sure why your hitting yourself like you have a magic wand. It's not your fault

It also might be no one noticed as well. You did say it was pointed out to you. So you may not have know it was there otherwise Don't generalize all the people around you within 2 minutes.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

Yeah, that's a sad story.

I love animals, I hate to pass by any roadkill on the road.

But at the same time, you have to keep it in perspective, how many animals get badly injured out in the woods and have to slowly die? That isn't something that only happens on roads or parking lots.

 

[Renoir]

I think humans dont have empathy for anything that is ugly. For most humans to attempt to save a creature it has to be cute.. or some sort of majestic creature. No one will attempt to save a possum.. But if a baby falcon falls off a nest i bet most will attempt to nurse it back to a healthy state.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

OP don't go to China.

 

[AnotherOne]

Damn that's just a horrible..alot of people are just fucking assholes who have 0 sympathy or respect.

 

[MetalAlien]

OP don't go to China.

Damn right, if I get the infinity guantlet there won't be any random to the people that turn to dust.

 

[Falcs]

OP, I think you and your wife did well to call Animal Control. And aside from putting it out of its misery yourself (very difficult thing to do) I don't think there's anything else more you could have done. At least you ended its suffering as soon as you could with your actions.
I'm not at all making any excuses for anyone else that noticed the poor thing and just ignored it, and while I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't give a shit, there's some who probably would, but it is a lot easier (emotionally) to just look away than to go out there and actually do something. Out of site, out of mind.
Well done for actually doing something about it.
I'd like to think that if I saw an animal suffering like that I would stop and try to end it's suffering, but I don't know if I have the heart or stomach to do it. I would probably do the same thing you did.

 

[DoubleJTripleDistilled]

My sister ran over a kitten years ago backing out of the parking lot. I came out wondering wtf was going on and saw a kitten with it's head crushed squirming in agony. I went to the garage and got a machete and did what I had to do.

I didn't feel any emotions one way or the other.

Emotion or no emotion, I'm glad you were there, shit sounds horrible.

 

[Winter John]

 

[#Phonepunk#]

It is sad sometimes when I look at my cat and think about how isolated he is, living in an apartment, instead of out in the wild, entirely dependent on me for food. Pets are odd, there is a relationship there but I can't deny there are some cruel elements to it. Taking my cat to get neutered was a weird experience.

It's interesting that anthropocentrism is so universal. It's one of the first things in the Bible, this thought that humans are somehow unique and special, they have dominion over the planet. But this is a sentiment deeply shared across many religions as well as atheistic materialism. As much as we want to show compassion for living creatures there is an inherent bias that transcends nearly all ideology.

People will say "humans are just animals" but they sure don't act like it. Norm MacDonald has a good rant on this somewhere.

 

[rivv3r]

So... because one time, at some random diner, an animal was injured in the parking lot and the other patrons, who were most likely never even aware of it, didn't act like it was a national emergency, you've deduced that humans have no empathy for other animals? Really?

 

[InterMusketeer]

So... because one time, at some random diner, an animal was injured in the parking lot and the other patrons, who were most likely never even aware of it, didn't act like it was a national emergency, you've deduced that humans have no empathy for other animals? Really?

I don't think it'd be hard to list the many, many ways people don't care about animals and even abuse them for our own gain. This thread is just about something OP experienced that made them come to this realization.

 

[bucyou]

You are aware that animal control more than likely killed the animal anyway?

 

[rivv3r]

I don't think it'd be hard to list the many, many ways people don't care about animals and even abuse them for our own gain. This thread is just about something OP experienced that made them come to this realization.

There are more than 7,000,000,000 people on this planet. You can find plenty stories of people doing anything. But if people really had no empathy for animals, why do we have laws against animal abuse?

 

[nkarafo]

Ignoring an injured animal is one thing.

People actively torturing an animal (to cause pain, not just death) is where my blood gets boiled. I'm a pretty desensitized to violence and gore but not when animals are involved. It's my personal trigger, if i ever see a person torture an animal in front of me i will surely end up in jail. If you want to kill an animal for whatever reason, either because it attacks your chickens or you want to eat it, do it fucking fast.

You are aware that animal control more than likely killed the animal anyway?

Euthanasia is a good solution to a suffering animal that has endured fatal injuries and has no chance.

The issue here is the suffering/pain, not the animals life.

 

[nkarafo]

But if people really had no empathy for animals, why do we have laws against animal abuse?

To protect animals from people who have no empathy for them.

Also, i don't think all countries have such laws. Because then there wouldn't be a dog festival in China where some uncivilized asshats make them suffer in ways i don't want to mention.

 

[Halo is Back]

They are are normally seen as pests and carry disease. Thats why no one cared about it and honestly animal control killing it humanly was the best option to the animal, other wise it would have died of starvation from a broken jaw. But, yes i do feel you OP, all animals deserve a decent life and quick passing. Poor guy even though I hate those ugly things.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

And other animals have 0 empathy toward humans. We have at least some empathy toward other animals. We don't owe other animals empathy.

I think the worst kinds of humans on earth are militant animal rights activists. They're literal species traitors. Evolution and nature itself demands that we exterminate them.

 

[MetalAlien]

Avatar quote!

 

[Croatoan]

You are aware that animal control more than likely killed the animal anyway?

I would have killed it myself if i could have to take it's misery away. It was dying, not just injured. I have done it before out on our private land. Nothing should be left to suffer so horribly.

 

[manner]

It always depresses me when I find dead animals by/on the road. Sure, animals die in the wild, too. But when animals lay dead on the road, it somehow reminds me of how human settlements are not just a product of encroachment but are also extremely exclusive.

 

[nikolino840]

Really?
In my opinion many have empathy for Animals and in the same time they launch rocks against other human beings... what the hell?

 

[CyberPanda]

Animals don't have empathy towards other animals.

 

[crowbrow]

When I was a kid there was this neighbor who used to go out and trap opossums on a sack and then smash the sack against a tree repeatedly. The sack will start getting colored red with blood and the screams from the animal were traumatizing. I hated his guts.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I came home one night and saw something skidding around the road. I got closer and it was a cat who was using their front paws to move around. Its hind legs were completely paralyzed. I feel absolutely horrible at this point and go inside to tell my parents what's going on. We tried calling the Humane Society to come out, but they wouldn't. It was wild animal. I swear it was hit by a car and no one cared to do anything about it. My step father and a neighbor tell me they'll handle it. I go inside and next thing I know I hear a gun shot. Poor animal.

Its heartbreaking, but then again there's a huge debate on animal rights. I know someone who works a chicken packing factory and they "safely" kill the chicken by absorbing the O2 in the room. Then you see the dog eating festivals overseas. I'm against animal cruelty and hurting animals "just because". I also think you should take care of your animals. Don't let your dog drown in a flood. Which just happened here in the Midwest. The guy got arrested for leaving his dog inside during a flood. Yea, people are important, but don't outright forget about your pets. They don't want to just die. They have a fight or flight response too.

 

[CyberPanda]

I came home one night and saw something skidding around the road. I got closer and it was a cat who was using their front paws to move around. Its hind legs were completely paralyzed. I feel absolutely horrible at this point and go inside to tell my parents what's going on. We tried calling the Humane Society to come out, but they wouldn't. It was wild animal. I swear it was hit by a car and no one cared to do anything about it. My step father and a neighbor tell me they'll handle it. I go inside and next thing I know I hear a gun shot. Poor animal.

Its heartbreaking, but then again there's a huge debate on animal rights. I know someone who works a chicken packing factory and they "safely" kill the chicken by absorbing the O2 in the room. Then you see the dog eating festivals overseas. I'm against animal cruelty and hurting animals "just because". I also think you should take care of your animals. Don't let your dog drown in a flood. Which just happened here in the Midwest. The guy got arrested for leaving his dog inside during a flood. Yea, people are important, but don't outright forget about your pets. They don't want to just die. They have a fight or flight response too.

That breaks my heart. ugh