Free Range Pets

Whether you have cats, dogs, horses, cows, chickens, or peacocks, please make sure that they are safe and do not become road hazards. I bring up this topic today because of an incident that happened to sky and I yesterday while we were transporting more stuff and the cat and dog to the farm. What I thought was an SUV that had just caught a blow out ahead of us was actually the SUV hitting and running over a Lab mix of about 6 months old who had run into the Highway. The driver looked like he was going to stop but sadly sped off instead. I, however, did stop and pulled over just in time for the owners to cross into the Highway and retrieve their pet. I got out of the truck to offer any kind of help. The only help I could give to the owners was to confirm that the puppy was actually still breathing and alive, but even that was grim hope to the owners as I could tell by the way she slowly gasped for air that her ribs were likely broken with at least one rib having punctured a lung. They hurriedly carried the puppy to their car and rushed her to the vet. By the time I got back to the truck Skylar was hysterical.

I realize that accidents do occur, but if we took better precautions for safe guarding our pets most of these accidents would never take place. I also realize that cats will not stay behind a fence, and cows and horses get out of fencing just to do so. I even understand that most people like their chickens free range and peacocks, yes there is one family down the road who owns several peacocks, ducks, and turkeys. The Peacocks seem to love to play chicken with the cars that drive by waiting till the very last second to cross the road so the driver has to slam on their breaks. No one ever wants to hit someone's pet. Personally I would love to ban all vehicles,  even though I love my truck, and go back to horse and buggy because it seems to me that if we did we wouldn't have as many broken hearted pet owners in the world.

For the owners of free range Chicken, peacocks, turkeys, and ducks, they can still be free range and not run into the road or even have the potential to run into the road by putting up perimeter fencing to keep them safe from car and predatory animals.

Farmers and ranchers have always used fencing to protect their investment in the livestock that they own and even chickens have coops. So why not look at your pets in the same manor. Most pet owners view their pets as "furry children." I wouldn't let a young child run across the road or play near a highway so why would you allow your pet to do so?

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this way, but then again I won't even run over road kill that I know has been there for weeks. I also hate vehicles and wish we didn't need them, not because of the noise or pollution or even making the oil companies richer, but because of what they do to so many animals and also what they do to kids on occasion. Vehicles are just like guns, though. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. The same could be said about a vehicle.