Yesterday morning in the peaceful pre-dawn hours as I was lying in bed thinking about my upcoming day, I heard a car speeding by followed by a thump. My heart sank. I hoped for the best … one less opossum, woodchuck, skunk, or raccoon to deal with. Still in my pajamas, I ran outside where my worst fears were confirmed. Instead of a varmint, another beloved pet was killed. He was one of a set of twins. Now Skittles, Snicker’s sister, is left to manage without the one she shared the womb with and has never spent a day without, just as Hershey faced this spring when his brother Oreo was killed on the same road. Farm life is a paradox. The best of the best and the worst of the worst.

As my stomach rolled at the sight of another dead animal, out of respect for my beloved Snickers, I could not leave his body to be hit again. So, I put on my big girl panties and arranged to take care of his body. As I stood on the side of the road, a shovel in one hand and a trash bag in the other, my sanitation guys drove up. It didn’t take them long to figure out what was happening. Old lady crying, shovel in hand, dead cat in the road. The driver jumped out of the cab and said with compassion, “Would you like us to take care of him?” Unable to form words, I shook my head yes. The man in the back gently scooped up Snicker’s still limp body and put him in the truck. Then he came around and gave me a big hug, telling me how sorry he was.

Death is a part of life that I’m still having to learn to deal with. But the kindness of two strangers comforted me more than I can say. Bad things happen. But, good people still exist!