Puppy in the Road

Buffy. He was the Shih Tzu that was part of our family from the time I was in fourth grade until sometime in college. Scoff at his name if you want, he was a wonderful pet and brought much joy to our family. I couldn’t help but think of Buffy as I sped along a major highway and passed a little Shih Tzu trotting the opposite direction of traffic in the 1-2 foot space between the fast lane traffic and the median wall. His cute, dirty little face looked as if he was determined to get somewhere and wasn’t bothered by the traffic whizzing by at 80 mph.
      I am one of those people that will pull over to move a turtle out of the road. I’ve also picked up many a worm that needed to be removed from the middle of the sidewalk. My first instinct was to stop right there and grab him, but noticing the 18 wheeler in my rear-view mirror, I knew I should rethink my strategy. So many thoughts rushing through my head: “Should I pull over when I find space on this side of the highway or should I cross four lanes of traffic to the shoulder and then walk across all this traffic?”, “Could I make it back to him in my awkward heels and a flappy skirt?”, “If I made my way back to the puppy, would he come to me or would I cause him to run into the traffic?”, “How will he ever get across traffic?”, “Is he still alive now?” “How did he get in the middle of the highway?”, “If I turn around and head the opposite direction I won’t be able to see where he is”, “Headlines: Woman Causes Massive Pile up and/or Dies on Highway 70 Trying to Save Puppy.”
      With every second that passed, the puppy was further away. I didn’t see any good way to save that puppy. I cried, feeling pretty much helpless. I struggled with the plight of this little part of God’s creation. Then I was reminded of the plight of thousands of girls that are drawn away from their homes with false promises and sold to the highest bidder to be used as a sex toy. Are there people crying for them? Are there people fighting for them?
      Over 10,000 women are trapped as sex workers in the red light district of Sonagachi, Kolkata. Each one made for freedom and in need of a more beautiful life. May the passion and fight to rescue them be exponentially greater than the anguish I struggled with trying to save a puppy.

DM


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