What would you do?  

What would you do? Remember that question because I am looking for advice not sympathy. This story may be long and sad but I need to get it off my chest and I would really appreciate any advice. Thank you in advance.
Its after midnight here, so it is January 4th 2007. Today would have been Charlie's 3rd birthday and also its been three years since my father died. Let me tell you a little about Charlie. The day he was born I was up at the hospital with my dad who was dying. I had called home because my dog Jessica was about to give birth. I was told that she had one pup in the driveway, but it was brought into the house and it was okay. I then went to my dad's room. He seemed in great distress although he was in a coma. I knew it was the end. I held his hand and told him it was okay to go and that I loved him. A tear formed in his eye and he took his last breath. So after I returned home, I wanted to know about the dog that was born first. He was black with a small white patch of fur on his chest that looked like a cross. I considered him a gift from my father. I loved that dog.Charlie was an inside dog. He went out into a fenced in area to do his duties. He hardly ever left my side. He followed me everywhere. I couldn't even go to the bathroom without him scratching at the door. When I ate dinner he would lay his head on my lap and just stare off into space,probably hoping that I would share my food with him. I would do the dishes and he would lay behind me as if to keep me company. That dog meant the world to me. We also kept three other pups from that liter. Well, it was Friday the 13th of October. it was kind of a windy day. My boyfriends son went to school that morning but he didn't close the door tight and the wind blew it open. All five of the dogs got out. I awoke to a state trooper yelling in my house. Luckily a neighbor had called them thinking something was wrong. I managed to get three of the dogs back in. Charlie was missing and so was Lily,his sister. I did everything I could. I walked up and down the road and through the fields. I called the dog warden. We drove around a few blocks over and over,day and night. The police had our name and number.Neighbors did too. I put an ad in the paper. Lily came back around 4:30 the next morning but no Charlie. I had recieved many calls about him being spotted but I was never able to find him. Then on the morning of October 18th I got a call from the sherrifs department and they said a black dog had been spotted on the New York State Thruway. For those of you that don't know what that is, it is a very very busy toll road. The speed limit is 65mph but people go much faster. My heart sank. I have seen what happens to deer when they get out there. But I didn't think it was him. I live a few miles from there but I didn't think he would cross into there. Besides I had reports of him being elsewhere. But the thruway people had my name and number and said they would call if they saw him again. So we went out looking again. It was late afternoon when we got a call from someone who had been out on the thruway and saw a dog that looked like mine. We immediately drove to the toll booth,we were only a few minutes away. A state trooper was there and he told us that he saw him 2 hours before. Why didn't they call me? So he starts yelling at us..."He's part rot isn't he" over and over. He told us that he almost had to shoot him because he tried to attack him. Then he chased him almost a mile down the road. We asked if they had to shoot him if they could just try to injure him but they said no and I totally understand their reasoning. So we asked about calling in a dog catcher, maybe someone could shoot him with a tranquilizer gun. To me, any dog on the thruway seems like a serious matter that should be taken care of quickly. Many lives are at stake out there. We were told that they couldn't call anyone until they had seen the dog at the same area several times. They didn't want the dog warden to have to sit out there and wait, possible for nothing. We were also told that we couldn't go out and look, we could drive around the roads that went near the thruway. We gave them our name and phone number again. All I could do was wait and hope. Then on Thurday morning, October 19th I got a call from the thruway informing me that a dog had been hit and killed. I had to go identify him. He was seven miles away from home. I didn't think it was him. One reason is because when they called me the guy kept asking me if I was so and so or if I knew her. They didn't even have my name right. Then he tells me that they have been chasing this dog for almost a week out there. Why the hell didn't anyone do anything about it? So then he tells me that they have the dog at the Weedsport toll booth maintenence building. We get there and they have Charlie in a bag out by the damn road. I'm sorry but he deserved better than that. I know, to them he was just something they had to clean up but to me he was the world. My buddy, my best friend, My Charlie. I talked to a dog warden who used to work in an area by the thruway and she told me the only safe way to catch a dog out there is with humane traps. Charlie had to have been hungry,tired,scared, and missing his family. Of course he was going to attack and run. I think if someone had been out there who was trained in catching animals, maybe Charlie would be alive today.So now my goal is to help make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. If anyone can give me some ideas on where to start, I'd appreciate it. I'm not out to cause trouble or place blame, I just want to make it better for someone else. Thank you for taking the time to read this. So my question is, if this was you, would you just let it go or would you try to make a difference?


Happy Birthday Charlie!


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