Last night I had an experience that I can’t stop thinking about. It started about a week ago. I was driving over Kanan westbound. As I rounded a bend in the road I saw this beautiful coyote standing on the side of the road looking straight into my eyes. He was talking to me. It was only a few seconds but it seamed much longer. He was beautiful and proud. He was wild nature in all of its glory and luster. The coyote’s spirit leaped out and touched me in a way I have never been touched before by a wild animal. If only I would have had my camera in the car at that time I would have taken his picture.
The sad part of this story is that last night someone hit my coyote with their car. I again was driving over Kanan westbound and at about the same place I saw the coyote -lying on the side of the road. I turned my car around and went to help him-he was all alone dying on the side of the road. No one cared-not even the person who hit him with their car stopped to help. As my heart broke and my mind raced I pulled up in front of him so no one would run over him. With my light shining down on his glistening coat and his rapid breathing screaming for help, I pulled a towel out of the car and draped the great one. I then went for water for he must have been thirsty. With my water bottle I poured water down his mouth. He did not move with the exception of his eyes. I then began to ask him to please get up and go run into the woods. I stood there for some 20 minutes talking to him so he would know he was not alone. But I did not know what other things I could have done. Maybe pull him off the road. He weighed about 60 pounds in all his glory.
Then a car pulled up behind my car. It was a couple. The lady’s name was Sharon. Her husband said that if he had a gun he would shoot my coyote to put him out of his misery. Why do men think it is less painful to be killed than to be helped? Sharon said she would call the animal control to come and help. Next, two more cars stopped and a young lady named Vanessa Kline came over and said, “Lets call the Parks and Recreation. They help the wild life live.” In the other car were Vanessa’s mother Kathy Kline and her husband. Just about the time Vanessa got through to the Park Services and they said they would come help, an animal control officer named Brian pulled up. Without a stop in his tracks he walked toward my coyote with a syringe in one hand and a pole with a noose on the end in the other hand. I said, “Could you help him? Don’t just kill him.” Brian said that he has seen a lot of coyotes and if they can get up and run away they do. As he stuck the syringe into the coyote’s glistening coat my heart raced up to my throat. I began to cry. I know he was in pain but I so wanted to try and help him live. It took two shots to make his heart stop because he was strong and proud. Then he stopped breathing and he was gone forever.
The Kline’s were kind and supported me by holding both of my arms and letting me know I was not alone and I did the right thing in making sure the great one was not in pain and he did not die alone. Kathy Kline said it must have been my destiny to find the great one in his hour of need. Sharon was crying and her husband helped her back to the car.
I think maybe people were feeding the coyote-that is why he stood alone at the side of the road. Waiting for his next meal. What he did not know is some people are unkind to animals and will swerve out to run the great proud coyote down. People must learn to not feed wild animals. They must hunt in packs to balance out the population of smaller animals. And lastly, Vanessa, Kathy, and I all made a pact that we would not speed through the canyon. And we would tell our friends to please do the same.
Abigail Adams