He was beautiful. Somehow that made it even worse. His lush, full coat was the color of autumn at its best.  He was so clean.  The fur on his chest was white like new snow. 

I tried to keep from crying or throwing up as I stood beside the police officer and watched this beautiful creature suffer, gasping for air and taking his last breaths. I wanted to say “I don’t know what happened”.  But I did know what happened, and I didn’t react in time to stop it.  It felt like the worst thing I had ever done. 

A few…