On June 13, while stopped at a red light, waiting to get onto the highway in front of Gulf City Mall, Lowlands, I noticed a small brown-and-white male pothound standing at the verge of the highway, not far from my vehicle. His tail was wagging incessantly and his eyes were fixed on a young man standing across the highway.

Seeing the unwavering adoration evident in the dog’s eyes and body language, I deduced that the youth was his owner and that the dog was one of those that would follow "his human" anywhere.

I could not take my gaze away from this dog – so endearing was his devotion. I noted the way he gauged the speed of the traffic, tail still wagging, figuring out the right moment at which to trot across to the youth. At one point, as the highway in front of us became clear, with cars approaching in the distance, he took the opportunity to trot confidently across, eager to be reunited with his owner.

As he got midway across the highway, I saw a car approaching at quite a speed from the distance and wished that "his" light would turn red and "mine" green that I could drive slowly onto the highway, to guard the dog with my vehicle until he had reached safely to the other side.

Thankfully, that fast car sped past him, but there was another coming right behind. Seeing that the driver showed no signs of slowing down, I screamed and pressed my hand on my horn ...hoping that would stop the driver from hitting the dog that he must have seen directly in front of his vehicle as he approached. I sat and watched helplessly as he rammed into the animal and continued driving as if it was just another day in paradise.

Screaming and yelping, dragging his hindquarters along the asphalt, the dog headed straight for his owner, who, upon hearing the impact, had turned around in time to see the car speeding away from his injured pet.

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At that moment the traffic light turned green. I drove across to the shoulder of the highway and got out to help the dog and his owner. The youth was stunned by the incident, stroking his traumatised pet, while repeating softly: “That man just roll over my dog and gone ...He just roll over my dog and gone ...”

After assessing the situation, I invited the man with his dog into my vehicle and we headed for the animal shelter vet clinic, where the dog was diagnosed as having a broken right hind leg.

This is not just a story of a dog getting hit by a car. It demonstrates graphically the way we treat and interact with animals (humans included), along the spectrum of kindness to cruelty, and speaks volumes of the nature and psyche of some who walk among us.

What kind of person can consciously run a vehicle into a living being and continue driving as if nothing happened?

Sadly, this is not a rare occurrence. On a few occasions I have been told directly, or overheard men laughing and boasting about how, when driving, they aim to hit dogs that are crossing the road, even at the risk of “mashing up de bumper.” On mo