There I was, preparing my kibble for another dramatic episode of
Project Runway, when I heard the shrieking bloody cry of the human pet from outside. I ran to the window to look out, but as I did so, the front door flew open, and I watched with mild interest as Ares was flung inside. The door quickly slammed shut, but the human pet did not enter.
Moments later, the human pet walked into the living room, and she was shaking. Her eyes were welling up quickly with tears, and she could barely move, standing firmly in one place, boring a hole into Ares with her eyes alone.
"What happened?" I whispered.
The human pet explained that she had gone out to collect the mail from our mailbox which is right by the road in front of our house. Ares had followed her down the driveway, and as it just so happened, the neighbor from across the street had come outside at the same time, walking to his car to grab something he had forgotten. Ares had bolted, running to our neighbor friend to say hello, and the human pet had given him a firm warning, saying his name assertively.
With his ears back indicating he had understood, Ares turned quickly around to run back across the street to our front porch, but he had not seen that a car was coming down the road. It had been exceptionally dark thanks to the flickering status of the broken street lamp in front of our house so the human pet quickly knew that the little one would be quite difficult to see for the oncoming driver. She had little time to think, but she knew if something was not done, Ares would be hit - such was the timing of the entire incident.
She ran in front of the oncoming car, hands in front of her in the universal symbol for 'stop', and yelled at the top of her lungs, "No!"
Brakes squealed as the headlights illuminated the human pet in the middle of the road. She didn't stand there, though, like so many deer who find themselves in that precarious position. After the car had stopped, she ran into our yard, scooped up Ares, and proceeded to throw him into the house...literally.
I had never known until last night the depth of my human pet's love for us, that she would risk her own life to save ours. I don't think she realized it either until that moment, so shocked she was by her own actions without regard to her own safety. It was a powerful moment for everyone involved.
Needless to say,
Project Runway lacked a certain je na sais quoi after that.
