Jesse's on the left.
Al Watan Daily 30.3.2010
'The Value of Precious Life' by Margaret Dunning
Jesse lies in the intensive care unit of the hospital in a coma; his first vertebra is broken and his skull is fractured. I do not know him well, but my heart breaks nonetheless. I know Jesse to be a cheerful, friendly, and happy person who loves animals. In addition to working fullـtime, Jesse donates much of his free time to PAWS, one of the local animal shelters. And he loves and dotes on his dogs. Little is known about his accident; he was run down while trying to pick up his dead dog from the road, but whether or not the driver ran him down intentionally has not been determined yet. What is known is that the driver was speeding and did not slow down before hitting Jesse, after which he fled the scene of the accident. Granted it was dark at the time, but the accident took place on a major, wellـlit street. Although Jesse was crouching down to pick up his dog at the time, he is a fullـgrown man and would be easy to spot...if the driver was paying any attention, that is.
So, was it simply a matter of the driver driving too fast while not paying attention and not being able to react well on time? Did the driver panic and flee the scene ـ which is a crime in itself ـ because he knew he had made a mistake and did want to, or could not, face the consequences? Or did the driver see Jessie and wonder why someone would want to pick up a dead dog from the street? Did he intentionally run Jesse down? Did he flee the scene because he did not want to be caught for any reason whatever?
The saddest thing about this story is that if it were an unconscionable attack on a dog owner, it would not have been an isolated incident: Jesse's maid was purposely run over while walking two of his dogs just a few months ago. The maid survived with serious injuries but both dogs were killed. There are numerous similar stories in the State of Kuwait of people walking dogs and being harassed and even attacked.
Did the driver of the car know Jesse? Most likely not; Jesse was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But does he ever think about the consequences? Does he think about the family and friends who love Jesse? About those who hardly know him, but nevertheless admire and respect him for the dedication, care and love that he bestows on all creatures? Does he know about all the animals that he has rescued? Would he care if he knew?
As a westerner, it is difficult for me to understand why people with dogs are purposely attacked. Dogs are "man''s best friends" after all, and are loved and treated as part of the family. For all those who have never loved an animal, they have my pity. Although not a dog owner myself, I do not look down upon dog owners, but rather admire and respect anyone who cares for an animal, including dogs. Why is this not so in the Arab World? Dogs are, after all, mentioned with kindness in the Holy Quran, so why is there such hatred existing against them today?
According to Malika Ayub, whose Internet site addresses the issue of dogs in the Holy Quran, dogs are mentioned five times in the Holy Quran and nowhere does Allah call dogs dirty animals or give any indication that they should be avoided or treated the way many Muslims think they should. Ayub goes on to validate her point by citing a story where righteous people were in the cave with their dog, pointing out that if it was not righteous to have dogs at that time, Allah would not have mentioned the dog. Dogs, as with other animals, are Allah's creatures. Finally, Ayub states that the fabricated Hadith contradicts the Quran and is based more on the personal opinions of the person narrating the Hadith rather than on the true word of Almighty Allah. Perhaps hatred toward dogs is like many other types of hatred ـ based on misconceptions, misunderstandings and plain ignorance.
However, let's give the driver of the car the benefit of the doubt and not jump to the conclusion that just because people and their dogs have been purposely attacked before; that it is the same situation in this case. After all, the driver could be a young man who was just not paying attention, made a mistake, and fled in panic. In this case, we must sympathize with the driver, who will have to live with this unfortunate mishap for the rest of his life, particularly if Jesse does not survive or ends up with almost no quality of life to look forward to.
So if the accident was indeed an accident, then one must also ask the question why it happened. Why do people speed so much in this country? Why are the traffic laws not adhered to? Why are so many people distracted while driving by using mobile phones, ignoring other cars and their occupants on the road, smoking cigarettes, indulging in food and drink; you name it? Why are there very few and nonـstringent consequences to breaking the traffic laws?
I think that Jesse's accident should be a reminder to us all. Let this serve as a reminder to one and all that life is valuable and that we should never take our own lives or anyone else's for granted. Of course, if it was intentional and not an accident, we must ask ourselves why? Why would a young man want do this? Why does he hate dogs so much? Why would he take pleasure in attacking innocent people? Is it just a game? Shocking, tragic, incomprehensible: There are many words that go through one's mind when hearing the story, but 'it's just a game' should definitely not be one of them. It is a sad fact that animal life and human life are of little value to some people.
So many questions and the answers are negligible. Only the driver knows for sure what the real story is. Only he has to answer to almighty Allah.
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That is horrendous. I dont know him personally either but he is being prayed for.
ReplyDeleteI had many nasty experiences of walking my dog in public areas and being spat at or almost driven into deliberately by drivers - what sort of society is this? What sort of people do this sort of thing?. It seems to me that despite the first world appearance of the society - with grand shopping malls and facilities - we are really dealing with a fourth world mentality.
ReplyDeleteAnon I- It is indeed very tragic. He's in all our prayers. And to Anononymous the II I'm sure a psycological profiler would agree. Cruelty to animals is a very ominous signal.
ReplyDeleteJesse gave his life for what he was passionatley living for - his pets/ babies. May his soul rest in peace, and hopefully we will all always remember him for who he was and how much pasion he had in everything he was doing. He was a mircale and was needed more at an other place.
ReplyDelete- I think it is mainly the area you live. After 210 exit "humans" seem to have a serious problem with dogs & cats....but there is justice in this world and karma will get them all
That's such a terrible thing to happen.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware that people walking their dogs were subject to harrassment. I certainly have never seen that myself and in the areas I have lived in people who walk dogs just go about their business.
It's very disturbing to read this report
Hi Jewaira, I think you must live in a very nice neighbourhood. But ask a few dog owners and you will hear a lot of harrassment stories, kids throwing stones at dogs and dog owners, dognapping(as in kidnapping), several dogs found beaten or shot at and our neighbour rescued one little dog covered in glue...Read some of the stories, on the PAWS website or AFL, of the rescued animals here in Kuwait. It is truly heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteMy husband worked with Jesse. He was on leave when he heard of his death. He was not aware of the harassment with the dog owners and and dogs too. He and jesse were co workers. He was terribly bothered by the loss of his friend.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very sad story my only hope is that the publicity aroused by this horrible incident will bring awareness to animal cruelty here.
ReplyDeleteIt is true many boys DO harass and beat/kill animals. When I was only 10 years old, I was walking around my neighborhood only to see two decapitated kittens. It is EXTREMELY cruel to see what these Kuwaiti children are taught.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if any kids are taught this. And not fair to assume all are Kuwaitis doing this as they are only half the population.
ReplyDeleteOne can see horrendous cruelty to animals all over the world. See what's happening in the UK and we have the RSPCA to step in, fine and jail such perpertrators. Ideally more respect for animals all over the world would be very welcome.