The other week, when I was riding my bike to the South Bronx ... an old man was feeding pigeons right in the middle of the bike path. I was running late and worried about time and I didn’t want to slow down. ... There was a terrible sound. It was the cry of either a pigeon’s pain or an old man’s dismay. I’m not sure which. Either way, a pigeon was dead, and the old man was devastated. I felt terrible."

"I was lost and trying to get my bearings, the pigeons were in the middle of the street and I did not slow down because I had never heard of pigeons NOT getting out of the way. They all did except for the one I hit."

"A couple of years ago, I killed a baby rabbit while mowing my yard."

"I struck and killed a cat last November."

"I squashed a squirrel once taking a carrot cake to my friend's baby shower."

"A squirrel died from my and my husband's thoughtlessness this past Spring."

"I hit a baby deer one time and cried hysterically for about 15 minutes."

"I myself was in a rush and accidently hit a cat with my car."

"I've accidentally killed several animals before and I remember each one, and each hurt differently, but I try not to relate these incidents to daily life because then you carry around the baggage of dwelling too much on the past."

"Ok, here's the stuff I've accidentally killed:

• 3 Snakes—2 with lawnmowers and one with a poker after the friggin' Siamese brought it in the house.
• 1 Crow—Bad timing for him as he flew in front of my grill as I was speeding down a Maine highway.
• 1 Squirrel—Again, bad timing for him. I thought he might miss the wheels, but then I heard the surprisingly loud 'clunk'.
• 1 Large Dog—Couldn't understand this one. Who lets his dog run free near a 50mph stretch of road? At night? I would have rather hit the idiot owner. He's lucky I didn't come after him for the cost of my headlight.
• And, of course, more bugs than I can count."

"After parking and finishing my business, I was pulling away from the curb, and I felt a slight 'bump' under the tire. When I looked back I saw a flat pigeon. ... Even more recently, I was navigating my GHG belching killing machine past a neighborhood park, when I saw a flash of tabby orange fur dart out in front of my freshly sharpened studded snow tires (I live at sea level). After I heard that now familiar 'bump' I looked in the rear-view mirror and witnessed a flash of tabby orange fur moving even faster into the park."

"A few years ago, my husband hit a grouse on his way home from work. He pulled over and carefully disengaged it from the grill of his truck. It was dead, but he brought it home and showed us the lovely (and rare in these parts) little bird. Then he plucked it, cleaned it, roasted it, and served it on a bed of wild rice."

"The problem with squirrels is they can't seem to make up their minds—making it difficult to swerve to avoid them. So I have hit a few and it makes me feel bad for a little bit and also makes me determined to watch out more closely for them. However, I do not get in a funk about it."

"Yeah, I hit a cat once in the middle of the night pretty sad the next day. Until, a friend said it straight. 'That cat was in the road. The road is for the cars. The cats that live a long life know it.' He continued, 'Now what are the ravens supposed to eat? What are the bugs and bacteria supposed to eat? Dead cats that's what.'"

"Nothing was as bad as that time the semi-trailer in front of us on the freeway hit a white samoan. Chunks of white fur flew into our windshield for miles. We had to keep the windshield wipers going."

"The two-seat CRX was laden with 3 packs and 3 people—that last man laying in back on top of the packs—in a mad dash to reach the trailhead before sundown. It was just a dart of auburn fur at the front right bumper that sent the too-heavy and too-fast vehicle into a sideways spin that kicked up a rooster tail of dust, turned the back-hatch man into a pinwheel, and put a bruise on Bambi's virgin haunch."

"Flying. Into scads of prairie dogs, sitting up cheerfully and unbelievably cute on the pavement or the shoulder on their hind legs. Casualty: One. Scores others long dead and melting on the road."