Heather, I can totally understand your thoughts.
Last January, I saw a cat being hit by a car, the driver didn't stop. I stopped my car to look after the cat, she had very bad injuries and didn't want to be touched. So instead of taking her to the vet, the only thing left for me to do was staying with her until she passed over. It took only a few minutes, but to me, it seemed like eternity when I sat there close to that poor dying baby, helpless and crying. I was devastated after that, and I asked the people walking by if they know this cat and her owners. Nobody did, so I decided to leave the dead cat there on the pavement that the owners might have a chance to find her. I was also imagining that somebody was waiting for her, and that somebody would miss her terribly now. (I lost a dear cat friend, my Katz, in 2000, so I know exactly how much this hurts)
I couldn't get this picture out of my head for a very long time, for a couple of days, I even had problems to look at my own cat Luna because I always saw that poor dying kitty instead, and I'm still avoiding to drive the road where she died.
I talked to my online buddies about this and it helped a bit. Together with some friends, I dedicated her a page on my virtual pet cemetery (http://www.angelfire.com/ks2/petcemetery/angel.html). They called her "Angel" and it was so heartwarming to see that this little creature touched so many people's lives around the world.
Now I'm imagining her playing with my Katz at the Rainbow Bridge, and when a friend's cat, Paula, was hit by a car weeks later and survived without severe injuries, even though the driver claimed to have rolled over her, I liked to think that "Angel" was there to be Paula's guardian angel that moment...

Kirsten