Hit a dog on my way home this evening

[pokerfan]

Just a couple of blocks from my house. East-west street, right at dusk, which means this time of year (equinox) the sun is right in your face. Only I was heading east but there was a car approaching so I wasn't sure how well he was seeing and kinda slowed up a bit and gave him some room. the speed limit in my neighborhood is 25 so I was probably doing 20. I see this little shape dart in front of my car. I didn't even have time to apply brakes. I straddled him but hit him pretty solid.

I pulled over and checked to see if he was alive. He was and not a lot of bleeding, but not moving much. I'm sure he had internal injuries.

No fucking way am I leaving him in the middle of the road. I start running door to door and finally find the owner. I told him how sorry I was (I am the biggest animal lover) and he forgave me. I have no idea if the dog is gonna make it but I'm gonna check back with him Sat or Sun.

Anything I can do or should do in a situation like this? I just feel terrible.

[billyskank]

1. I'm sorry dude, it happens

You can try to be as careful as anything, but if something runs in front of your car you're going to hit it. It's not your fault.

:pals:

[pokerfan]

2. I guess

I've been driving for more than thirty years and this is the first dog. A few suicidal squirrels, almost a turtle once, couple of birds, a deer once - but I managed to brake enough that it was just a light tap. I hopped out and saw her white tail bouncing into the night.

But this dog made me feel bad.

[billyskank]

8. That's natural.

[Whoa_Nelly]

3. Am like you

Years ago, driving through the Iowa countryside with tall corn right up tot the road edge, a little dog darted out onto the highway and I hit him pretty hard, heard him thump under my car and saw him in my rear view mirror rolling down the road. I felt horrible! I was sad, in shock, and a whole bunch of other emotions.

I went to the first farmhouse I saw nearby, and knocked on the door. I was so distressed. A woman answered the door. I tearfully explained I had just hit a little fluffy white dog and I thought he was probably dead. I told her I was so sorry, how I couldn't have not hit him the way he ran right out into the road. I was now bawling and apologizing profusely.

The woman just looked at me with no expression. Then, she called over her shoulder, "Kids! Get the wagon. We got another one dead on the road."

She never said a word to me. She just finished drying her hands on the towel she was holding and let the screen door swing shut behind her as she went into the house. By the time I got back to my car parked on the side of the road, the kids already had the dog in their Radio Flyer and were chatting, smiling and pulling the dog back down the farmhouse driveway.

I was at a total loss as to what had just happened. I got in my car and drove on. I didn't know what else to do.

[pokerfan]

10. That's bizarre

I grew up on a farm and I will admit that might have some cats with no names who lived in the barn, all of our dogs had names and were loved.

[SeattleGirl]

4. Oh, damn. I'm so sorry.

Let me tell you, you have already done the very best thing. Finding the owner and telling him what happened. I hope the dog makes it, but for the owner, if the dog dies, at least he will know what happened.

Couple of years ago, I was at the Oregon coast, following my BIL in his van. A cat ran across the road, and he hit it, and killed it. We went door-knocking, and found the owner. Even though she, and we, were very upset, she thanked us for finding her and telling her what happened.

:hug: Hope you feel better, and hope the dog is okay.

[Robeson]

5. Oh hell....

...let us know how the dog is doing.

[pokerfan]

7. I will

If he makes it, I will even take pictures.

The real scary thing is two nights ago, about the same time of evening, I was driving west into the setting sun, on another street maybe a couple of miles from my house. I got the Ray Bans on and I'm futzing with visor. And this is a 35 mph street. I see a kid bouncing a rubber ball against the garage door of his house. Sure enough, he thows it too hard and it bounces over his head into the street. And he turns around and chases it running right into the street. Right in front of me. But I had plenty of time to see it all develop and stopped in plenty of time.

A few more incidents like this and I'll start riding the bus.

[electricmonk]

6. Man that sucks

Last weekend I hit an opposum and even though it's just a possum I still felt like shit for hours. I tried to dodge it but he ran right underneath the car and the back wheels got him. In 26 years of driving I've only hit 3 animals, all wild, but everytime I still feel ill afterwards. I hope I never hit a pet.

I think you did enough finding the owners and telling them what happened. Too many people out there will run over a pet and just keep on going.

[pokerfan]

9. I gotta tell the turtle story

I'm riding my motorcycle and I'm crossing a highway that is elevated between two lakes. Actually, it used to be one lake but they bisected it with a highway.

Well, I see what I thought was a rock on the road way up ahead, so I note it and figure I'll just go around it when I get there. Next time I look, I could swear that it had moved. I keep looking at the moving rock and the bike just keeps steering towards it.

The riders out there will understand: You need to actively focus on where you want to go and not just on what you want to avoid. So I manage to avoid running over the moving rock and park the bike.

I discover that it's a box turtle trying to cross the road. The road was about didteen feet above the level of the lakes so I was kind of amazed that he had climbed up there. So I picked him up and carried him down to the lake I think was his destination and released him. Little thing just swam away.

I'm mostly glad I didn't hit him on the bike at 60 mph. That could have been ugly.

[electricmonk]

11. A turtle is one of my victims

About 16-17 years ago I was driving the company van back to the shop after a day on the job site. The shop was in a rural area outside of Richmond, Va. I was just rolling along and I thought it was a large leaf or something in the road so I didn't even try to swerve until i was just a few feet away I realized it was a turtle and I ran over it and the crunching sound almost made me sick.

[Bzzzz]

12. On that topic...

Hubby and I were on a nice motorcycle ride one afternoon taking it real easy. We'd just went thru an S curve when 2 dogs ran out in front of us. He was able to miss the first dog, but we hit the 2nd one square on. Hubby went over the handle bars and I went off the left side of the bike. He was in pretty bad shape. The left side of his face and body was road rash, but luckily no broken bones. I was very lucky, just bruised badly. I ran to the owners home and they called the paramedics. The police also were called and the homeowners were cited for not keeping their dogs contained on their property. This happens all to often. Don't get me wrong...we are the biggest animal lovers ever, but we believe in taking care of our animals and making sure they stay on our property and are not a nuisance to others. BTW...both dogs were found in the owners barn later. The dog that was hit was not dead, but not sure of his injuries. We did sue and we recovered for our losses and injuries.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

13. You did everything you could do...

I hope the pup pulls through. I wonder why he wasn't in his yard.

:hug::hug::hug:

[NewWaveChick1981]

14. It was an accident, and you did the right thing by finding the owner.

:hug: Checking back to see how the dog is doing is a very caring thing to do. :pals: Most people would have callously let the dog lay where it was and die and drive off. If your area has a leash law, you are not at fault (and even if they don't, you're still not at fault).

Fortunately, my dogs stay in a fenced-in yard when they are not in the house, and they are ALWAYS on leashes when we take them out. However, if one accidentally got out and ran in the road, I would not hold someone responsible for hitting one if they made an effort to find me and tell me. I'd be sad and upset, but not at the person who had no time to prevent an accident. :hug:

I have hit a rabbit and an opossum before, and both were accidental. I cried my eyes out after both incidents---I'm an animal lover and was upset that I had no time to react before they darted under my wheels. :cry: I don't know what I'd do if I hit a dog or a cat. :(

[MissMillie]

15. Accidents happen

You did everything you could to avoid the dog, prevent injuries, and make things right.

Not that I'm a "blame the victim" sort of person, but I'm wondering why this animal wasn't tied up. You'd think if this home were that close to the road, the owner would keep his pet restrained.

[radwriter0555]

16. You did a really, really nice thing by finding his owner, an you were

remarkably lucky that you did.

I know you feel bad, but it wasn't your fault at all.

I hope there's no damage to your car?

[China_cat]

17. Offer to pay the vet bill if you haven't already

or at least half of it.

[idgiehkt]

18. no legal responsibility there

I wouldn't, unless the owners can't afford the bill and the dog would be put to sleep. It's their responsibility to keep their pet out of harms way.

[China_cat]

20. No, there's no legal responsibility

but accidents do happen even with best of pet parents. The OP asked (in essence) what he could do to make himself feel better about it. Offering to pay for all or part of the vet bill would be the right thing to do.

[idgiehkt]

25. I am a huge animal lover

But I would not do that unless I knew for a fact the family couldn't afford it and the animal was going to lose it's life. Even then I would ask for help for the family from a local SPCA or Humane Society, or perhaps see if the vet runs a donor fund for animals whose guardians can't affort to pay. I used to work for a vet and several times we had repeat HBCs come in because people wouldn't keep their dogs safe even after the animal had been run over the first time. Plus just a broken leg can cost a couple thousand dollars to repair nowadays. I think it would be really foolish for someone to pipe up and make an offer like this and then find out the vet bill was going to be several thousand dollars, especially since most towns have leash laws. Most people would have a tough time shelling that out for their own animal in this economy, much less for someone else's animal. It might also be treading on risky ground legally, because you could be said to be making a verbal contract and then what if they turn around and take you to court when you realize you can't afford it. Like in the case where you say you will pay and the vet initially thinks only a splint will be needed and then it turns out the leg must be pinned, or pinned and plated, which you can't afford. Or, worse case scenario, it doesn't heal properly (non-union) and it all has to be done all over again. I just think it's a mistake. I say this only because I worked for a vet that did orthopedic surgery for several offices every day and saw mangled animals coming in all the time and know how much those surgical repairs cost. That was in the early nineties too so now it's probably through the roof. Luckily this dog was only slightly injured.

[ScreamingMeemie]

19. pokerfan, I'm so sorry. You did all you could.

Most people would just leave the dog there and you were wonderful to track down the owner. I hope you don't beat yourself up over this. :hug:

[pokerfan]

21. THE DOG SURVIVED!!!

I just swung by the residence to follow up, dreading bad news, but the owner sad he was fine! While we were talking the little guy, "Griz" even trotted out and barked at me! The owner said the vet checked him over, said he probably sufferred a concussion and there was a burned spot on his back, probably from the muffler.

I'm feeling much better.

[BarenakedLady]

22. That's great news.

Sorry it happened to you (and the dog) though.

[RiffRandell]

23. Yay!

I am so glad!

[Wcross]

24. WoW! You are a really good person pokerfan.

You took the time to stop by and check on the dog even though he may have died and the owner could be upset. I am really impressed with your charactor.

I am happy to hear the dog survived his accident.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. That's wonderful news!!!

I'm so happy for all of you! :hug::hug::hug:

[zonkers]

26. Again? No, wait, this thread just keeps getting bumped.