# I saw a dog run over today



## gingerarab (22 January 2014)

Driving to work at 7.30 this morning, a large boxer dog ran out of the park and accross the road, he then ran back and was hit,  I stopped and ran after him at which point the owner appeared, the dog had bolted and got confused.  I put them both in the car and took them home then spent half an hour sobbing in my car and being sick.  It was a shocking thing to witness and the car driver that hit the dog did not stop.  It was a smallish car and a large boxer dog, the car would of sustained quite a bit of damage.  All day I have been thinking about the dog, I come home tonight and there is an appeal on fb for the driver to come forward, the dog died before the owners could get him to the vets.  I am in tears, I am so so angry, why did the driver not stop ?  how can they live with it.  There would of not been able to miss the fact they had run a large dog over.  The owners have been in touch to say thank you and it turns out the dog had helped the husband get through treatment for cancer. This will haunt me for a long time


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## ILuvCowparsely (22 January 2014)

How awful for you, make sure you get some rescue remedy http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nelsons-Bac...&qid=1390428346&sr=8-1&keywords=remedy+rescue.


Poor dog and poor owner  what a tragic thing to happen. As for the driver he was probably a coward or to  scared to stop.  People can be like that.

Sending you some healing vibes  RIP dog.


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## Nugget La Poneh (22 January 2014)

As someone who has had the misfortune of hitting a dog, it will haunt them. It could be that they did stop but further up the road. I did stop when I had my accident, but I wish I hadn't as the response I got was less than civil despite it not being my fault (dog bolted through an open gate, which apparently is normally closed but he went before they had closed it. Straight onto a 60mph road). I still can't pass a loose dog without flinching.


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## Alec Swan (22 January 2014)

gingerarab said:



			.......  It was a shocking thing to witness and the car driver that hit the dog did not stop.  ........  I am in tears, I am so so angry, why did the driver not stop ?  how can they live with it.  There would of not been able to miss the fact they had run a large dog over.  .......
		
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With no intention of being harsh,  how would the driver stopping have made any difference?  Perhaps your anger would be better directed at an owner who allowed a dog to run across a road,  an owner who didn't have their dog on a lead.  Witnessing such accidents is distressing,  but the person who ran away (the driver), may well have panicked,  and that should be understood.  There's a requirement in Law that any accident in which a dog is run over is reported to the authorities,  I understand that,  but at times of shock,  people behave irrationally.  From what you say,  the driver was not the one responsible.

Alec.


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## Aru (22 January 2014)

I dont know how to put this better......but do you do realise that the owner of the dog is entirely responsible for all costs of all damages incurred to the car driver by this incident? So perhaps the chasing them down by facebook might not be the best idea...could end up being a very expensive witch hunt.

They should have stopped to be honest,its the right thing to do for the poor dogs sake....but they are not obliged to. It is obviously the better thing to do for that poor creature but by law all the owners of the car need to do is report the accident to the police as there was a dog involved.

Obviously Im not saying that they were right not to stop but sometimes people behave irrationally when they get a shock...plus in many cases where people do stop they get the blame for the dogs injuries from the distraught owners...

At the end of the day accident or not that dog could have caused a fatal accident to a person today.I love animals but people come first and dogs and roads do not mix. You cant blame the poor driver if they didn't have a chance to react and avoid hitting the dog.Accidents happen.Its impossible to know what went through their head...but I am sure it will haunt them as well once the shock wears off.

Poor dog though (R.I.P ) 

Rescue remedy yourself up and have a cuddle with your hounds.But a few minutes later and that could have been you hitting the dog.

.


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## Mince Pie (22 January 2014)

Report it to the police as hitting a dog is a recordable accident so technically the driver is guilty of a hit and run. Hope you are ok, RIP doggy


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## 2Greys (22 January 2014)

How awful for its owner & you to witness. I'm surprised they didn't want a lift straight to the vets but shock does strange things.

 Tbf we don't know why the dog ran from the park, maybe lack of owner control or dog may have been spooked or attacked and ran off in fear.


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## CorvusCorax (22 January 2014)

That must have been horrible to witness. Our girls were run over,  thankfully not fatally (our gate had blown down in a storm and they were crossing the main road to go to the park!!) and the woman, who lived in our estate, was too scared of them to get out of the car. She told me that when I met her many years later and she introduced herself as 'the one who ran over your Alsayshuns'.

Have a stiff drink!


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## _GG_ (22 January 2014)

+1 to BBH report it. 

I remember like it happened this very day, hitting a GSD. Technically, it hit me. I was behind a car in a 30 limit that was turning left so I was only doing about 15mph and it ran out of a back garden and into my car so hard it took the front bumper off. Nobody home, I poured it into my car, Wrapped it up tightly in one of my horses rugs to stop it moving, called my dad and he met me at our vets (who I was working for at the time). Dog, amazingly, was ok, but later that day, long after the owner called and thanked us, as I lay in the bath, I had to swallow down vomit and I poured my eyes out.

It hurt my heart...I can only imagine how you feel knowing that the dog died as a result and that the driver just left. 

Don't underestimate the power of shock and make sure you look after yourself xx


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## _GG_ (22 January 2014)

Alec Swan said:



			With no intention of being harsh,  how would the driver stopping have made any difference?  Perhaps your anger would be better directed at an owner who allowed a dog to run across a road,  an owner who didn't have their dog on a lead.  Witnessing such accidents is distressing,  but the person who ran away (the driver), may well have panicked,  and that should be understood.  There's a requirement in Law that any accident in which a dog is run over is reported to the authorities,  I understand that,  but at times of shock,  people behave irrationally.  From what you say,  the driver was not the one responsible.

Alec.
		
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It's upsetting because morally, it is not a nice thing to do...but moral scales are sliding of course. 

As for the owners, no, the dogs shouldn't have been able to just run onto a road, but accidents do happen and for all we know the owners could have been extremely good owners, this just being a blip. God knows, we've had some with our four and we are extremely responsible.


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## ILuvCowparsely (23 January 2014)

Alec Swan said:



			With no intention of being harsh,  how would the driver stopping have made any difference?  Perhaps your anger would be better directed at an owner who allowed a dog to run across a road,  an owner who didn't have their dog on a lead.  Witnessing such accidents is distressing,  but the person who ran away (the driver), may well have panicked,  and that should be understood.  There's a requirement in Law that any accident in which a dog is run over is reported to the authorities,  I understand that,  but at times of shock,  people behave irrationally.  From what you say,  the driver was not the one responsible.

Alec.
		
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No but it would have shown he was sad/sorry and appologised for the incident showing remorse to the owner  rather than drive off as it was nothing just another road kill victim, a bit heartless IMO.

If the dog was in the park Alex like OP the dog came out the park,  a park is where you let off dogs.  We will never know why it came out, maybe it was scared of something , another dog, a noise,  You can't presume its cut and dry.

As, BBH said report it there may be caeras rolling which caught evidence.


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## NellRosk (23 January 2014)

When I was about 8 a local cat ran over a road to say hi to me because I always used to stroke him and he got hit by a car and died. Will never forget the noise it made. So sympathise OP, poor you. xx


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## YasandCrystal (23 January 2014)

I lost a dog through being run over on the main road outside my house. The side gate was left open by one of the children and the elderly dog went wandering - he was deaf too. I felt so bad and sorry for the driver who was visibly shaken. It was afterall not their fault at all and I was extremely grateful that they stopped.  A horrible situation for everyone.
Perhaps the driver has now reported the accident - you have a certain time in which to do it. Not everyone can cope with the upset of hitting an animal - we are all different in our sensitivity and of course as someone said the driver could have been fearful of reprisals from the dog's owner - frankly you never know these days.


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## Saneta (23 January 2014)

It is law that an accident with a dog must be reported, absolutely regardless of how, when why etc.  The driver may well have been banned from driving, uninsured or just too frightened or thoughtless to stop.  Until the driver is found, you'll never know.  Of course the owner of the dog must bear some of the responsibility and he'll never forgive himself.  But what if this had been a child that ran out from the park?  Would posters on here view this differently?  The law is the law, regardless of moral fibre or lack of it.,.
OP, this is every dog owners worse nightmare, and you did all you could to help under horiible circumstances.  Be gentle to yourself, you couldn't do any more, and I'm sure the owner is very grateful to you for your support.


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## SadKen (23 January 2014)

OP that's terrible, I really feel for you and for the poor dog and his owners. Well done for doing what you could. Sending you my best vibes. 

The driver was of course obliged to report what had happened and may well have done so since.  I must agree with Alec's thoughts on this one though; it sounds like the driver was not responsible.  If it was a woman, and the owner was a man, it's possible that she didn't stop because she was frightened of violence being directed to her.  In addition, the driver wouldn't be responsible for any vet costs so finding them would be somewhat fruitless. 

Would I stop? Of course, it is morally right to do so (as long as I didn't think violence would be meted out). I also would probably be sick, and it would stay with me forever.  

Saneta - I think if it was a child, any driver would know that they must stop.  With a dog, they aren't actually obliged to stop as far as I'm aware - just to report it. In addition, I'm not sure the law in that regard is well known anyway.


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## loopiesteff (23 January 2014)

Nugget La Poneh said:



			As someone who has had the misfortune of hitting a dog, it will haunt them. It could be that they did stop but further up the road. I did stop when I had my accident, but I wish I hadn't as the response I got was less than civil despite it not being my fault (dog bolted through an open gate, which apparently is normally closed but he went before they had closed it. Straight onto a 60mph road). I still can't pass a loose dog without flinching.
		
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Same here.

I hit a dog at 60mph. He bolted across the road out of a driveway. The thud still rings in my ears. I screeched to a halt, dog to be seen nowhere. Pulled into their driveway and the dog had run back home, whimpering and crying.
The owner cursed the dog for running out saying "bloody dog, she's always running out and up the road to my relatives house. I'm so sorry, any damage to your car we'll pay to be fixed!"

I couldn't give a toss about my car! Wanted to make sure the dog was OK! They rushed her to the vets and asked them to let me know how she was. Got to the yard literally a minutes driveaway and broke down in tears, shaking. Later on got a phone call from the owner to say that the dog was OK. Needed stitches for a cut, but will be extremely sore, but got away with bad bruising!

Everytime I drive past their house I slow down, and cringe - even though they now have a gate on their driveway! 

It's horrible to experience, either being the driver, or witnessing it how you did. 

Stiff drink, hug a pooch. x


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## stencilface (23 January 2014)

I feel for you OP. I've stopped to pick two cats off the road that I saw being hit, both died. I also got a dog run over as an 11yo child, it started following me home and because I got to the main road I told it to sit and stay as I didn't want it to cross the road. Unfortunately when I got to the other side I said good dog and it ran into the road. I can't remember if the driver stopped, but thankfully a nice lady did and bundled the dog in her car and took him to the vets, I think he died a few days later. Took me a long time to get over it and forgive myself.


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## Love_my_Lurcher (23 January 2014)

I find it unforgivable for a driver to hit any animal (humans included) and to not stop to check if the animal was okay or needed medical treatment. If the park was frequented by dogs and children, then there should have been speed limits in place and proper policing of laws to ensure that drivers do NOT exceed them. I also find it sickening that some of you (well one of  you) are siding with the driver. I shudder to think of anything like that happening to my two and I would definitely be seeking justice for injuries or death. This could very easily have been a child that got hit. What would you be saying about that Alec? Then again if it had been a child, the police would have launched a full scale investigation and be pulling out all the stops on tracing the driver, but they probably won't take it seriously since the victim was 'only' a dog. 

The dog might have been let off the lead to get some exercise and up to that point there might not have been a problem with recall. Then again the dog might have slipped his or her collar, the lead might have snapped or the woman who had the dog might have dropped the lead accidently. 

I also agree that the driver in this case could have been driving illegally and/or over the speed limit. He or she MUST be caught as they are a menace. There MUST also be harsher penalties for driving offences. If it were up to me, anybody caught driving dangerously would have their vehicles impounded and destroyed. They would also be given a lifetime ban. My Mum lost her sister because of an idiot who thought it was okay to speed. I have also seen countless morons on the road who ought to have their licences revoked. You can't even report them because the police are only interested AFTER they have caused an accident. 

My thoughts are with the poor man and woman who have very cruelly lost their dog and with everybody who witnessed his or her death.


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## HaffiesRock (23 January 2014)

OP, how awful for you. I too have seen a dog hit. We get the Goose Fair in Nottingham in October every year. It is off a very busy road straight out of the town centre. It was about 5.30 pm and the road was very busy. This German Shepherd type dog was running down the road and darting in and out of the traffic. My heart was in my mouth watching it. It then got hit, and the bang and the yelp were awful, it got up and limped off into the path of another car which killed it instantly. The driver stopped and took the dog to the side of the road and appeared to be looking for a collar which it didn't seem to have. 

I assume it belonged to the traveling fair. It will haunt me forever.


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## SadKen (23 January 2014)

LML I can see why you feel that way, but there isn't any evidence from the OP to suggest that the driver was actually at fault in this case.  As a dog doesn't understand road sense they can easily just run out in front of a car and be hit, even if that car's being driven sensibly, safely and within the speed limit. There wouldn't be time to brake to a stop; as a few people above have posted about accidents where animals have run in front of their cars, these things can and do happen.  

If a child had run out in front of a car, the driver is legally as well as morally obliged to stop.  Even if a child had been hit under these circumstances (and the driver stopped as required), it does not necessarily follow that the driver is at fault. 

Morally, the driver should have stopped, but she/he was not obliged to do so, and not stopping doesn't automatically infer that the driver was breaking the law and caused the death of the dog. Legally, he/she was not obliged to stop, but is obliged to report the incident; we don't know if that's happened or not.

I feel terribly sorry for the dog and his owners, as well as OP who witnessed this, but we can't say that the driver is a menace, only that we morally disagree with his/her decision not to stop. We can say that the dog escaped for whatever reason; the fact is that he was not under control of his owners at the time.  That is not the driver's fault; it may not be the owners' either, which renders this what it sounds like it was - a tragic accident. 

It's an emotive subject and I respect your right to hold the view that you do.


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## Aru (23 January 2014)

hitting a child is not the same as hitting a dog! for one thing dogs generally move a hell of a lot faster than a child! its unreasonable to compare the two.imo they are not equal accidents.

my thoughts are with the poor dog and his owners in this accident, as it sounds like a genuine accident...but that doesn't change the law.

Dogs must be under control in public places.running loose on the road is not under control.in this case it may be just a tragic accident. ..but at the end of the day the car driver did not intentionally run down the dog.it ran in front of them and they likely did not have a chance to react. they should have stopped yes.....but considering some of the responses here im beginning to wonder if you wouldn't just get blame and abuse from the owner if you did the morally right thing and stopped....bad enough to hit a dog.worse again if you get a mouthful of abuse from the owner who had it running out of control. ..


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (23 January 2014)

Haven't read all the posts on here........ but I can remember when I was driving up our road one day and a cat jumped out in front of me. I was doing about 40mph and the cat went right under the wheels, I heard the crunch, and then a lot of hairs flew up, it was awful, but there was NOTHING I could have done to prevent this happening.

I went into the nearest house (knew the people anyway) and had to say "excuse me, but is this your (horribly mangled) cat that I've just knocked over???" Yes, it was their cat, and they were predictably upset, but they were glad that at least someone had bothered to explain what had happened. The cat could not under any circumstances have survived, death would have been pretty instantaneously. Cats will be cats.

One of our cats was killed recently....... I was in the yard talking to the builder, there was the sound of a car outside; then the cat came down into the yard at mega-speed, almost like she was having a fit - was going round in circles and turning over and over. Then (all within the space of less than 10 seconds) rushed under the builder's van, and lay down. You could see at once that she was dead. The car driver came in and said how sorry she was, cat had just jumped over the hedge etc etc.

I say all this because yes whilst realising this was AWFUL for the OP, and the driver - legally - SHOULD have stopped to report the incident; but this was purely and simply an "accident" and these things unfortunately do happen. If anyone was/is "blameworthy" then it has to be the owner of the dog for failing to keep it under control really I guess, tho' not much comfort for them. Again, dogs will be dogs, and I can't count the times my dogs have done daft things like run into the road when there's traffic coming along it, they've been lucky so far but doesn't mean they'll always be so.

Sorry you had to witness this OP; absolutely awful for you.


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## hayley.t (23 January 2014)

Lml- I think the point that alec was making was that in the eyes of the law it is the dog owner that is at fault and liable for damages to the car. If a dog causes an accident the owner is liable as the dog should have been under control. Also although I too think the driver should have stopped out of courtesy if the dog boltex in front of them there probably wasn't a lot they could do. The same is true if it was a child a lady I used to work with hit a child that ran out in front of her and was cleared of any wrong doing,  luckily the child survived but it affected her deeply.  
Op, well done for staying calm and helping the owner, it sounds as though you were a big comfort to them and what a shame for the dog.


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## hayley.t (23 January 2014)

Sadken- sorry cross posted and you put it much better than I did!


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## Jesstickle (23 January 2014)

When I was a child of eleven my dog was hit in front of my eyes running across the road to my Mother. The driver didn't stop. He died(the dog I mean) It was horrible. But ultimately it was our fault. The driver was probably in shock an just wanted to get home. However awful it was for you it was probably worse for them. They probably weren't thinking straight and drove on all flustered


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## SadKen (23 January 2014)

hayley.t said:



			Sadken- sorry cross posted and you put it much better than I did!
		
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I was just nodding in agreement with your post!

Talking scenarios re the difference between this and hitting a child, I wonder what posters who think the driver was at fault would think if the dog had run out in front of a motorbike.  As a biker, I know that not only does it take longer to stop on a bike, but hitting a dog would in most circumstances result in you being knocked off which invariably hurts.  Would we still think that the person hitting the dog was responsible for their own likely injuries and damage to their machine? What about a lorry, which would have less chance of seeing a dog and probably wouldn't feel the impact as much?  

I thought about putting this on a new thread but decided to post on this one as the backstory is all here.


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## Love_my_Lurcher (23 January 2014)

Aru said:



			hitting a child is not the same as hitting a dog! for one thing dogs generally move a hell of a lot faster than a child! its unreasonable to compare the two.imo they are not equal accidents.

my thoughts are with the poor dog and his owners in this accident, as it sounds like a genuine accident...but that doesn't change the law.

Dogs must be under control in public places.running loose on the road is not under control.in this case it may be just a tragic accident. ..but at the end of the day the car driver did not intentionally run down the dog.it ran in front of them and they likely did not have a chance to react. they should have stopped yes.....but considering some of the responses here im beginning to wonder if you wouldn't just get blame and abuse from the owner if you did the morally right thing and stopped....bad enough to hit a dog.worse again if you get a mouthful of abuse from the owner who had it running out of control. ..
		
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I disagree. Both are living beings and should be treated equally. My dogs are my babies and nobody is going to tell me that they shouldn't be compared to children. In terms of importance. There is no evidence to prove that one is more important than the other. As for causing accidents. At least dogs don't cause them deliberately. I was out driving with my Mum one day and we encountered a couple of younger boys (one on each side of the road). They pretended that they had a rope or something and proceeded to 'lift it' as we were about to pass. We got a fright, but they just laughed. This was at the time when there was a spate of cases involving children using real rope/chains to cause accidents. And dogs don't play 'chicken' either.


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## Nugget La Poneh (23 January 2014)

Love_my_Lurcher said:



			I find it unforgivable for a driver to hit any animal (humans included) and to not stop to check if the animal was okay or needed medical treatment. If the park was frequented by dogs and children, then there should have been speed limits in place and proper policing of laws to ensure that drivers do NOT exceed them. I also find it sickening that some of you (well one of  you) are siding with the driver. I shudder to think of anything like that happening to my two and I would definitely be seeking justice for injuries or death. This could very easily have been a child that got hit. What would you be saying about that Alec? Then again if it had been a child, the police would have launched a full scale investigation and be pulling out all the stops on tracing the driver, but they probably won't take it seriously since the victim was 'only' a dog. 

The dog might have been let off the lead to get some exercise and up to that point there might not have been a problem with recall. Then again the dog might have slipped his or her collar, the lead might have snapped or the woman who had the dog might have dropped the lead accidently. 

I also agree that the driver in this case could have been driving illegally and/or over the speed limit. He or she MUST be caught as they are a menace. There MUST also be harsher penalties for driving offences. If it were up to me, anybody caught driving dangerously would have their vehicles impounded and destroyed. They would also be given a lifetime ban. My Mum lost her sister because of an idiot who thought it was okay to speed. I have also seen countless morons on the road who ought to have their licences revoked. You can't even report them because the police are only interested AFTER they have caused an accident. 

My thoughts are with the poor man and woman who have very cruelly lost their dog and with everybody who witnessed his or her death.
		
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I wasn't speeding, in fact I was doing 50 in a 60mph/national speed limit. Am I a menace? I had an ACCIDENT. What the OP saw was an ACCIDENT, we don't know if the driver actually stopped further down (as possibly doing exactly what I did and the OP) or reported it (I didn't report to police when I had mine as I didn't know I had to, the insurance company advised me I had to and all that happens is they log it) so to cast aspersions on the driver is massively, massively unfair.


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## Nicnac (23 January 2014)

Always horrible to witness or to actually do having hit a dog on a motorway at 2am in Belgium when it ran out from the trees.  Not much you can do at full speed.  Very poor show that the person didn't stop but shock works in weird ways.

Why on earth wasn't the dog taken the vet immediately?  It seems a bit strange that you took the dog and owner home....


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## SadKen (23 January 2014)

Love_my_Lurcher said:



			I disagree. Both are living beings and should be treated equally. My dogs are my babies and nobody is going to tell me that they shouldn't be compared to children. In terms of importance. There is no evidence to prove that one is more important than the other. As for causing accidents. At least dogs don't cause them deliberately. I was out driving with my Mum one day and we encountered a couple of younger boys (one on each side of the road). They pretended that they had a rope or something and proceeded to 'lift it' as we were about to pass. We got a fright, but they just laughed. This was at the time when there was a spate of cases involving children using real rope/chains to cause accidents. And dogs don't play 'chicken' either.
		
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My two are also my babies. But - they are not equal to children in the eyes of the law. And dogs may not cause accidents deliberately, but they do cause them.  In the case of either small child or dog, ultimately the responsibility for care lies with the owner/parent/guardian as neither has the capacity to make decisions regarding safety on the road themselves.


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## Alec Swan (23 January 2014)

Love_my_Lurcher said:



			I find it unforgivable for a driver to hit any animal (humans included) and to not stop to check if the animal was okay or needed medical treatment. If the park was frequented by dogs and children, then there should have been speed limits in place and proper policing of laws to ensure that drivers do NOT exceed them. I also find it sickening that some of you (well one of  you) are siding with the driver. I shudder to think of anything like that happening to my two and I would definitely be seeking justice for injuries or death. This could very easily have been a child that got hit. What would you be saying about that Alec? Then again if it had been a child, the police would have launched a full scale investigation and be pulling out all the stops on tracing the driver, but they probably won't take it seriously since the victim was 'only' a dog. 

The dog might have been let off the lead to get some exercise and up to that point there might not have been a problem with recall. Then again the dog might have slipped his or her collar, the lead might have snapped or the woman who had the dog might have dropped the lead accidently. 

I also agree that the driver in this case could have been driving illegally and/or over the speed limit. He or she MUST be caught as they are a menace. There MUST also be harsher penalties for driving offences. If it were up to me, anybody caught driving dangerously would have their vehicles impounded and destroyed. They would also be given a lifetime ban. My Mum lost her sister because of an idiot who thought it was okay to speed. I have also seen countless morons on the road who ought to have their licences revoked. You can't even report them because the police are only interested AFTER they have caused an accident. 

My thoughts are with the poor man and woman who have very cruelly lost their dog and with everybody who witnessed his or her death.
		
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Now that you've had a chance to re-read what you've written,  are you really being serious?

Alec.


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## samlf (23 January 2014)

Broke_But_Happy said:



			Report it to the police as hitting a dog is a recordable accident so technically the driver is guilty of a hit and run. Hope you are ok, RIP doggy 

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I agree - it is a legal obligation that if you hit anything you must report it. 
Feel sorry for the dog, I can never understand people who allow their dogs off lead right by a busy road however well trained they are!


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## CorvusCorax (23 January 2014)

Accidents happen - that's why they're called accidents, we weren't to know our gate would blow down. I know someone who's dog got their head bashed by a car, he was on lead, on pavement, and saw a bottle blowing about in the gutter and just lunged for it. Very well trained dog, luckily made full recovery. One of the reasons I stopped mine playing with/being allowed to carry bottles or cans.


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## Goldenstar (23 January 2014)

Love_my_Lurcher said:



			I find it unforgivable for a driver to hit any animal (humans included) and to not stop to check if the animal was okay or needed medical treatment. If the park was frequented by dogs and children, then there should have been speed limits in place and proper policing of laws to ensure that drivers do NOT exceed them. I also find it sickening that some of you (well one of  you) are siding with the driver. I shudder to think of anything like that happening to my two and I would definitely be seeking justice for injuries or death. This could very easily have been a child that got hit. What would you be saying about that Alec? Then again if it had been a child, the police would have launched a full scale investigation and be pulling out all the stops on tracing the driver, but they probably won't take it seriously since the victim was 'only' a dog. 

The dog might have been let off the lead to get some exercise and up to that point there might not have been a problem with recall. Then again the dog might have slipped his or her collar, the lead might have snapped or the woman who had the dog might have dropped the lead accidently. 

I also agree that the driver in this case could have been driving illegally and/or over the speed limit. He or she MUST be caught as they are a menace. There MUST also be harsher penalties for driving offences. If it were up to me, anybody caught driving dangerously would have their vehicles impounded and destroyed. They would also be given a lifetime ban. My Mum lost her sister because of an idiot who thought it was okay to speed. I have also seen countless morons on the road who ought to have their licences revoked. You can't even report them because the police are only interested AFTER they have caused an accident. 

My thoughts are with the poor man and woman who have very cruelly lost their dog and with everybody who witnessed his or her death.
		
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Do you really mean this ? 
My thoughts are with the owner Of the dog whose dog could have caused a serious accident thy will feel bad as its their fault the dog is dead .
If a dog gets loose and is out of control it's the owners fault there's no evidence the driver is at fault .
We don't know the driver has not reported it to the police he may well have done particularity if the car was damaged so he can seek to recover the cost of the damage .
I certainly would have stopped though .
My dad ran over a dog when I was a child tsking us to school it ran straight out of a gate and into the door of the car it was horrible .
Horrible thing OP poor boxer .


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## Saneta (23 January 2014)

It's about time the driving exam was changed.  It needs to ensure that drivers are fully aware of the law.  I would suggest it also needs to include part of the driving test to demonstrate ability and safety when passing horses.  Much like horse riders take riding and road safety.  Of course what happened today was an accident.  The driver didn't make the dog run into the road.  Nevertheless, the driver did hit the dog and at the very least, should have stopped to see if the dog needed help, and reported the incident to the police.  Yes, it's not pleasant and probably time consuming.  If you get behind the wheel of a car, you have a responsibility to drive safely, within speed limits etc etc.  Driving a car is like having a machine gun, it is a lethal weapon in the wrong hands.  If an accident happens, you just have to deal with it.  That's what being a responsible adult is all about.
None of these points of view will help the OP or the poor Boxers' owners.  In truth, I am sure they are very grateful their dog didn't cause a major accident.  Let's hope the car driver sees the error of his/her ways, and makes an effort to contact the owner or OP to at least find out how the poor dog fair ed. Metal can be replaced.


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## MurphysMinder (23 January 2014)

A horrible thing for you to have witnessed OP,  I have seen a dog run over and killed and it does stay with you.    However some posters on here do seem to be over reacting. A driver has I think 24 hours to report hitting a dog to the police, he/she may well have done this.  Yes it would have been the decent thing to stop but that doesn't mean they were driving dangerously, and as someone has already posted, the driver could actually claim off the dog owner for the cost of any repairs to their car.


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## Love_my_Lurcher (23 January 2014)

Goldenstar said:



			Do you really mean this ? 
My thoughts are with the owner Of the dog whose dog could have caused a serious accident thy will feel bad as its their fault the dog is dead .
If a dog gets loose and is out of control it's the owners fault there's no evidence the driver is at fault .
We don't know the driver has not reported it to the police he may well have done particularity if the car was damaged so he can seek to recover the cost of the damage .
I certainly would have stopped though .
My dad ran over a dog when I was a child tsking us to school it ran straight out of a gate and into the door of the car it was horrible .
Horrible thing OP poor boxer .
		
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It *WAS* a serious accident because a dog *DIED*!



Alec Swan said:



			Now that you've had a chance to re-read what you've written,  are you really being serious?

Alec.
		
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I am being very serious and meant everything that I said. Drivers that drive dangerously (as in speeding, not stopping after they hit an animal, driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, using their phone/smoking while driving, etc) should NOT be allowed to get away with their actions. They are the ones who are more likely to cause accidents. As I said before, my Mum lost her sister because of a speeding nutcase. My should have been Aunt (she died before I was born) went in a car with her boyfriend, he proceeded to put his foot down, took a corner too quickly and overshot it and hit a truck that was coming round the corner at the same time. The car they were in flipped over and my Mum's sister was killed. He got off relatively unscathed. So, yes I am more than annoyed that authorities still aren't taking road safety seriously enough. 

Lunatics can still drive like lunatics and there isn't a sodding thing that can be done BEFORE they cause an accident. Like I said previously you cannot report them. At least in the aviation industry a pilot who is seen flying in a dangerous manner can be reported and dealt with accordingly. There are country roads that I used to walk on, but not now. There are far too many vehicles on them and many of them bomb along the roads without a care in the world. If I were in charge of the country, half of the cars would be taken off the roads, speed limits would be reduced and I would re-open the old railway stations and lines in order to get most of the trucks of the roads as well. Those are the types of necessary measures to make roads safer. That and a zero tolerance policy on dangerous driving. As it is if you are caught driving dangerously, you might get a few points off your licence and/or a temporary ban. Outright bans are seldom given and the policing of people who have lost their licences is a joke. I know of several people who are STILL driving despite having had their licences revoked. 

I am sorry, but it's way over time to toughen up driving laws.

As for this case. We do not know for sure what the driver was doing. Were they distracted by something, under the influence of drink or drugs, driving with a hangover and were they even legal?


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## Love_my_Lurcher (23 January 2014)

MurphysMinder said:



			A horrible thing for you to have witnessed OP,  I have seen a dog run over and killed and it does stay with you.    However some posters on here do seem to be over reacting. A driver has I think 24 hours to report hitting a dog to the police, he/she may well have done this.  Yes it would have been the decent thing to stop but that doesn't mean they were driving dangerously, and as someone has already posted, the driver could actually claim off the dog owner for the cost of any repairs to their car.
		
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That's another law that needs to be changed. A vehicle can be repaired/replaced. A life cannot be replaced.


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## Nugget La Poneh (23 January 2014)

Love_my_Lurcher said:



			As for this case. We do not know for sure what the driver was doing. Were they distracted by something, under the influence of drink or drugs, driving with a hangover and were they even legal?
		
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Or they could've been perfectly law abiding and got caught unawares by a dog bolting out in front of them.

And you can report dangerous drivers - by phoning the police on the non-emergency number and telling them the reg, car type and where you are.

Obviously hands free...


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## Love_my_Lurcher (23 January 2014)

Nugget La Poneh said:



			Or they could've been perfectly law abiding and got caught unawares by a dog bolting out in front of them.

And you can report dangerous drivers - by phoning the police on the non-emergency number and telling them the reg, car type and where you are.

Obviously hands free...
		
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I tried that last year and the police said they could not assist me. It might be due to different laws here in Scotland.


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## Meems (23 January 2014)

Very upsetting for you OP but you did everything you could and exactly what I would have done too.   

I have had the misfortune of finding a dead Staffie in the middle of the road a couple of years ago (it was rush hour in London and everyone else was just driving around it).   A couple of youths sitting on their bikes showed me the house where the dog lived, I carried it to the door and got a complete mouthful from the woman who lived there, even though the youths came with me and said it wasn't me who had knocked over the dog.   The woman then proceeded to shout and swear at her young daughter who saw the dead dog and was naturally very upset, and then slammed the door in my face.    A bit of a dysfunctional family if you ask me.  The dog was getting very heavy by then, so I just laid her on the garden wall and walked away.

Found a freshly hit by a car cat in the same stretch of road a few months later barely alive, I drove like the absolute clappers on a Sunday morning to the nearest RSPCA but it died just before we got there, that really upset me.

And a couple of months ago again, noticed a cat lying in a road near me with a couple of women standing on the pavement not knowing what to do, it had just been hit by a large van and killed outright.   I wrapped it in my dogs blanket and took it to the local vet, in the hope that it was microchipped and its owner could be notified.    

One would hope that the car driver would have stopped but, alas, many people have very little regard for animals.


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## Goldenstar (23 January 2014)

The dog my father killed ran straight into the door of the car .
It's not a given that the driver did anything wrong .


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## Goldenstar (23 January 2014)

Love_my_Lurcher said:



			That's another law that needs to be changed. A vehicle can be repaired/replaced. A life cannot be replaced.
		
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If someones property does damage to your property and you are not at fault of course you should be able to seek redress .


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## Aru (23 January 2014)

Love_my_Lurcher said:



			That's another law that needs to be changed. A vehicle can be repaired/replaced. A life cannot be replaced.
		
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Dogs that ends up on public roads are a danger to the public as they can cause very serious  car accidents. I have met way to many rta dogs.(road traffic accident) Some dogs on the roads have gotten there in tragic circumstances, the vast majority were however simply were not adequately under their owners control and ended up being hit by cars as a result.
Loads of different reasons... due to lack of a gate to contain them,wandering freely,chasing cars,no lead and no recall or whats becoming more common those b**dy extendable leads.
Many of the owners I meet were blaming the car drivers.....but it was their poor dog that was out of control and paying the price.

Making the owners take responsibilty for the damage that their "out of control" dog causes is more important and makes a lot more sense in my opinion than trying to make car owners responsible for the damages to a pet that caused a collision.
People do not generally chose to run down dogs on purpose. Who the hell wants to hit a dog with their car.Even the most animal hating person realises the damage it will do to the vehicle!
Dogs on the roads can cause fatal collisions and loss of human life as well as canine. Makes a hell of a lot more sense for the onus of responsibly to be on the pet owner.

The dog should not free on the road to come into contact with traffic .Owners have to be responsible and keep their pets safe. 
Why should the car driver lose out when their property is damaged by an owners lack of control?

Tragic accidents do happen, but a hell of a lot of canine RTAs are accidents that were waiting to happen. And its the always poor dog who suffers the consequences. The idea of a life is a life is a nice idea when you think of responsible owners and much loved pets who would only ever be on the road through misfortune.....the reality is quite different.


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## gingerarab (23 January 2014)

My post started off as a vent, I needed to release the upset of the day, I didnt expect it to produce such strong opinions, I would like to add that I was angry at the driver for not stopping but it was an accident and I dont blame the driver in any way, the dog according to the owner had been playing in the park well away from the road when something spooked him and he ran, its something they will never forgive themselves for.  I dont think the driver had much if any time to react. I did offer to take the dog and owner straight to the vet, it was his choice to go home, I have since found out from his wife that he is a very ill man and he was in shock at the time.  A dreadful accident that will have a long lasting effect on several people.


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## Dry Rot (23 January 2014)

The commonest cause of premature death in dogs is probably from being run over and every dog owner has a responsibility to be aware of that and to guard against their dog causing an accident.

I went to visit a dog owner in Northern Ireland. He lived in a detached house in a row next to a very busy main road. Inadvertently, I left the gate open when I called at the house as I was not sure I had the correct address.

My friend came to the door and in due course he took me up to the top of his small garden where he had his kennels and promptly opened the kennel gate and let his three very active gundogs out. I suddenly remembered the open gate and busy road. "That's OK", said my friend, "The dogs won't go through the gate". They didn't either!

I questioned him about this and he explained, "Oh, I take the youngsters down on a lead next to the road and every time a car goes past I give them a light tap on the nose with a little stick!"  Aversion therapy that obviously worked! Not a recommendation, but maybe something to remember if you find yourself in a similar situation as a safety stop? Better a dog with a bruised nose than a dead one. Dogs are not born traffic wise and it does no harm to teach them that cars can hurt.


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## olivia x (23 January 2014)

I remember one horrible evening at dusk, a small dog ran out towards my car on a busy road. I hit my brakes as hard as I could, and swerved to try to miss the dog. I did not miss it entirely, I hit it with a glancing blow, but it was still alive. Some people in the car behind me stopped to help. We wrapped the dog in some towels I had in the car, and one of them ( complete strangers to me) held the dog in the back of the car while I drove to an emergency vet. The driver of the other car went to try to drive past the address on the dog's tag, as for some reason there was no phone number or the number was disconnected-- I don't remember. The emergency vet said they could treat the dog and stabilise it and keep it pain free -- at my expense-- until the owners could be located. Of course I said I would cover that treatment... finally the owners were located and they said the dog had escaped from their back garden much earlier in the day. They ended up paying whatever charges the vet had, fortunately the dog only had some bruising by some miracle and nothing broken and no internal damage. It was awful-- the feeling of hitting the dog was a nightmare. It is upsetting to see it. You were an angel of mercy to stop to help the dog and its owners.


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## Meems (24 January 2014)

gingerarab said:



			My post started off as a vent, I needed to release the upset of the day, I didnt expect it to produce such strong opinions, I would like to add that I was angry at the driver for not stopping but it was an accident and I dont blame the driver in any way, the dog according to the owner had been playing in the park well away from the road when something spooked him and he ran, its something they will never forgive themselves for.  I dont think the driver had much if any time to react. I did offer to take the dog and owner straight to the vet, it was his choice to go home, I have since found out from his wife that he is a very ill man and he was in shock at the time.  A dreadful accident that will have a long lasting effect on several people.
		
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I know, this has turned into quite an opinionated thread.   Just wanted to say (again) how I sympathise with you, not a nice thing for you to have had to witness,  RIP doggy x


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## Meems (24 January 2014)

Just wanted to add I live in the middle of London and the amount of people I see with their dogs, walking them up to the common HOLDING the leads in their hands whilst the dog is a good 10 or 20 metres in front of them walking freely.    I just want to stop my car and scream at them.

I don't care how well trained your dog is, put it on a bl**dy lead.


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## gingerarab (24 January 2014)

Meems thank you and to everyone else that has sent kind words it was appreciated.  To those of you that have witnessed similar or been involved in an accident you really do have my sympathy, I feel guilty that I could not stop it from happening and yes I know thats silly, I know the owners appreciated the help.  I drove past a dog on a lead today and found myself giving it far more space than necessary even though it was on the pavement attached to an owner .


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## Alec Swan (24 January 2014)

gingerarab,  witnessing dogs which are in a state of serious distress and at the end of life,  is difficult,  and even though many on here believe that I'm uncaring,  I too find it distressing,  and to the point that on occasions,  I too find sleep difficult.  You have to support yourself and be safe in the knowledge that you were unable to prevent the accident,  you didn't panic and run as many would have done,  you weren't in any way responsible,  and that you did the very best that you could.  I'd say that you behaved in an exemplary manner,  and though I'm usually able to deal with such incidents,  at the time,  not everyone is.  Accept some credit and commendation;  and though that wont make the horror of it all disappear,  it may just help a little to have another understand your feelings.

Chin up.

Alec.


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## TrasaM (24 January 2014)

gingerarab said:



			My post started off as a vent, I needed to release the upset of the day, I didnt expect it to produce such strong opinions, I would like to add that I was angry at the driver for not stopping but it was an accident and I dont blame the driver in any way, the dog according to the owner had been playing in the park well away from the road when something spooked him and he ran, its something they will never forgive themselves for.  I dont think the driver had much if any time to react. I did offer to take the dog and owner straight to the vet, it was his choice to go home, I have since found out from his wife that he is a very ill man and he was in shock at the time.  A dreadful accident that will have a long lasting effect on several people.
		
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I once saw a dog being hit by a bus in London..the sound of his yelping will stay with me forever so I totally sympathise about how traumatic this was for you. Well done for stopping to help. You did your best and there was nothing else you could have done which would have changed the outcome.


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