my best friend called to say she just accidently ran over a small poodle. She was going 43 ( 45's the limit) on a busy street. the dog came from somewhere off a mediam nearby and ran right under the font of her left tire. she tried to stop, but was only a matter of seconds. it wasnt like the dog was right in front of her for 10 seconds. she tried to find a way to pull over, but the traffic was so bad there was no where. she found a bank and pulled over. by the time she did that, cars finally stopped and the owner was picking her up. The owner ran to her car and sped off by the time my friend go there. My friend is going nuts, crying, b/c she doesnt know what to do. I told her she's okay, and nothing will happen to her. The dog wasnt on a leash, and the owner apparently was chasing it. There was no time for my friend to completely stop before hitting it. Is she okay? Or should she call the cops? No one at the scene did...She lives in VA if that helps...
2007-01-13 02:40:14 · 19 answers · asked by latingal23 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
It's not a police matter. Hitting a dog with a car is a horrible thing but it was an accident and not a legal matter.
2007-01-13 02:47:02 · answer #1 · answered by KathyS 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
This is NOT your friend's fault, the dog was running loose with out a leash (violation of the leash law no matter where she lives) and sad to say it happens, the owner is to blame. It's hard to say if the dog is going to be okay or not, I had a similar incident happen where I hit a little dog running loose and it died instantly (the city animal control officers were very familar with the dogs and owners as they had cited owner numerous times for not keeping their pets properly contained). I felt horrible about the dogs death as I have always loved dogs and the animal control officer that came out to the scene even told me I was blameless.
If it will make your friend feel better, she (with your help hopefully) can call the local vet clinics and ask if a little dog was taken in in an emergency status that had been hit by a car, explaining that she was the driver of the car and was just curious as to how the dog was doing.
Tell your friend that the dog's owner is the irresponsible one and that she doesn't owe the owner ANYTHING! maybe this will be a wake up call to the owner as I hope it was for the pet owner back when I was in your friend's place.
2007-01-13 04:24:15 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Your friend obviously is a compassionate and caring person and this experience is a terrible one that is causing her a lot of emotional pain. I feel for her, because I would feel awful in that situation also. But the fact is that she did everything she could to try to avoid the accident, and she did her best to respond and help after it happened.
In my opinion, she has done everything an ethical and decent person could be expected to do. There is no additional good that would come from her trying to find the owner. I don't think that she has any legal obligation to contact the police. A dog is considered personal property, and her sole obligation, from a legal perspective, would be for the cost of the vet bills and/or the dog but even then only if she could be proven to be liable, which is unlikely. I suppose the owner could sue her for damages due to psychological stress, though. But that would just be a ridiculous situation, since your friend is not really at fault. It was just a very unfortunate accident.
So, in my opinion, the best course of action for your friend is to forgive herself for what happened and move on. And if it makes her feel better, perhaps she should make a donation to a charity that helps animals.
2007-01-13 02:51:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
well it's a little difficult to understand your story first of all. i assume you're saying that your friend saw the owner of the dog pick the dog up and hurry off with it. if that's the case and that happened to me then i would try my hardest to convince myself that the dog was going to be okay. she didn't do anything to get into legal trouble for but i'm sure she feels guilty anyway. just comfort your friend and let her talk about how she's feeling. and as a dog owner i can tell you that dogs get off their leashes or accidentally get let out of the front door of your house all of the time and just because someone's dog is loose it doesn't mean that they are a bad pet owner or that they (or the driver) should be blamed for their dog being hit. it's an unfortunate situation for everyone involved,.
2007-01-13 03:23:26 · answer #4 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would definately want to know how the dog and lady were doing. I would try to contact them and offer my friendship and support. Best way would probably be to let the police know and call around to vets. They'll be glad to help your friend find the lady. And, thank goodness your friend didn't panic-stop right in the middle of the accident and traffic. There might have been human injuries if she had not moved along and pulled over in a safer place.
2007-01-13 02:52:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
All your friend can do is talk to the dog's owner. It seems to me that it is definitely the owner's fault NO LEASH??? forget it. However, if friend feels too bad about it (and I would) she can think about splitting the vet's bill or doing something nice for the owner, like sending an apology card or something. =(
2007-01-13 02:49:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Your poor friend! And the poor dog! I'm sure she is just beside herself. If she is worried about what has become of the dog, have her call some of the vets in the area and see if the dog was brought in for emergency treatment. I'm sure she feels awful, but it certainly wasn't her fault. She's a good person for trying to stop and help. We're keeping our fingers crossed for her and the dog.
2007-01-13 02:50:30 · answer #7 · answered by 5gr8k9s 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
she needs to call the police anyway in case the owner tries to make up a story about her and tries to make her replace the dog and she needs to tell the police the whole truth no matter what . cause my sister ran over someones dog and they tried to sue her to make her pay for a new pet . All because my sis did not call the police and tell them what happened . I was so angry at her for that . So please tell your friend to call the police . good luck and I hope I helped.
2007-01-13 06:02:56 · answer #8 · answered by Kate T. 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
She didn't do anything wrong, but that probably doesn't make her feel any better. She could try calling the area vets to see if anyone brought in a dog matching that description. Otherwise, she could maybe place a classifieds ad to try to find the owner.
2007-01-13 02:51:27 · answer #9 · answered by Mrs. Strain 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Poor lady and poor dog!
I've seen this happen before. The dog was loose, and loose dogs tend not to watch where they're going. Your friend doesn't have anything to worry about, though I daresay she will feel awful for a while.
Feel better.
2007-01-13 02:49:43 · answer #10 · answered by Tigger 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋