Why don't cars stop when they hit our animals?

Question

2weeks ago someone hit my dog,Bingo and never bothered to stop! I want to know how can people be so cruel!! We had Bingo for 9 years, its not fair..

Answer 1

I'm very sorry for your loss. Why was your dog running around? I hit a dog myself once and followed it home to tell the owners I was sorry about it but all I got in return was cussing and threats. I mean, he let his dog loose to run around and it ran out from the woods right in my path. That's why I don't stop anymore if I hit a dog. Sure I feel real bad about it but the dog should be in an enclosure, not loose to get hurt.

Answer 2

I've been in all kinds of situations. I hit a dog that was running another car in the opposite direction and I had no choice. I stopped, but I didn't want to. It was in a bad neighborhood and the dog was one of those mean-looking ones. I dragged him out of the road and then I knocked on the door of the house. I don't know what I would have done if someone had answered. Like I said, it was a bad neighborhood. Another time I dodged a dog to keep from hitting it, and guess what? I hit a tree and totaled a car instead. Did the owners of the dog apologize to ME because their dog was in the road and not in a pen???? NO, they didn't. As I was wiping the blood off of me, they just said "Oh, well, that was our dog...."

What does it accomplish if a person does stop? Saying "I'm sorry for hitting your pet that was in the road that shouldn't have been in the road in the first place" doesn't make things better. People aren't really cruel. They are probably afraid of how the owner will react - - - which could be extreme sorrow or extreme anger towards them.

Anyway, be assured, that the person who hit your dog probably ended up having a really rotten week because they felt bad about it.

Answer 3

Did you know that it's against the law to hit an animal and not look for it's owner? Good law too! I want to think most people are just afraid of delivering the bad news. But unfortunately some people just don't care and actually worry more about how their car is after impact!! Tell everyone you know about this law and if they can get a license plate # if they see a hit and run - the drivers will pay a pretty hefty fine - can even get sued! I'm sorry for your loss. You will always have the memory of him in your heart and you'll never loose that. That, in it's own way, keeps him alive. It's much like losing a child...I feel your pain.

As for Jess's message, I wonder if she ever had a child killed by a car? Hey Jess, if your child got hit by a car or kidnapped should we chastise you? Should we say it was your fault for letting your child out of your sight?

Answer 4

I am very sorry for your loss. It's never easy to lose a beloved one.

We've seen all kinds of answers from the 'they're jerks with no heart' ones to the 'it's all the owner's fault they are on the road in the first place' ones. Sure, some drivers are real idiots, and some owners are neglectful, but I personally think most of the truth is somewhere in the middle.

I adopted my Lhasa Apso 4 1/2 years ago from the animal rescue league. The very reason the owners wouldn't take him back was because they were tired of him constantly getting out the screen door and running off for a romp. I rolled my eyes at this one and thought to myself what a pathetic excuse to get rid of a sweet little dog!

Well let me tell you as careful as I was he got out on me few times too. I am just lucky that I live out in the country in a small plan of homes where the speed limit is 10mph. He even chewed his way out of a screen window that was open and is about 4 feet off the floor and then jumped about 7 feet to the ground! This is a 20 lb dog, mind you. He jumped from the bed to the dresser and chewed his way out.

Okay. I learned that I was having the same problem as the previous owners. What I did was develop a strict routine before I open either door and check to make sure the porch gate(s) are closed. And I close them behind me100%of the time now. But I still need to look and check the gate EVERY time I let the dog out the door, because a delivery person or a neighbor could have opened it--you just never know. The point is I am not preaching, but for anyone that has a dog that thinks it is a lark to take off like mine does, then a routine really needs to be developed that works for the owner and dog. It can be as simple as just picking the dog up before any outside door is opened if the dog is small enough. I was very lucky. I got my routine under control before anything happened to my dog, although it was a challenge. I hope this post can help someone perhaps before their spirited little friend could get hurt.

I also witnessed a dog get hit once while on my way to work by the car in front of me. They didn't stop at first, but I don't know if they realized they hit her or not. I'll never know that. But when they saw me stop they pulled over several houses down. There were people sitting out in the yard and I yelled to them that a dog had been hit. It wasn't theirs but they knew her. They even said the owner had realized this was a problem and was going to build a higher fence (she had jumped the one that was already there and darted out right in front of the car). The people that hit her was an older couple. They walked back to where we were in time to see her pass away. We could all see that they felt bad. They didn't know what to say. Sorry for the length of this answer. I rarely do this, but I hope it helps in some way.

Again--I am very sorry for your loss.

Answer 5

Because some people are asses regardless of what they do, and they are cruel and can sleep easy at night regardless of who or what they harm during their day. I know how you feel. Last summer a girl was driving through my neighborhood, using my side street (which is actually not a through way to anywhere, it is actually out of the way), and going about 40 in a 15 MPH zone. My dog was playing in the neighbor's yard with her grandkids. When I came out on the porch to check on her, she went to dart across the street to come to me and since this girl was flying, she hit my dog. Cheyanna (my dog) was 5 at the time, and was pretty healthy...she had asthma and some allergies, but that was basically it. The girl did finally stop her car, six houses up the street, because my fiance went after her car on foot. Of course, I was cursing and crying and upset because my dog is yelping and bleeding and urinating all over herself and I was so afraid she was going to die. I was terrified. The girl had the nerve to look me straight in the eye and tell me the f**king dog should have gottenout of her way. I'm telling you what, if he hadn't held me back, I think I could have killed her right then. I mean this little 10 pound dog, and she hits it and has the nerve to blame the dog. Now my Chey is 6, and she has to take Rimadyl twice a day so that she can walk around without to much pain. I feel bad for her because sometimes I think that I am being selfish, but she seems happy still, and she can still jump and play with the other dogs as long as I give her her medicine. You are definitely right, it's not fair, and I feel bad for you, and I am really sorry for your loss. I dread every day the day that I am going to lose any of mine, and I wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone. Good luck to you.

Answer 6

Sure its not fair, and the person should have stopped. But you should consider yourself lucky. Lucky that you aren't facing charges from the persons insurance company. In most states a car insurance company will hold a dog owner liable for damages if hitting the dog caused damage to the persons car.

What really isn't fair, is that you didn't properly contain your dog and keep him safe.

Answer 7

true, why is he in the road, but good point.

I see dead pets on the roads all the time and I am so appaled. Its sick. People really should stop. I know mom and I ran over a cat once and we brought it back to the owners with 25$ cuz we felt so bad.

Some people are just sick that way. Most people in the world dont care about animals, so hitting one on the road doesn't bother them.

Answer 8

I'll tell you why, because some people don't care. I think it is soo cruel, its like people don't care what happens to these poor animals. Now I know how it feels to lose a pet because my dog, Jada got hit by a car too.I think the reason no one stopped was because, she was a pit bull. But someday I really hope that people will start caring about those poor animals.

Answer 9

Because people are selfish. I think people hit animals, and keep going because they keep thinking "I'm late, i have to get to work.." Or whatever. I'm sorry this happened to your dog, it isn't fair. Any real animal lover would have stopped. I know i would have stopped, cried, and found the owners to let them know what happened. I am really sorry about what happened to Bingo. My best advice for the future is to make sure your dog can't get out, and run into the road.

Answer 10

Becuase poeple don't care. My aunts dog was hit by a car, and nobody stoped. Here in Shreveport a bus driver thought she hit a dog, stopped to check the bus, then kept going. Turns out she didn't hit a dog, it was a 4 yo kid. If she had stopped to check the 'dog' maybe things would've turned out better. I don't know what condition the kid is in. People just don't care like they should.