Dog hit by car

[QuickQuack]

InitialDave said:

QuickQuack said:

The point they made was that hitting an animal is sad, but having an accident potentially causing serious injury or death of humans is far worse.

I've met enough animals and humans to regard that one as being up for debate.

Fair point, I must admit I do agree with you on that one!

[QuickQuack]

sparkythecat said:

CoreyDog said:

Both our dogs are insured (Costs about £20 a month for the pair)...

Please can you tell me who your insurer is? I'm getting a puppy in a few weeks and the quotes I've had to date have been around double that for one dog.

I haven't had to bother with pet insurance for many years now but the premiums are often breed related in much the same way as car makes and models. Some are prone to expensive problems, others not so. Therefore there can be large variations in premiums.

[InitialDave]

Yes, it's worth a discussion with a friendly vet about "known faults" with certain breeds. Some are more obvious a risk (breathing problems in pugs, spinal issues in dachshunds) than others (susceptibility to hip dysplasia in German shepherds perhaps).

[OldGermanHeaps]

bobtail4x4 said:

my question was should the driver have been travelling at a speed he could have stopped in? so partially to blame??

If the dog was just sitting stationary in the middle of the road and the driver hit it you would have a valid point, but you say the dog ran onto the road, unpredictably and uncontrollably. You know the dog well and were supposed to be in control of it and still you never forseen events unfolding the way they did, so how the fk can you blame a random stranger for not having magical powers and x ray vision?
I bet after 5 minutes of being behind someone driving at a speed where you could stop instantly for any unforseen thing running onto the road at speed from any direction would have you tearing your hair out. Driving at a speed where you can stop safely in distance you can see ahead to be clear becomes muddied when something emerges on to the road that shouldn’t have.

[BlueHave]

This sounds very similar to an event that happened to a family member many years ago. He was driving along the road and a dog ran out of a garden into the road and despite him breaking hard he hit it and it was killed instantly. Owner came out of his house and accused him of killing his dog despite his protestations.

Anyway a few months later the relative is asked to appear in court or charges relating to the event. Turned out the dogs owner was a lawyer and had made up a pack of lies. Basically he claimed the dog was locked in a cage and he had no idea how it got out. Case dropped however...

The relatives daughter just happened to be in the same class as the dog owners and she had let told her how her dog was run over because her father had left the garden gate open.

There is no way to prove the driver deliberately hit your dog

[rscott]

InitialDave said:

Yes, it's worth a discussion with a friendly vet about "known faults" with certain breeds. Some are more obvious a risk (breathing problems in pugs, spinal issues in dachshunds) than others (susceptibility to hip dysplasia in German shepherds perhaps).

Most pedigree/pure bred dogs are almost twice as expensive to insure with PetPlan than mongrels - or at least they were last we insured on. That's despite some breeds not having any congenital problems like those mentioned above.

It's daft - we could have our insurance cost by calling ours lurchers, not greyhounds.

[Mexican cuties]

and policies that only cover 12 months for a condition will be a lot less than a pet specialists that only offers life time cover. so if you have diabetes diagnosed, you will be covered for the life of the dog as long as its not pre existing and the premiums are up to date

[mcdjl]

OldGermanHeaps said:

bobtail4x4 said:

my question was should the driver have been travelling at a speed he could have stopped in? so partially to blame??

If the dog was just sitting stationary in the middle of the road and the driver hit it you would have a valid point, but you say the dog ran onto the road, unpredictably and uncontrollably. You know the dog well and were supposed to be in control of it and still you never forseen events unfolding the way they did, so how the fk can you blame a random stranger for not having magical powers and x ray vision?
I bet after 5 minutes of being behind someone driving at a speed where you could stop instantly for any unforseen thing running onto the road at speed from any direction would have you tearing your hair out. Driving at a speed where you can stop safely in distance you can see ahead to be clear becomes muddied when something emerges on to the road that shouldn’t have.

Pretty much this in my opinion. My experience of nearly hitting dogs comes from cycling on shared paths. What this means to a cyclist when theres a dog around is more or less stop, the dog will probably dive towards you or go in a random direction. Kids tend to be a lot more predictable, or freeze when they see you.

[Pica-Pica]

I think the title should be car hit by dog. Also, I hate when a loose dog jumps at people (especially kids) and the owner says 'its's OK he's only playing'. Some people are terrified by dogs.

[CoreyDog]

sparkythecat said:

CoreyDog said:

Both our dogs are insured (Costs about £20 a month for the pair) and they cover third party damage or injury up to £5 Million along with all the usual vets bills, money for a reward if lost etc. If you have insurance, pass it onto them to deal with. If you don't well... It's an expensive lesson.

Please can you tell me who your insurer is? I'm getting a puppy in a few weeks and the quotes I've had to date have been around double that for one dog.

Ours are insured with the Post Office but both are cross breeds which brings costs down massively as less inherited health issues, one is 16 months and other is 3 years so that helps aswell as both are less likely to get injured doing "puppy" things and young enough to not have age related health issues.

It's the same as car insurance, they base it on risk, average costs of vet bills for the breed etc.

Hope you get the insurance at a reasonable price but definitely get it, it's not worth the problems of not having it.

Enjoy the pup and good luck!

• Edit*

Just asked the Mrs and we pay £24.74 a month for the pair of them. Big lad is £14.29 (German Shepherd/Great Dane) and little lad is £10.45 (Staffie/Cocker).

Edited by CoreyDog on Tuesday 26th September 20:58

[sparkythecat]

CoreyDog said:

Ours are insured with the Post Office but both are cross breeds which brings costs down massively as less inherited health issues, one is 16 months and other is 3 years so that helps aswell as both are less likely to get injured doing "puppy" things and young enough to not have age related health issues.

It's the same as car insurance, they base it on risk, average costs of vet bills for the breed etc.

Hope you get the insurance at a reasonable price but definitely get it, it's not worth the problems of not having it.

Enjoy the pup and good luck!

Thanks for that

[James_B]

bobtail4x4 said:

Im not trying to shift the blame, I understand the dogs should not have escaped

so partially to blame??.

Yes, you are trying to shift the blame.

This is 100% you. Apologise for your negligence, and for the upset you’ve caused, see if you can claim on your household insurance, and don’t try to wriggle out of something that was all down to you.

But edited to say, I’m glad that the dog is doing well.

Edited by James_B on Tuesday 26th September 20:33

[OldGermanHeaps]

I can understand you must be feeling guilty as hell that you let your companion get hurt, and that thinking to yourself someone else is partially to blame might be part of the healing process for you, so that you can look your dog in the eye again, but saying it out loud to others when it’s so blindingly obviously not the case makes you look a bit silly.

[TooMany2cvs]

bobtail4x4 said:

they are working dogs

Business expense, then.

[evilandy]

Your attitude is very poor, you dodged a bullet here, and it is you who should be apologizing. If it was my dogs I'd be counting myself lucky I was not up in court due to causing a more serious accident.