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-- When a car hits a dog, does the driver have a moral responsibility to stop/call? (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthread.php?threadid=318270)

When a car hits a dog, does the driver have a moral responsibility to stop/call?

I have seen many posts in my few years on this message board regarding dogs hit/killed by a vehicle. Often the poster makes mention of the driver not stopping and many times refers to the driver in a derogatory way because they did not stop.
I wonder about this because of 3 reasons; 1. Often an animal that has just been injured may lash out due to pain, this would put the driver in jeapardy. 2. Owners of dead pets often lash out or act irrationally at the initial shock of their pets death/injury, a prime example occurred in my neighborhood when a lady hit a dog in the road, she stopped to notify the owners and was treated extremely badly, they followed her home (down the street) and an arguement and fight ensued, arrests were made. I bet those folks never notify an owner again if they hit a pet in fact most of my neighborhood is likely to not make a notification after seeing that occur. 3. The driver may be young, female, alone or something of this nature; stopping late night, on a back road, might be a scary thing for them?

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I had a 1 year old walker pup hit in January of this year and the young girl did stop and called my wife (which was a wreck) She called the wife of the guy i was hunting with and had a Neighbor go and get her. It was on a blind hill where she hit her and i was thank full that she did stop. I called them and thanked her the next day and also asked if thier was any damage to her car and she said not to even worry about it after loosing my Dog. I was about 3/4 of a mile from all this and was heading back to the truck for the tracking unit when the Neighbor brought her to us. Another question i have is if someone did stop and had damage to there car/truck who would be responsable?

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I say no. You don't know what you are getting yourself into when you do. They are not supose to be on the road. BUT if it was close to a house and I thought it was a kids pet. I would stop and see to it so the kid didn't find his dog dead.

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No, but it is the nice thing to do.

They do have the responsibility of slowing down and trying to avoid hitting the dog. This seems to be going away. I see many drivers going past dogs on the shoulder of the road sixty five miles per hour without slowing down or moving over. The move it or lose it attitude bothers me.

I did not respond to the poll because there was not a choice for me. Why couldn't it give yes or no for choices and allow the responders to post their reasons why? The poll kind of put words in your mouth.
Kyle

It would be nice if they at least stopped. My 11 year old bluetick female got hit on the road earlier this year. The guy that hit her didnt stop, but a nurse who was coming home from work and two guys stopped and took care of her until I got there, even though she was killed on impact. It's just a kind gesture anyway, to stop.

Corey

There's no way to say yes or no to every situation. Especially if it were to happen at night, you have no idea who might be coming...either the owners of the dog or other cars and maybe drunk drivers. If it happened to me I would most likely stop and try to do something but if I hit one and couldn't see anyone around I would pull it out of the road to the edge, check the collar for a name or number and drive on. Make the call from a payphone to tell them what and where so they know what happened or else call the local law enforcement and give them the information so they can maybe call....I'd recommend that if a gal hit a dog and is worried about creeps. I generally feel that if I hit something it is my own fault so as far as damages go. I can't blame a dog anymore than if it was a deer.

Dog

Common decency would say to call. I can understand why some would not. Some people are scared of the potential confrentation that follows. I lost 2 dogs this year,and they were both unfortunate accidents. If the person tried to slow/avoid they did what they could. If they just hit the dog for the heck of it that is wrong.

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We hit someone's yard dog on our way out hunting the one night. That sucker just made a mad dash to cross the road. Talk about sick sounding when we went over it. I made my dad turn around and go back. It wasn't on the road and we shined a few yards and still didn't see it. Made a couple more passes and then left it alone. Couple days later we saw the same dog out in its yard and just fit as a fiddle. I would have sworn we killed it though. If it was laying there when we went back we would have called the number on the collar.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Okie Dawg
I say no. You don't know what you are getting yourself into when you do. They are not supose to be on the road. BUT if it was close to a house and I thought it was a kids pet. I would stop and see to it so the kid didn't find his dog dead.

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in new york your supposed to notifythe police if you hit any domestic animal and by the law your responsible for the damages to the vehicle

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A WOman's View...

...I am a TINY little woman... 4'11" and about 110 lbs... if I hit any animal I would STOP. Then if I were scared at all... in a scary place... I'd call the police. I have stopped when others have hit animals and helped, been bitten by one poor injured dog, taken a few to vets and had them die in my arms, ruined clothes and shed some tears... If I hit a HUNTING dog... I wouldn't even consider walking away without trying to contact the owners... I've seen too many dogs in rescue who never find HOME... and sure, they get nice adoptive pet homes BUT.... Owners matter too!
SO... Yeah I'd stop and so would Bob... no hesitation.
Do I think EVERYONE has to or should? I think people have to make their OWN choices in life. I would also suggest following the law too.....
I have Never hit a dog or cat... I can't imagine how awful I"d feel.... Makes me sick thinking of it. I won't hesitate to kill an animal when I need to, I'd hunt and kill for food too without hesitation...but accidental killing or injuring would stink....
SOrry to go on... I just hate to think of anyone on here losing a hound to a car....
Heather

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well, I dont believe morals is something many consider anymore...after all, look at whos president...

ive had 3 hit and no one stopped!!!!!!

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I wont say what others should do, but I have pulled several dogs off the road that had been hit (luckily I havent ever hit one) but they didnt have any numbers on collars to call...so if the owners went lookin, they would at least find them in one piece...

stopping

thats a hard one i myself would stop i think that is the right thing to do but as crazy as people are today you never know what your getting into now days people have no respect like back when i was growing up we ride horses about every weekend till it gets bad we have to ride some on the main road to get to another trail a lot of people dont even slow down when they see horses mostly these younger gen they dont knoe it but a horse has just as much right on the road as a vechile maybe more they were here before vechiles were intvented jmo

quote:

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Originally posted by Blue Style
well, I dont believe morals is something many consider anymore...after all, look at whos president...

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Well, before I make my comment I need to clarify that hunting hounds are different, as they have to be out and off leash to do there job.

That being said, I don't believe that anyone has a responsibility to stop after hitting an animal. Here's why: it is the owners responsibility to keep their pet safe, away from harm, and on a leash or in a fence. Unfortunately probably 75% of "pet owners" do not do so. They think that simply putting food and water out for a dog is enough. That is sad.

Now, just because it isn't your responsibility to stop, it is courteous and I think you should make an effort to at least help the animal if it is still living. As for damages... you certainly shouldn't be responsible for vet bills as the animal shouldn't have been in the road. In some states, I believe it is the pet owners job to pay for car repairs but that isn't so here in TN.

I've only ever hit one pet while driving and made every attempt not to hit it. We did stop and look for the cat but never found it. We have brought home animals that others have hit though.

Like I said at the beginning, hounds are different as they have to be off leash to work. They don't have a sense of boundaries or road safety unfortunately. Still, if someone hits your hound in the road it isn't their fault. It's just a really unfortunate thing that happens to a lot of good dogs.

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YES you should stop, who cares if the law says you dont have to. Animals are at the mercy of US for medical attention. No matter if its a yard dog that got loose or a hound we turned loose it still needs help and anyone that doesnt stop is a sorry human being.