I hope there is a special place in Hell for....

[Doctor Funkenstein]

The responsible dog owner had the dog in the backyard and the dog got out because he apparently had dug a small enough hole under the fence to get out. The dog owner didn't do anything wrong here.

Wrong. The patently irresponsible dog owner was exactly that: Irresponsible. If he had a habit of digging holes and/or escaping, which he clearly did (though let me guess, this was the first time he ever did it, amirite?), your uncle should have either reinforced the area, trained and disciplined him better, or put him on a leash.

Your uncle was at fault. Your uncle is the one who was in the wrong. It is not a motorist's duty to stop and track down any potential owner of some random stray dog -- which is exactly what it was if it had escaped, and for all the driver knew it was feral to boot -- that runs out in front of their car. At most, some jurisdictions might have a (totally unenforced) bylaw that requires you to call the cops or animal control, but that's about it, and most people are completely unaware of that regardless.

As much of a dog lover as I am, dogs are not humans, so the twits trying to associate this with a child running out into the street (in which case it would still be the parents fault 99% of the time) is absolutely ridiculous beyond belief. There's no comparison to be had there, either ethically or legally.

Quit fucking blaming other people for you (sorry, your uncle's) shortcomings. There's no one to blame here except you/him. And whining about it on a fucking MMO message forum is even more stupid than this whole discussion is.

[Tackhisis]

the dog got out because he apparently had dug a small enough hole under the fence to get out. The dog owner didn't do anything wrong here.

Are you for real? His fucking dog is running in the street unsupervised, and can maul somebody up, an the owner "ďidn't do anything wrong"? If his dog is digging under the fence, let him put it on a chain.

[bigfoot1291]

1. I'm sorry for (kind of?) your loss. Losing a pet sucks, tell her uncle to stay strong.

2. Asking someone who hits an animal while driving to go around looking for owners of said animal, when the anmial may not even have an owner in the first place, is downright unreasonable and absurd. If it has a collar, sure. Check it. But that person is likely not checking it for the reason you want, and ultimately saving you a lot of money in insurance if they choose not to check a collar and pursue the owner.

3. As others have stated already, it's definitely the owner's responsibility, not a driver. Animals are fast and irrational. You likely don't even have time to stop as an animal dashes out into the road from behind a bush or corner. You can't tell me they have a fence in their yard and didn't notice a hole big enough for a dog to climb under. That would have taken time to make.

4. If I did ever hit an animal, you can bet your ass I'm not touching it. It's literally fresh roadkill at that point, and you don't know what kind of diseases it could have, or even just the fact of getting your hands and car disgusted in blood.

[MikeBogina]

The amount of people on MMO-C who don't take a minute to google laws is astounding @_@

@gaymer77 from what I've found about California laws on this, dogs are considered property and the person who hit your dog is at fault for not reporting it. However if the person who hit the dog reported it, your fiance or uncle is the only one at fault(because really the owner of a pet should be able to keep their pet controlled).

http://brococabinets.com/2016/05/20/...in-california/
It's worse in my state, you better run and pray no one saw it xD

[Rustedsaint]

I’d woulda have called the local humane society or w/e, the local animal control in the city is. But I wouldn’t have gone looking for a possibly armed grief stricken owner.
Thankfully I haven’t ran over a cat or dog yet, only lives my car has taken so far 3 squirrels, a gopher and a dumbass bird that swooped too low(most of those actually happen in may this year)

[Mixxy]

How is this ANY of the drivers fault though?

You know what IS the driver's fault? Just leaving the dog in the middle of the road, further endangering both it AND any other people who drive down that road after them.

You say the dog owner was irresponsible for not watching the dog literally every single waking moment of his life... how is the driver not irresponsible for wilfully, deliberately leaving a wounded animal in the middle of a street?

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4. If I did ever hit an animal, you can bet your ass I'm not touching it. It's literally fresh roadkill at that point, and you don't know what kind of diseases it could have, or even just the fact of getting your hands and car disgusted in blood.

It's been dead for literally seconds. What the fuck disease do you think it could've contracted that fast?

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Also, Jesus... the amount of people responding with "Well I definitely wouldn't look for the owner because he will just shoot me" is pretty goddamn telling...

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How is it the drivers fault if a kid runs out into the street?

Okay if we're gonna keep comparing dogs to kids... what'd happen if a driver ran over a child, and then just took off without even getting out of the car or calling anyone? Oh wait that's literally a crime.

[Orbrim]

ITT: People who wouldn't try to save a life because there's a chance of being yelled at.

If you hit a pet the owner is responsible to cover any damage done to the vehicle, which I'm sure anyone is glad to do if it helps save their pet. And if not they deserve the fine. That being said if the owner isn't on scene you should call the police or you can be charged with leaving the scene.

@gaymer77: sorry for your loss.

[Pickynerd]

You know what IS the driver's fault? Just leaving the dog in the middle of the road, further endangering both it AND any other people who drive down that road after them.

You say the dog owner was irresponsible for not watching the dog literally every single waking moment of his life... how is the driver not irresponsible for wilfully, deliberately leaving a wounded animal in the middle of a street?

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It's been dead for literally seconds. What the fuck disease do you think it could've contracted that fast?

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Also, Jesus... the amount of people responding with "Well I definitely wouldn't look for the owner because he will just shoot me" is pretty goddamn telling...

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Okay if we're gonna keep comparing dogs to kids... what'd happen if a driver ran over a child, and then just took off without even getting out of the car or calling anyone? Oh wait that's literally a crime.

The laws of most states require that if you hit a domestic animal, you must stop and notify the appropriate state or local police authority. If you don't do so, you can be charged with leaving the scene.

[XangXu]

This is why I always worry about the nice kitties I see on the walk home. All owned and taken care of, but they’re on a busy street. Just invest in a little caged area for your kitty. It’s better than it getting run over due to the traffic.

[LiiLoSNK]

Technically wouldn't the animals that the person hit also be in said hell? Presumably being ran over repeatedly for all of eternity?

[Mixxy]

The laws of most states require that if you hit a domestic animal, you must stop and notify the appropriate state or local police authority. If you don't do so, you can be charged with leaving the scene.

Huh. Well there you go.

[Whitedragon]

In some states(not sure how many) pets are considered property and a failure to report damage to property is in many states a crime.

From what I've gathered(on the internet) it is the responsibility of the driver to stop, get out and try to find the owner of the "property". In many cases, hit and run is illegal, hit and report will most often be ok, because then it falls into the realm of the owner of the dog/cat/horse/cow is now at fault. Kinda like 2 wrongs don't make a right.

For citation
https://axleaddict.com/safety/I-Hit-...Required-to-Do
https://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/20...-run-laws.html

If your property is on public ground and causing damage you are still wholly liable. If you leave your bike on the street and someone damages their car by running over it they can sue you for negligence. this isn't taking into consideration all the states where an accident caused by am unsupervised animal on non free range land is solely the owner of the animals fault, said owner can be fined for all damages caused, and sometimes charged with negligence/cruelty depending on the situation.

[Mixxy]

If your property is on public ground and causing damage you are still wholly liable. If you leave your bike on the street and someone damages their car by running over it they can sue you for negligence. this isn't taking into consideration all the states where an accident caused by am unsupervised animal on non free range land is solely the owner of the animals fault, said owner can be fined for all damages caused, and sometimes charged with negligence/cruelty depending on the situation.

You're only liable IF the driver reports it. By choosing not to, the driver assumes guilt by neglecting to report damage to property.

[Megitsune]

Sure I might notify the police, and if there's a collar with the owner's contact info on it I'll let them know. Otherwise you're out of luck though. If there's no easy way to find the owner what do you want a person to do? Expecting someone to go around searching or knocking on nearby doors is ridiculous.

[MikeBogina]

If your property is on public ground and causing damage you are still wholly liable. If you leave your bike on the street and someone damages their car by running over it they can sue you for negligence.

You might have skimmed what I wrote and missed that I said this.

"In many cases, hit and run is illegal, hit and report will most often be ok, because then it falls into the realm of the owner of the dog/cat/horse/cow is now at fault."

this isn't taking into consideration all the states where an accident caused by am unsupervised animal on non free range land is solely the owner of the animals fault, said owner can be fined for all damages caused, and sometimes charged with negligence/cruelty depending on the situation.

It's taking into consideration the state of the poster. I also looked up my own state and many others, but gaymer77's state is the only one that matters in this.

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Sure I might notify the police, and if there's a collar with the owner's contact info on it I'll let them know. Otherwise you're out of luck though. If there's no easy way to find the owner what do you want a person to do? Expecting someone to go around searching or knocking on nearby doors is ridiculous.

If there's witnesses, alert the authorities.

[bigfoot1291]

It's been dead for literally seconds. What the fuck disease do you think it could've contracted that fast?

Uh, prior to death? You don't get diseased after dying, lol. Thing could be a wild rabid animal for all you know.

[Deleted]

Why the hell don't you supervise your pets?

Also, I have a vet friend who was punched on one occassion because an old cat died on the opperating table.

So why would someone let some random guy know he just ran over his pet?

[josykay]

Are you even allowed to just drive on, without calling a veterinary or the police? It is technically not an hit and run (Implying of course that nothing else was damaged), but still cruelty towards animals. Since it might survive, and then dies a needlessly painful death?

In addition, deers or even larger dogs might cause danger for other cares, making it imperative to secure the road after a crash.
You are not just an asshole after doing that, you endanger others...

[Serpha]

It's just an animal, get over it.

[schwarzkopf]

...people who hit animals with their car and don't even stop to try and let the owners know about it.

1. You might not even know you've hit an animal
2. It is illegal in many countries to avoid an animal if it can cause an accident
3. How the hell do you even know who the owner is?
4. Assuming I know I hit an animal - my responsibility ends when I know the animal isn't suffering, and to call the RSPCA if it is. That's it - done.