PLEASE put you dogs on a lead near a road

GrandmaH, I'm so sorry this happened to you, the dog, and its owner today . One morning, many years ago, a dog ran out in front of my car as I was driving, as well. A man was walking his own dog which was on a lead, along the pavement on a more or less country road, and another dog was running alongside it. It ran out in front of me and I had no way of avoiding it. Apparently, it belonged to a travelling family, and regularly used to follow the man as he took his dog for its walk.
I was terribly upset, as was the man. I still had to get to work, and one of my colleagues reminded me that I would need to report it to the police, which I did after work, presenting my licence. Awful experience.

GranmaH how awful for you. You must be terribly upset although there was nothing you could have done to avoid it you will still feel so bad right now. I do hope they will reassure you that they don't hold you in any way responsible.

We are dog sitting for friends at the moment and never let her off the lead even though she always comes when called. We just feel it is too much responsibility even when we are well away from roads.

GranmaH

Andie is always on a lead unless he is in the back garden or in the house.
He has never tried to run off but we don't trust him as Cairn Terriers have a reputation for wondering.
My daughter ran over a child 3 days after she passed her test.
He suddenly just shot out in to the road.
People complained she was a young driver and should have not been allowed on the road.
4 people alleged she was drunk and driving at 70mph in a 50mph limit.
What they did not realise was the accident was caught on camera and even the skid marks showed she was doing 40mph max.
The alcohol reading showed nil.
The police said that as long as she felt ok she could drive away from the scene which she did and she was back on the road the next day.
The police said there were no grounds to prosecute.
The child was in hospital for a few days and made a full recovery.

Frank

How upsetting for youGrandmaH You will probably be going through the 'if only ' scenarios, but it really was not your fault.
The person who ran over and killed one of my cats this morning did not bother to stop and read her collar disc. I wouldn't have been angry, cats move so fast, but it would have been nice to be informed by the driver. Instead I came home from a lovely day with GCs to a message from a lady who found her later. There was lots of blood so it would have been instant. Sorry to take over your thread, I have already started my own, but it seemed to follow on from your story.

Does the law still say that a dog being run over should be reported? If so, why not extend the same courtesy to cats? They are loved by their people just as much.

I don't know if that's still the case, number. This must have been about 20 years ago. The next day I took my documents to the police station and was still quite upset, and the policeman on the desk misheard me when I said, "I ran over and killed a dog yesterday." He thought I'd said that I'd run over and killed a jogger yesterday....

I think the ruling about dogs applied only in the days when they had to be licensed. Cats have never had to be licensed.

I failed my driving test because a child ran out in front of the car. I did a perfect emergency stop with the car in a straight line and the child was untouched. The examiner then made me do an emergency stop when he hit the dashboard with his clipboard but I was shaking so much I couldn't control the car to drive up the road, let alone execute any other kind of manoeuvre.

I think it still exists. I just googled it.

I'm not a dog owner but I occasionally dog sit for next door, the owner always walks the dog off lead but I insist on keeping him on the lead unless he's back in his yard , I just wouldn't be comfortable any other way.

It's still part of the RT Act I think,..horse,cattle,ass,mule,sheep, pig, goat, dog, must be reported.

GrandmaH, how awfull for you, a very upsetting experinece and not your fault at all. Any decent dog owner knows that the safety and welfare of their dog is up to them. We have a rescue dog and her pet insurance cover includes third party events such as you describe - its the responsible thing to do. I think I'm right in saying that even if you dont have pet insurance subscribing to Dogs Trust gives you a good third party insurance in case your dog causes an accident.

How absolutely terrible for you. I have always kept dogs on leads (short leads) in the vicinity of roads - not only to keep the animal under control but to show drivers that it is under control. If a driver is watching a loose dog s/he's not paying attention to the child on the other side of the road.

GrandmaH a horrible experience - I hope you soon feel better.

absent what a stupid decision - surely the fact that you stopped in a real life emergency was sufficient to show that you were in control of the car. How ridiculous that he made you do an emergency stop after such a terrifying experience - anybody would have been too shaky to carry on as normal.

A dog jumped on the bonnet of my car when I was doing my test.
I was doing the 3 point turn.
I drove slowly to the side of the road and I happened to have a rope in the boot of the car.
The police station was nearby and I left the examiner in the car and handed the dog in.
He then told me to drive back to the test centre and I thought I must have failed as I did not do half the listed driving actions.
The examiner then laughed and asked me what a couple of road signs meant.
He then said there was nothing in his book about dealing with a dog jumping on the bonnet.
He issued the pass slip and left laughing.

Frank

How kind of you all!
I had a wretched night & I am still tearful today but it is only because I feel so for the poor owner- I know there was nothing I could have done- I must have gone over it 1000 times in my head.
I have lost several cats to the road over the years so I know how awful it is.
Thank you all for your kind words- I doubt I will go down that road again for some time. It is a narrow road going through woods/common land & you hardly ever see anyone there as there are no pavements so it was really unlucky for this to happen.
The dog on the bonnet & the jogger incident made me smile!

I asked about reporting the accident but was told ( by a vet admitedly) that if the dog was with someone it is not necessary but if the car was damaged the owner would be responsible for that. Imagine asking for compensation when someone had just lost a pet! I suppose some people might but I certainly couldn't & wouldn't!
I think it goes goes to prove that there are lovely people who love animlas & others who don't
Thank you all again- I am spending a lot of time hugging my own dog today- she is actually getting a bit fed up with it I think- I'll cuddle the cats instead!

Big Hug from me GrandmaH

grandmaH nothing you could have done {{{hug}}}

Please can I re emphasize this thread.
I have just had to slam the brakes on because a dog came out in front of me and I must have stopped inches from him. I was well within the speed limit.
He was on an extendable lead.
I could not go to the other side of the road as there were cars heading towards me.
When this type of situation happens I always think of Andie after.

Frank