Good point: when an NBA player bets on dog fighting: national attention.

And yeah, most animal rights activists seem to be pro-choice. They'd save an eagles egg before a child any day.

And we're waaaaaaaay off topic.

IBTC!

Sorry, but I'm far more "hated" on this site than on Maxima.org. Either way, I still get a crapload of "can you help me emails" from both sites. Somebody must like me

Go read any state statute and you'll see that the operator of a car is not responsible for animals he hits that are on a public roadway nor is the operator required to stop if he hits one. I love animals and life in general, but if some animal gets in my way and I can't avoid it safely, then by God I'm going over or through that animal. If I hit it, the only reason I'm stopping to check for damage to my car.

Now if it's a person that's in my lane, then it is my legal obiligation to avoid hitting that person without jepordizing my safety or those around me. If I hit someone or even cause them to get hurt (they had to dodge my car and got hurt, wrecked their bike, etc) then I am legally obiligated to stop and call the police and wait. I'm not legally required to help them, but I would do anything and everything I could assuming they give me permission. Ya see, I'm not entirely evil.

You keep saying that the driver isn't responsible for the animal they hit nor are they required to stop, but if you really checked yourself you would see that you are only half right. Animals are considered "property" and thus fall under the category of property damage. In California, this would specifically be vehicle code #20002:

20002. (a) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting only in damage to any property, including vehicles, shall immediately stop the vehicle at the nearest location that will not impede traffic or otherwise jeopardize the safety of other motorists. Moving the vehicle in accordance with this subdivision does not affect the question of fault. The driver shall also immediately do either of the following:

(1) Locate and notify the owner or person in charge of that property of the name and address of the driver and owner of the vehicle involved and, upon locating the driver of any other vehicle involved or the owner or person in charge of any damaged property, upon being requested, present his or her driver's license, and vehicle registration, to the other driver, property owner, or person in charge of that property. The information presented shall include the current residence address of the driver and of the registered owner. If the registered owner of an involved vehicle is present at the scene, he or she shall also, upon request, present his or her driver's license information, if available, or other valid identification to the other involved parties.

(2) Leave in a conspicuous place on the vehicle or other property damaged a written notice giving the name and address of the driver and of the owner of the vehicle involved and a statement of the circumstances thereof and shall without unnecessary delay notify the police department of the city wherein the collision occurred or, if the collision occurred in unincorporated territory, the local headquarters of the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

(b) Any person who parks a vehicle which, prior to the vehicle again being driven, becomes a runaway vehicle and is involved in an accident resulting in damage to any property, attended or unattended, shall comply with the requirements of this section relating to notification and reporting and shall, upon conviction thereof, be liable to the penalties of this section for failure to comply with the requirements.

(c) Any person failing to comply with all the requirements of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.

So the driver of the vehicle DOES have a legal obligation to stop and attempt to notify the property owner. This doesn't mean that the driver is guilty of a crime, nor is the driver responsible for any veterinary bills. But it IS a crime if you don't stop and attempt to notify the owner. Plus you are able to at least call yourself a decent human being at the end of the day.

QFT............

I agree you should probably stop to see if you can identify the animal or try to help it. But you are taking a huge leap saying an "animal" is property (I did not see that listed in that statute) and needs to be treated the same as someone's car, fence, bicycle, house, tree, etc. That's obsurd. Trees don't run out in front of your car. It's obvious who fault it is when one car hits a tree. Some animals are strays and don't belong to anyone. Go to any "pound" it will be full of unclaimed animals - sad, I agree. Cars that run out in front of other cars do so only due to a driver and same is true with a bicycle. They don't move under their own brain and power. Some (not all) animals may be property could not be subject to the same rules as a fence due to the circumstances.

Ok, now assume you are driving down a major street and hit a dog. There is no house within 6 blocks, then what? Call the police and have them check into it. You don't need to become a detective. If you walk up to someone house and tell them you hit their dog and they go off and stab or shot you, them what, the dog killer got what he/she deserved? If it has no tag, what do you do?

This thread needs to be closed.

i would take it to the closest pound. they would take any animals.
i adopted 2 cats and a dog from the pound.. you will never expect how many animals there got ran over and brought to the pound by (at least) people with a heart. they treat aniamls there until someone adopts them, they also let you know the history of them... if they got ran over by a car or abused.. they tell you straight up. that's why they accept donation!!
i know this is off topic.. but if you think about it.. it's not THAT off topc..! hehe

I agree with EWG35.
We're not talking about the busted up car anymore so maybe a new thread can be created in the general forums or if you wanna just throw hate around at each other, maybe in the Anything Goes section.

I feel for the driver and the dog and the dog's owners.
It sucks.

Let's all move on and let's close this thread.

Pets are legal property.

If you don't think so, go steal your neighbors dog and see what happens.

I know you mean well, but animal control always warns people about using caution when approaching injured animals for their own safety.

Perfect example

D@MN I swear. I said "ANIMALS" are not always property. Just because it's a dog do NOT make it a pet. Ever heard of a stray? Can you process what that means? I guess not.

Who detemined the dog that was hit was a Pet? No one mentioned a tag that I recall. One guy claimed it was a $2000 poodle. All we know is it was a dog accoring to the driver. Could have been a chupacabra. It's unknowable at this point.

Was I talking DIRECTLY to you? NO! Did I say that it wasnt possible for the OP to hit a stray? NO! (but how would he know, he didnt f'ing stop to find out). Lastly, where did I say it was a poodle? Seriously you're an idiot, go play on train tracks.

How's the bumper repair coming along?

This has turned into nothing more than a battle between people who have a difference of opinion, and it has nothing to do with the thread's subject.

Let's bury this thing.

You've said twice I'm an idiot, once in a PM and said I should be shot. Like I said before you would not say that to my face, no doubt. It would be brutal.

As I've said before. I would have stopped and I did not hit this dog, jack@ss.

I said:

D@MN I swear. I said "ANIMALS" are not always property. Just because it's a dog do NOT make it a pet. Ever heard of a stray? Can you process what that means? I guess not.

Who detemined the dog that was hit was a Pet? No one mentioned a tag that I recall. One guy (didn't say "Angeldust") claimed it was a $2000 poodle. All we know is it was a dog accoring to the driver. Could have been a chupacabra. It's unknowable at this point.