# Dog hit by car rant



## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

My daughter will be 17 next month. She has her own car, that she is buying with her own money. She works at the library and pays for all of her gas and maintenance as well as the car payment. She is a very careful driver, phone in the glove box, doesn't speed, took driver's ed - the whole 9 yards.

Yesterday after work, she dropped off her friend at her house and was on her way home. 2 houses from her Tasha's house, a dog ran out in front of her car and she hit it. She was naturally upset and stopped to see if the dog was ok. A woman came out of the house and then ran to get the owner of the dog who lived next door. Dog owner shrugged and said "oh well" the dog is 14 years old, limping and blood coming from it's nose. Lady 1 then goes ballistic on my daughter (remember, this is not even her dog!). She screams that my daughter was speeding (she wasn't) that she is a dog killer. That she is a horrible person for hitting the dog. Tasha's dad comes down and sends my daughter to his house to get her away from this woman and then drives her car down for her. This woman is standing 3 houses down, screaming at my daughter that she is a murderer and on and on. They were going to sue her for pain and suffering. She was going to be arrested. 

My daughter calls me in tears. By the time that we get there, she is hysterical. I'm glad that my husband went with me because he had to drive her car home. They eventually called the cops on my daughter. We had already taken her home. The cops told the dog owner that there is a leash law. They said that they would not ticket her since her dog was hurt but that next time they would. They also told her that she could be charged with creating a road hazard. Crazy woman was told that my daughter would be within her rights to file assault charges.

I'm just livid. DD doesn't want to press charges. Crazy lady is actually the mother of another band student/friend. I'm just livid that this whole mess happened. Turns out that this is the 3rd time the dog has been hit by a car.


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## apenn0006 (Jun 22, 2012)

What a horrible response by that woman! It is heart wrenching enough to hit a dog without having someone spew all kinds of derogatory comments to make matters worse. I get upset when I hit a bird while driving so I can't imagine how your daughter feels. I'm glad the cop put her in her place.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

What is wrong with these adults assaulting teenagers like this. Has the whole world gone nuts?


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## Franksmom (Oct 13, 2010)

Your poor daughter I feel so sorry for her. 
Sounds like she's a very responsible young Lady. 
If there's any damage to her car I'd be after the dog owner to pay for it. The 3rd time the dog's been hit and they havent' learned a lesson, maybe putting out a little money will make them think twice, since having a dog hurt hasn't changed the way they take care of their dog.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

no, her car is fine. the dog was probably less than 10 lbs and she was only driving 25. The dog owner got worked up by "crazy lady" at the thought of being able to sue DD for pain and suffering. 
I'm still trying to maintain my calm.


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## Franksmom (Oct 13, 2010)

Dainerra said:


> no, her car is fine. the dog was probably less than 10 lbs and she was only driving 25. The dog owner got worked up by "crazy lady" at the thought of being able to sue DD for pain and suffering.
> I'm still trying to maintain my calm.


I'm glad her car is fine, sounds like she's worked hard to have it. 
I have a 17 year old son, and it's times like these when your trying to raise your child to do what best and right, and then they run into a supposed adult, that acts the way these people did, words just dont' discribe how you feel as the parent.


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## SueDoNimm (Jul 3, 2012)

Your poor daughter! It's bad enough to hurt a dog, much less have some crazy lady screaming at you about it.

When I was 16 a Weimeraner ran out in front of me. I was able to stop quickly enough that I bumped it on the hindquarters and it ran away. I stopped and let its owner know what had happened and she started yelling at me about how everyone drives too fast and the dog had bad hips already. First of all, I wasn't speeding and if you know that people do speed, why would you ever let your dog roam loose like that? Second, it's YOUR fault if your dog is in the road and gets hit, not mine! Of course, I saw the dog the next week out loose in their yard/the road.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

I'm just relieved that your daughter is ok! There have been two serious incidents around here lately involving a loose dog and drivers trying to avoid hitting them. In the first one, a young man was killed in a rollover. In the second one, the car went into the oncoming lane and there was a head-on collision with occupants being airlifted to better equipped hospitals. Very tragic results, from people trying their best not to hit the poor dog running in traffic. 

I'd be steaming angry too!!! Ha, no point in me going on about that crazy lady, 'post deleted', lol.


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Awww 

Poor doggie, and your poor daughter. Just give her a big hug and tell her none of this is her fault.

My younger sister t-boned a car that made a left turn in front of her and cut her off. She was not at fault. Driver of other car was coming from university campus and heading out with friend to a local bar. They ran out of seats so they did the logical thing...stuffed the extra guy in the trunk of the car??? He broke his neck.

He needed some surgery, but was lucky to still be able to walk.

Naturally he tried to sue for everything under the sun. She wasn't wearing her glasses (she doesn't need glasses?), she was talking on her cell (which was broken and at home on the table - not to mention, he saw this from the trunk??) etc etc etc.

Never mind it was two weeks after she'd gotten her second kidney transplant (dad was donor) and they had to keep her overnight to make sure she was ok.

People are so dumb and so unkind to one another.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Someone needs to go and slash the tires of the dog's owner. 

Ok, that is my first response. 

The woman is crazy. And it is worse that she has a kid about your daughter's age. People who have kids should know better, they should think how they would feel if someone did that to their kid, they should be more aware. Unfortunately, jerks come in all sizes, and sexes. 

Victims: one dog (for being left uncontained and unprotected), and one teenager. 
Perpetrators: one dog owner, and one crazy parent.

Your poor kid. She probably feels terrible about the dog. But that doesn't mean it was her fault.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

well, the worst part is that Crazy Lady's daughter is in band with my daughter. And crazy lady is a band booster volunteer. DD is worried that lady will make a scene tonight at practice. Though hopefully the talk with the cops has straightened out her attitude.

I'll be 2 hours away in Harrison for a kennel club meeting.  DH will be at the high school for our youngest daughter's cross country practice.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Dainerra said:


> I'm just livid. DD doesn't want to press charges. Crazy lady is actually the mother of another band student/friend. I'm just livid that this whole mess happened. Turns out that this is the 3rd time the dog has been hit by a car.


I think I would want to press charges as well. It would make me that angry. But honestly, once the charges are brought against Crazy Lady and you go to court etc. it could be months from now (or longer). It may be best for your daughter to put it behind her. 

I would think Crazy Lady could be charged with disorderly conduct and not assault charges - unless she actually threatened your daughter. You could go down and talk to your local DA's office or maybe your JP's office and see what the process would be, then talk to DD about it.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Dainerra said:


> well, the worst part is that Crazy Lady's daughter is in band with my daughter. And crazy lady is a band booster volunteer. DD is worried that lady will make a scene tonight at practice. Though hopefully the talk with the cops has straightened out her attitude.
> 
> I'll be 2 hours away in Harrison for a kennel club meeting.  DH will be at the high school for our youngest daughter's cross country practice.


I think that I would ask my daughter if she wanted for me to come with her. If so, I would call someone at the kennel club and make my excuses. It was an awful experience to hit the dog, but what that woman did, well, I as an adult would not want to have to face her in case she started another scene. It would also be nice to let your daughter know you want to be there for her right now.


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

Sorry that your daughter had to experience something awful like that because someone was not careing for their own pet. Could you tell us how the dog was doing or do you know?


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

oh my daughter doesn't want me to come with her.  I already asked. and I'm not livid at her for not wanting to press charges. I'm actually proud of her because she said that it would just be vindictive. I'm just livid in general. It's been a long couple days and this crazy lady was just the final straw of crappy people that I've dealt with this week.

I don't know how the dog is. I heard that they were considering having it put down but I don't know if that is because of the dog's age or if it was seriously injured. They said that the dog was wandering around the yard until the woman caught it and wrapped it in a blanket.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

sweet jesus they have the girl harassing my daughter at school now. Told her that they are going to sue her.


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## CeCe (Jun 1, 2011)

Oh my gosh-how terrible! Your daughter needs to carry a recorder (some phones have this feature) and start recording when they harass her. Report this harassment to the police. What a nut job! It wasn't even their dog, right?


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Dainerra said:


> sweet jesus they have the girl harassing my daughter at school now. Told her that they are going to sue her.


Crazy Lady's daughter? And it wasn't even their dog? Are you serious? That is crazy!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Dainerra said:


> sweet jesus they have the girl harassing my daughter at school now. Told her that they are going to sue her.


I would call the school and let the admin know what is going on. People are just ridiculous. Who behaves like this?


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I'd be tempted to say the dog did damage to my car and ask for the owner's insurance information to pay for said damage. Then I'd say my daughter is suffering from PTS and place a claim against their homeowners for years of therapy. 

Ok, I really wouldn't - but this would really tick me off.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

Jax08 said:


> I would call the school and let the admin know what is going on. People are just ridiculous. Who behaves like this?


I am going to go out on a limb and say "crazy a**ed people" They believe that they can sue her for $200,000. And they plan to file 2 lawsuits. One on the behalf of the woman who owns the dog. And one filed by crazy lady because "she saw the accident"

I'm not worried about it anymore because obviously these people are insane. I am going to the school if the girl approaches my daughter again. And DH is going to be at the school tonight and will talk to the band director.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

wait a minute...the person threatening to sue is not even the dog owner? Wow! That would be BatSh!t CRaZy! Wow! I would be livid! 

Poor girl. Traumatic enough to hit an animal but then to be harassed like this.


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## Alyalanna (May 28, 2011)

I'm not a sue happy person but in this case I think your daughter should sue the crazy lady. I know she said she didn't want to but this has gone on long enough. People do stupid things when they are under duress, like at the scene of the accident, but there is no reason for her to go and get her daughter to harass her at school.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

oh, and if you were curious, yes that is $200,000 each. For pain and suffering as well as vet bills.

I mean, I'm a dog person and I love my dogs but.....


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

Alyalanna said:


> I'm not a sue happy person but in this case I think your daughter should sue the crazy lady. I know she said she didn't want to but this has gone on long enough. People do stupid things when they are under duress, like at the scene of the accident, but there is no reason for her to go and get her daughter to harass her at school.



Man, I was just going to say this... I wonder if that lady knows you'd be well within your rights to counter-sue the crap out of her?


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## Franksmom (Oct 13, 2010)

I would think the crazy lady's daughter doing that would fall under all the Anti-bully policies that schools are supposed to have now, I'd make sure the school knows what's happening, and the police. 
I'm no expert but I wonder if you could get a lawyer to draw up a letter basically saying if the Crazy lady and her daughter dont' stop you WILL sue her. and send it certified so she has to sign for it too so you know she got it.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I am sorry you all are going through this. 

Thank the Good Lord your daughter is seventeen and will likely be done with school this year? There will be an end to this sort of crap, but it looks like, because these people are well within their rights to try and sue, anyone can sue anyone over anything, that does not mean the judge won't throw it out.

Try and take the higher ground. The people are disturbed. Your daughter is the only one who has a right to be traumatized over this incident, and I think that I would probably contact my lawyer, and have him write them a short, very formal letter, that is crystal clear.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

a lawyer is being contacted. contacting the police tomorrow. going to the school tomorrow. The girl told everyone in the band that DD killed a dog. As far as we can find out, the dog is actually still alive.
She told everyone to be sure that they tell THEIR friends about her killing the dog. And that they are going to have a lot of money because her mom is filing a huge lawsuit and they are going to win a ton of money. (Again, not even her dog!!!!)

DD will be 17 next month, she is a junior this year. She is torn up and upset about this. She had people approaching her at practice tonight asking what was going on and what did she do to the dog. It's just complete and utter BS. I'm beyond livid right now.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

People are just psychotic I swear.
It's the same thing all over facebook and the 'net. It's like when the dogs killed that woman and they held a vigil for the _dog_! 
There is no common sense any longer.
I'm so sorry you're dealing with this


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## Jag (Jul 27, 2012)

What a nightmare for your daughter and for you! The school should be able to do something, but a restraining order may also be in order. Not sure of the 'legal' definition of harassment in your state, but this sounds like it.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I am so sorry your daughter is going thru this.  Being a teenage girl is hard enough without crazy adults adding turmoil. This is harassment and should be handled as such.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Seriously? Any time a suing thing comes up I just want to start going around and asking our high schools to teach a basic law class. Why is it that people in this country think they can sue over anything? And at such high amounts? Its all these commercials by the ambulance chasers that make everyone think they can win some money.

I'm sorry you're going through this. This is clearly someone that needs mental help. Sadly, you have to hire a lawyer and pay them money but this will all go away. I'd be surprised if a court even accepted this lawsuit. You can't sue for vet bills...you can collect the amount it would take to replace the property. People sometimes forget that dogs are property and not humans, so say you spend $10000 saving your dogs life after an accident, this is a unreasonable amount because it would've cost you $1000 to replace that dog. So you can collect $1000 from the person, but not the full amount. Pain and suffering...you actually need to have been injured, not just seen an accident and claim it caused you problems. I'm just sorry that your daughter is now getting bullied in school for this. The stupid will spread their stupid on their offspring.

By the way...my law knowledge is just 6 credit hours that were required while I got my accounting degree. It just takes that little bit to know you can't just go sue crazy. The system needs to have a much higher fee for suing someone. Not just a couple hundred bucks to file the lawsuit, maybe a grand or two of non-refundable money will get people to think more about what they're doing. And get some of those lawyers to advise against lawsuits. I'm guessing any lawyer they get to file this lawsuit probably graduated last in his class and is scrapping by for money. Just wish your daughter didn't have to deal with this crap at school, of course no teenager will know that none of this will actually go through.

I hope most of you know that when someone says they won a multi-million dollar settlement they probably got hit by a company car of some sort. And if you win a multi-million dollar suit against just a regular person, you'll never see even a small portion of it.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Dainerra said:


> Dog owner shrugged and said "oh well" the dog is 14 years old, limping and blood coming from it's nose.





> Turns out that this is the 3rd time the dog has been hit by a car.


Wow - so the owner lets her 14 year old dog wander around loose and get hit by a car _3 times_ and her response is "oh well"? Unbelievable. :angryfire:

I don't see how crazy neighbor can claim pain and suffering for witnessing the accident since apparently this happens a lot.  And the owner obviously doesn't give a crap about her dog. 

I don't see the threatened lawsuits going anywhere, but in meantime it sucks for your daughter. I agree with this being harassment - the school needs to get involved and put a stop to it.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Maybe your daughter should point out that the dog owning neighbor should be sued instead since she lets her dogs run? Then they can keep their crazy in their own neighborhood!


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Ummm...she's suing on behalf of someone else? Can that even be done? LOL

WOW. Your poor daughter, what an awful thing to have happening to her.

I am also not sue happy, but I would seriously consider taking legal action of some sort. A restraining order at the least? That lady is bat$hit crazy...


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

She can't sue someone for hitting someone else's dog.
In fact if she's saying that (and believes it), she's so mental that even therapy won't help.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

She thinks she can sue because she witnessed a traumatic event. 

I know it is no fun to see a dog get hit by a car, it is certainly no fun to be the driver, but on the list of traumatic events, I am sorry, but that is just too far out there, no judge will sit still for that kind of crap.


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## Anitsisqua (Mar 25, 2012)

selzer said:


> She thinks she can sue because she witnessed a traumatic event.
> 
> I know it is no fun to see a dog get hit by a car, it is certainly no fun to be the driver, but on the list of traumatic events, I am sorry, but that is just too far out there, no judge will sit still for that kind of crap.


Well, suing for mental anguish is more like....if your child was playing in the yard, and you saw someone drive up off the road into your yard and kill them. It's not for someone who hit a dog that wasn't supposed to be in the road.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

the school called in the mother and had a talk with the 2 of them. Her daughter is to have no contact with mine.
if the contact continues, I'm going to have a lawyer send them a cease-and-desist contact letter. I'm hoping that, given a day or two, they are going to realize that this is ridiculous.

Yes, the idea is that they are both going to sue us. Dog owner for $200,000 for pain and suffering and for vet bills for the dog. Crazy lady suing for $200,000 for pain and suffering because she witnessed the accident.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

*sigh*
All because the dog owner broke the law.

Is there no end to this insanity!???


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

That doesn't sound like a small claim. 

They will need to find a lawyer who is willing to do this on contingency. 

They will probably have to pay up front around a thousand dollars to have their first talk with a lawyer.

I wouldn't lose any sleep worrying about the law suit.

I would be fiery mad about what your daughter is going through though. 

People are really jerks, and adults should know better.


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## Gharrissc (May 19, 2012)

Sounds like another person who wants to get sue happy.


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

Everyone keeps saying how they can't/won't sue or a judge will throw it out... Consider in the last 2 yrs locally there have been 2 instances of a criminal suing the business owner in 1 and the homeowner in the other, for getting hurt while they were attempting to rob the place...... and won!!

Don't wait to see if the chat worked with the school and they stop harassing your daughter, move forward with the cease and desist order and begin taking notes of any contact, including msge passing thru a third party by person's daughter.

Sorry these days I don't trust our judicial system to always do what is right and makes sense.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Twyla has a point.
At least if you're on the offensive they'll be on the defensive and you'll be 1 step ahead of them. 
So very sad, I'm so very sick of people!
I want to be a hermit, I swear...


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Twyla said:


> Everyone keeps saying how they can't/won't sue or a judge will throw it out... Consider in the last 2 yrs locally there have been 2 instances of a criminal suing the business owner in 1 and the homeowner in the other, for getting hurt while they were attempting to rob the place...... and won!!


As wrong as that sounds, you never get the full story and an actual person got hurt. So although its wrong that someone was breaking the law and then somehow won a lawsuit, there were probably other circumstances involved. In this case, there really isn't much to back up the lady's claims. Anyone would then be able to sue for "pain and suffering" if they witness anything out of the normal or anything that causes them stress.

I would have a lawyer on standby, hopefully you have a family friend that would do it pro-bono or at least not charge you for this kind of stupidity. Sadly, I don't think you can counter-sue someone for legal fees even when a lawsuit has no legal basis. That's why generally these things get thrown out. Usually when the amount of claimed damages is so high it is a huge sign for the lawsuit to be thrown out. I believe there is a maximum amount of "pain and suffering" damages that can be awarded based on the actual value of the tangible damages. And again, "pain and suffering" is only awarded when said person is actually medically injured.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

A lot of times people will threaten a law suit just as a bluff. 
I had this happen with our rescue. While we have an attorney on retainer, it's not fun to have to contact him for thing$ we can handle on our own.

Anyway - I didn't respond at all to these folks' threat of an attorney/lawsuit and when it was all done, they never got an attorney at all. 
Or maybe they did and realized they were in the wrong and had no legal recourse.
Either way :shrug:


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

msvette2u said:


> A lot of times people will threaten a law suit just as a bluff.
> I had this happen with our rescue. While we have an attorney on retainer, it's not fun to have to contact him for thing$ we can handle on our own.
> 
> Anyway - I didn't respond at all to these folks' threat of an attorney/lawsuit and when it was all done, they never got an attorney at all.
> ...


I also don't think people realize that lawyer's don't come free... many a threatened lawsuit has been dropped when people figure out that they're looking at a lot of cash just to talk to a lawyer. Forget the fact that these people could be counter-sued for harassment.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

I'm holding off on getting the cease/desist letter because I don't have $175 for the lawyer. 
DD said that school was quiet today. The girl went home sick right before band. Actually, she went home sick from band practice last night right after the director told her that it wasn't to be mentioned in his classroom. 

I think it will just blow over. In AR you can't get pain and suffering for an animal's injury. I'd say even less likely if it doesn't even belong to you. If anything does come of it, we already have a list of 14 witnesses who will testify that the dog is always roaming the street and that it has been hit before.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

What I don't understand ( other then the "oh well he's old" idiots that own that poor dog ) is this nutjob neighbor. Who the heck did SHE think SHE was going to sue? She wasn't even involved in dog ownership or even the accident in any way. And your poor daughter. /shakes head


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

LoveEcho said:


> I also don't think people realize that lawyer's don't come free... many a threatened lawsuit has been dropped when people figure out that they're looking at a lot of cash just to talk to a lawyer. Forget the fact that these people could be counter-sued for harassment.


+1 

Lawyers are EXPENSIVE. We spent $700 just so a lawyer could WRITE A LETTER to our neighbors about a water runoff dispute. If we had to actually go to court it would cost us thousands of dollars and probably drag out for several YEARS!

I feel very badly for your daughter. 17 is not an easy age and kids are jerks, in general. I hope she has some good solid and loyal friends to help get her through this. 

I guess the daughter's antics aren't too surprising considering her mother's behavior. People disgust me sometimes.


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## hchorney1 (Mar 5, 2012)

I was thinking about this the other day. Any updates on the crazy lady and her threatened lawsuit?


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