Q: My dog was ran over (I witnessed it) by a truck going 50 mph down a dead end road in the country. What could I do?
The speed limit on my road is 15 mph! The person who ran him over NEVER stopped or turned around after obviously running a dog over. My dog was ran over right beside our mailbox, basically in my YARD. the truck that ran him over should have been on the right side of the road but my dog was on the left side right on the grass line when he was hit. A few months prior to him being ran over, the same truck that hit him road down the road yelling “Stupid Dog” at my dog while he was laying out in my yard doing NOTHING wrong. A few months ago the same guy was taken to court by somebody else on our road for shooting their dog & was fined because it was proven there was no reason to shoot the dog. What could I do legally to get justice for my dog? We had to shoot our dog because when he was ran over it broke his neck instantly and could not be taken to the vet. The guy who ran him over waited almost 2 weeks to say anything & when he did say he ran him over, he said it too a neighbor on our road
A: Oh my gosh. That is terrible and I am so sorry for your loss. You should report this to the Police and the District Attorneys Office and see if you can get them to pursue animal cruelty charges against this person. As for a civil case, unfortunately animals are treated as property and valued as such under the law. I know how cold that sounds as most of us consider our pets to be members of our family (I know we do at my house). You could potentially sue him but your damages would only be the property value of the dog. Again, I am sorry for your loss and wish you the best pursuing this against this person.
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