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I was dogsitting, the dog got run over and killed

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M

methane47

Member
Preface:
A colleague of mine had to travel abroad because her husband needs to get his Hip replaced.
So they asked me and my gf to house sit for them and take care of the 3 dogs that they have. Process was simple enough, in the morning let them free to go handle their business, then bring them in to feed them, then put them back in the pen when i go to work.

Additional Info:
So found out last night that the guy is going to the doctor this morning to find out how serious his condition is, And surgery is scheduled for tommorow.

What happened:
So this morning everything was NORMAL. 6:30 let the dogs out, they were happy and barking, i took a picture of a pineapple that is growing in the yard. I come back and there is some barking, so i put the food out for the dogs, I then go to the toilet to handle my own business. Come out 5 minutes later and 2 neighbors are at the front door, and my girlfriend is breaking down crying.

Neighbor1[N1] is telling us that he forgot something at his house so he was rushing home and didn't even realize he did anything
Neighbor2[N2] told us he was outside smoking a cig and saw N1 come back home driving at full speed and was about to leave when he saw the dog dead right infront of the house that I'm staying at :(
[N1] says that the dog must have jumped out of the Bushes on the side of the road (Looks to be true because the dog doesn't appear to be rolled over, just hit (by the car) in the head :( Also the dog was laying half in the bush half on the road

I feel like total garbage right now, Good friends leave me in charge for 2 weeks and this is what happen. And the dog was great too, so loving and full of energy. Now i need to tell my colleague who is about to under go a serious operation that his favorite dog was killed my the neighbor that no one in the neighborhood likes.

My heart is in pieces right now. Should i contact them immediately? Should I wait until after the doctors appointment today? Should i wait till after the surgery? Should I wait until they return home? Do i bury the dog? Do i throw him away in the garbage?

:(
 
W

Wind's Howling

Member
Best to tell them when they come home.

And it is not your fault, dude.

Damn neighbor forgot something and went back full speed without regarding public safety. He could have hit a kid with his idiot driving.
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Contact them after the appointment. Don't do anything with the body until you get instructions from them.

Also, don't blame yourself. Could have easily happened while they were home, just how shit goes down sometimes.
 
T

TUSR

Banned
Not exactly my definition of knocked down...

A colleague of mine had to travel abroad because her husband needs to get his Hip replaced.
Click to expand...

Tell the wife and let her handle it.
 
W

whitehawk

Banned
Wait. If I'm reading this correctly, you let the dogs out in the front yard and left them their unsupervised? That's never a good idea, I thought you were talking about a fenced off back yard first.

Terrible situation your in though. So sorry to you and the owner.
 
Jedeye Sniv

Jedeye Sniv

Banned
Youre+fired


but yeah, that sucks :( don't tell them until they get home.
 
T

TUSR

Banned
Is this a murder mystery too?

Did the dog fly into the bushes or was he dragged there after the hit?
 
A

AbsolutBro

Member
Was there no fence or something? Why were the dogs let out unsupervised in an area with road access?

This is why we have Invisible Fence for our dogs. That and Im afraid someone would shoot my dog. :(
 
S

Schadenfreude

Member
Best to tell the wife after the surgery is all taken care of, OP. No need to sadden an already worried wife and husband. Be prepared though. You will be blamed for all this.
 
M

Mumei

Member
OP: That really sucks. I was horrified when I thought I had lost a dog.

AbsolutBro said:
This is why we have Invisible Fence for our dogs.
Click to expand...

When I was dog-sitting last year, the moronic poodle I was dog-sitting ran right through the electric fence and across the street (and it wasn't in a residential neighborhood or anything; it was an intermittently busy, 40 MPH speed limit street). She was gone for a day before she came back.

So I wouldn't rely on it too heavily. If something scares your dogs or sufficiently entices them, they'll be gone.
 
A

Atruvius

Member
Why did you let the dogs be free? Dogs should always be in a leash when outside.

Put the dog in a bag and put the bag into a freezer so it doesn't decompose.
 
A

AbsolutBro

Member
Mumei said:
When I was dog-sitting last year, the moronic poodle I was dog-sitting ran right through the electric fence and across the street (and it wasn't in a residential neighborhood or anything; it was an intermittently busy, 40 MPH speed limit street). She was gone for a day before she came back.

So I wouldn't rely on it too heavily. If something scares your dogs or sufficiently entices them, they'll be gone.
Click to expand...

We had our dog bolt through ot the first day, but we hadnt walked the fence line with them yet. Youre supposed to lead them around the area so they know their limits. Although Poodles have been bred yo be dumber than a bag of hammers, so who knows if that would help. Our dogs dont go anywhere near the fence anymore, but if we forget to put their collars on all bets are off. :(
 
R

R1CHO

Member
Take care of the other 2 man, they still have to survive 2 weeks.

Don't feel too bad, it was an accident. And you are making the owners a big favour... 3 dogs 2 weeks is not a small responsibility. They should have leave them with paid professionals or something like that.
 
M

methane47

Member
Nameless said:
Need more information. Do your friends normally let their dogs roam around an unfenced yard off leash?
Click to expand...

Yes, the house is in a somewhat forested hilly area. There are fences but the dogs can simply walk around the fence. The road has Exactly 3 houses on it.
 
BossLackey

BossLackey

Gold Member
When dogs are let free, they get hit by cars. Nobody should be surprised by this. I'd say it's the fault of the owner, the neighbor, and you. Dog had no chance.
 
M

Mumei

Member
AbsolutBro said:
We had our dog bolt through ot the first day, but we hadnt walked the fence line with them yet. Youre supposed to lead them around the area so they know their limits. Although Poodles have been bred yo be dumber than a bag of hammers, so who knows if that would help. Our dogs dont go anywhere near the fence anymore, but if we forget to put their collars on all bets are off. :(
Click to expand...

Well, they had been using the electric fence for years; she knew the limits. She just became scared and bolted anyway.
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
Is the normal practice to let the dogs run out in the yard/street unsupervised? Not sure I've ever seen that around here, but I'm in a major city and that would be crazy.
 
H

Hero_of_the_Day

Member
Odd to say "knocked down" and then nowhere in your post do you say he was actually hit by a car. I was confused as to what the fuck was going on.

Any way, as others have said, shit happens. Don't tell them until they are done with whatever they are doing.
 
T

TUSR

Banned
Mumei said:
Well, they had been using the electric fence for years; she knew the limits. She just became scared and bolted anyway.
Click to expand...

I wonder how those collars work, signal inside stops from shocking or no signal outside starts.

Hero_of_the_Day said:
Odd to say "knocked down" and then nowhere in your post do you say he was actually hit by a car. I was confused as to what the fuck was going on.

Any way, as others have said, shit happens. Don't tell them until they are done with whatever they are doing, or get home.
Click to expand...

Murder mystery.
 
M

methane47

Member
DoctorWho said:
Is the normal practice to let the dogs run out in the yard/street unsupervised? Not sure I've ever seen that around here, but I'm in a major city and that would be crazy.
Click to expand...

Yes, its really small area, with exactly 3 houses. the traffic for the entire day is litterally 3 cars go out in the morning, 3 cars come in at night. I dont even park there, i park on another road because there is no more room for another car, and I dont want my GF to walk there in the dark.

Also everyone's dogs play together in the morning, Dogs from where I am, and N1 and N2 all hang out together. They are all loose, furthermore, the house i'm at is the only one with fences at all. The other neighbors have nothing. Just open yard
 
A

AbsolutBro

Member
Mumei said:
Well, they had been using the electric fence for years; she knew the limits. She just became scared and bolted anyway.
Click to expand...
Weird. Any idea what scared her so bad she bolted away from her house?

I should also be clear that we dont use just invisible fence. It's paired with a physical fence the dogs can see, although it wouldnt really stop them if they wanted to go over it. My girl especially (we have 3 dogs ourselves) will go over the 4' gate between the front and back yards (no wire at the gate).
 
highrider

highrider

Banned
methane47 said:
Yes, the house is in a somewhat forested hilly area. There are fences but the dogs can simply walk around the fence. The road has Exactly 3 houses on it.
Click to expand...
If you or the owners allow the dogs to roam the property there is always an inherent risk of something bad happening. Don't tell the owners right now as others have said.
 
M

methane47

Member
Hero_of_the_Day said:
Odd to say "knocked down" and then nowhere in your post do you say he was actually hit by a car. I was confused as to what the fuck was going on.

Any way, as others have said, shit happens. Don't tell them until they are done with whatever they are doing.
Click to expand...

Colloquialism i guess, Knocked down is the term used here when a car hits a animal.
As opposed to Rolled over when a car drives over and hurts an animal.
 
A

AbsolutBro

Member
TUSR said:
I wonder how those collars work, signal inside stops from shocking or no signal outside starts.
Click to expand...
Ours works by way of a wire buried about a foot deep in the ground. When the collars get within a certain distance of the wire (set by a control panel in my garage), it chimes a warning. If they get closer, it sends a small shock.

And thats one reason we pair it with the physical fence, because if they eat the shock (which none of our dogs have done) and get outside the fence, they would have to eat another shock to get back IN.
 
H

Hero_of_the_Day

Member
Mumei said:
When I was dog-sitting last year, the moronic poodle I was dog-sitting ran right through the electric fence and across the street (and it wasn't in a residential neighborhood or anything; it was an intermittently busy, 40 MPH speed limit street). She was gone for a day before she came back.

So I wouldn't rely on it too heavily. If something scares your dogs or sufficiently entices them, they'll be gone.
Click to expand...

Yep. My friend has one of those electric fences, and a seemingly pretty smart dog, don't know my dogs so can't tell you what she is:


QeHa9YL.jpg



She's pretty good at staying in the fence, but every once in a great while if a squirrel really entices her, she will bolt through that thing like it's nothing.
 
S

speedline

Banned
Hero_of_the_Day said:
Odd to say "knocked down" and then nowhere in your post do you say he was actually hit by a car. I was confused as to what the fuck was going on.

Any way, as others have said, shit happens. Don't tell them until they are done with whatever they are doing.
Click to expand...

Yeah, not to be an ass but if you have trouble being upfront with us about the situation then I can only imagine how you will deal with telling your friend. You will be remembered not by the bad things that happen to you, but how you respond to them.

edit: "knocked down" was clarified in post 37. sorry
 
K

kick51

Banned
methane47 said:
Colloquialism i guess, Knocked down is the term used here when a car hits a animal.
As opposed to Rolled over when a car drives over and hurts an animal.
Click to expand...



It's not 100% your fault. Dogs get left unsupervised for a minute from time to time. and the guy was driving "full speed"-- is that normal on that road?

Put it this way-- Neighbor who hit the dog will get it worse and have to see them every day and dogs tend to run out in front of cars because they're not the brightest, but the owners will be mad at you too.
 
D

dangeROSS

Member
Man that sucks. But unfortunately stuff like that happens. It could just have easily happened when the owners were home and let out the dog. I'm sure your friends will understand when you tell them. But I would wait until after the surgery and everything to say something. My family has lost 2 dogs in the past month, and it really does affect you. I hope everything goes OK.
 
C

CrankyJay

Banned
"Do i throw him away in the garbage?"

Are you serious?

Can't really control a dog, but maybe if you weren't too busy taking a shit tho the dog would be more interested in being around you than wandering off
 
T

TUSR

Banned
CrankyJay said:
"Do i throw him away in the garbage?"

Are you serious?

Can't really control a dog....maybe if you weren't too busy taking a shit tho the dog would be more interested in being around you than wandering off
Click to expand...

Also, it might be illegal to just bury a dog wherever you please.
 
C

ComputerMKII

Banned
Mumei said:
OP: That really sucks. I was horrified when I thought I had lost a dog.



When I was dog-sitting last year, the moronic poodle I was dog-sitting ran right through the electric fence and across the street (and it wasn't in a residential neighborhood or anything; it was an intermittently busy, 40 MPH speed limit street). She was gone for a day before she came back.

So I wouldn't rely on it too heavily. If something scares your dogs or sufficiently entices them, they'll be gone.
Click to expand...
Yep. As with children, there's no protection like direct human surveillance.
 
D

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
AbsolutBro said:
Your friends are terrible dog owners.
Click to expand...

Seems a bit harsh without knowing them at all. Seems like it is a rural area and allowing the dogs to roam free for a bit isn't that uncommon in that situation. Doesn't make the dog owners terrible. That is part of the attratction to living in such area, you and your pets can have more of a sense of freedom. I am paranoid about not having a leash on my dog, but I am in a suburban neighborhood with traffic going down my street every day, all day.

Not sure this incident is anyone's fault. It is just a bad situation. If the dog jumped in front of the car, it isn't like there would be alot of time to react.
 
S

soepje

Member
When are they supposed to come home? If it´s a long time from now, you can´t keep it above ground. Unless you have a massive freezer.
 
M

methane47

Member
Crazy thing they were scheduled to come back yesterday :S. Then they had to extend it because they found that he didn't have serious arthritis. They found out he had an infection in his hip bones... so they now plan to come back maybe next Friday.
 
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