Video removed - FedEx drives over neighbor's dog, no brakes, doesn't stop

Michael Garrett

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Unfortunately, there are cruel and heartless people out there. This is why you don't let your dogs roam free even in rural areas especially if they are prone to chasing cars. I grew up in rural North Dakota. I know all about open spaces. I'm sure the driver is under no obligation to do anything about it. Again, don't let your dogs roam free.
 

WSCam

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Haven't seen the video, don't want to. But in defense of the driver, sounds like a couple dogs running around as she's driving off, and although I haven't seen the video, maybe there was a blind spot where the dog in front kept playing a dangerous game of chicken with something much larger than itself. Gravel road, bumps are to be expected, so...

It sucks, and I know if I hit an animal, I'd feel terrible. I've hit birds and felt bad. But assume positive intent. Either the driver didn't know, or was afraid to stop and have the other aggressive dog do something.

The owner of the free-range dogs will hopefully acknowledge that this is a very likely side effect of having dogs that not only roam free, but also like to chase (and get in front of) moving vehicles. If they don't want their pets being run over, there are some changes they can make too, so don't pin this on the driver. Even if the driver had stopped, the outcome would have likely been the same. Arguing about "who pays for it" may end up sounding rather callous to an outsider, or in hindsight.

Fedex or the driver could turn around and sue the dog's owner for "mental distress and anguish" that was caused by them hitting a dog, or something like that. It goes both ways, and the best solution would be for everyone to realize that, under the circumstances, this was bound to happen sooner or later, and learn from it.

Fortunately as you've seen from this message board alone, you'll have some kind of idea what the general public may think of this, with people coming down on the dog owner's side, but also on the side of the driver. I'd say you were wise to take the video down just because it is a polarizing type of event.

My opinion: share the blame, call it a done deal, and move on.
 

tgurske

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I don't really like dogs, and I don't really care that it was hit while running out in front of a truck. But, what does bother me is that the driver just drove off like that. Would they have stopped had it been a child that was hit? Or, didn't they even notice because they were too busy texting? Either way, I would have shared that video on their social networking sites. Let them come to you.
 

Rakin

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I don't really like dogs, and I don't really care that it was hit while running out in front of a truck. But, what does bother me is that the driver just drove off like that. Would they have stopped had it been a child that was hit? Or, didn't they even notice because they were too busy texting? Either way, I would have shared that video on their social networking sites. Let them come to you.

Animals are not people.

Big trucks don’t feel things like rolling over a dog on a bumpy road.

Nothing good comes from stopping after running over someones dog. The owners will still put the blame on you and try to fight, club, shoot you etc even though it was their fault for letting dog roam in road. Not to mention other dogs having the potential to be aggressive especially in a pack. I’m willing to bet that most people’s perspective would change a little had they run over dogs before while trying to work. Absolutely nothing you can do about it to change anything. Dog will still be dead or dying, owner will still be in shock, upset, mad at you.


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Frankenscript

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I just found and read this thread. Didn't see the video; glad for that because I could probably not unsee it. As a child when my dog got out of the fence, I was so scared until I found him and got him safe.

I agree with @WSCam and many prior posters on several points. Specifically, no matter what the laws are in the area regarding fencing dogs, the free roaming dog represented a hazard in this case and the owner could be sued for damage to the vehicle and for the driver's distress. Whatever we may think of the driver's reaction, this event is 100% the dog owner's responsibility.

That said, no company likes to have viral videos of their truck killing a dog, so I'm certain this would be handled by a settlement from Fedex under a non-disclosure / gag order. I've been involved in a couple cases where a company acted badly and after I showed them how bad their behavior was, with full documentation, they agreed to compensate me, always with a non disclosure attached.

The only leverage the dog owners have is the video not going viral; so good job taking it down. In future, my recommendation to people is not to make such videos publicly accessible at all, because the very fact that it was "out there" and thus may have been copied and get out again (outside of the owner's control) may limit Fedex's insurers' ability to make a good settlement. Keeping video of potential claim events private is the only leverage.

I'm no lawyer, but under no circumstances should one ever make a blackmail/extortion attempt (pay me or this goes viral). Just mentioning the existence of the video as documentation of the claim is plenty to get the point across.

In 2018 I was asking for compensation from a medical practice over a billing dispute; the practice had egregiously been running multiple sets of books (insurance versus self pay) and in the process double billed me and also mis-filed with the insurer in about 20 claims; I was out about $1500 and the practice claimed I owed them $1900. I had detailed spreadsheets showing exactly what was going on and that they had billed insurance for stuff I self-paid. After they balked several times, after I did all the leg work of documenting the problems, I told them that my next call was going to be to the insurer's fraud line, then I gave them the actual number to the fraud line that I was preparing to call, and the name of a contact in the department. "Since we can't agree on this, perhaps it's beyond my ability to analyze. I should bring in some experts from [XXX insurance company] to look at my problem in the context of your overall practice." Not blackmail at all, just a factual and reasonable next step. All of a sudden the problem went away. WITH AN NDA IN PLACE (two-sided, for my protection).

So, I recommend that as part of any settlement, the dog owner require that Fedex indemnify him from any claims/damages to Fedex, their employees, or contractors.

Good luck with this. I do grieve for the poor dog.
 
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