it's just a dog man.

i my dogs (St. Bernard puppy and an older Golden Retriever)... ditto to mi chica (who MADE me get my first dog on my own). BUT... +1 for hitting a stray dog on the road instead of swerving. by swerving, you may be endangering 1) your own 2) life of others 3) proper AND life of others (people).

not to mention, dogs, especially if you live in a city, should be properly kept. it's a dog owner's responsibility to keep your dog out of the the middle of the street, not a car owner's responsibility to NOT hit the dog. you don't properly leesh/crate/gate/fence, your dog runs out, gets hit and dies? cest la vie dude... now a stray wild dog... that's a whole another NEUTER-YOUR-PETS thread for another day...

 

It really does depend on the situation for me. I would first jam on my breaks before running off the road. Im glad that you only hit a tree but it could have been worse. I really like dogs, I have become very attached to my gfs dog and I would way sad if anything happend it him but I wouldnt risk my life over trying to avoid one.

 

I would take the guilt of hitting a dog (or any other small animal) over the chance of killing myself by losing control of the car any day. It would suck, but frankly, mine and my passenger's life are more important.

That being said...I'll admit to swerving slightly for even the smallest of rodents on the road. If its safe..I'm trying not to hit it. If its unavoidable...well, I hope I never get into that situation.

 

If it came to a dog, I would do the same thing. I am a dog lover, and even the best of trained dogs can wander some times. I spent two hours looking for Mossimo last Saturday because his invisible fence collar batteries went dead. to you.

 

Yup..I hit a coyote or a really big racoon one nite. It was chasing a pack of rabbits (BMW in front of me nearly hit the rabbits). Then out of nowhere this large furry animal came darting between me and the BMW...nailed it, and I could hear it rolling underneath the car.

Felt like crap...felt even worse when I saw my bumper at home. NSX bumpers ain't cheap.

 

When I was living in Texas, I got lost near Waco. I was behind a truck loaded with pigs. I noticed that the pigs were rather restless in the truck when the unthinkable happened...one of them jumped off the truck. I don't know why, maybe he/she knew they were going to slaughter house and decided to taka a chance...over a truck going at over 80mph lol. I dodged him though.

 

SWEET looking SHIBA INU. I used to have several of those dogs and let me tell ya. they will take off on you if they arent on a leash, those damn things dont life human affection too. very snobby and independent creatures. but they are awesome nevertheless.

-kp

 

Those invisible dogs are everywhere I tell ya!

In my area it is up to the pet owner to ensure that it is secure. If the pet escapes and causes an accident or attack somebody, the pet owner is liable for all damage caused.

 

my chiuahaha got ran over some years ago

 

On any car you should jut hit the dog. You never know if a kid is gona come out of nowere looking for the dog or how hard the trees are going to be. Or if there is a mofo wall behind the trees. Thus you should keep the steering straight and slam on the brakes. Once you have slowed down enough (and if the car has abs) try to steer around the dog. But steering around should only be attempted in perfect vision, dry road, perfect lighting.

However, considering how many people have trouble handling the "tail happy" S2000. You should just hit the dog.

Ask DR.T (From the atlanta group) what happened when whe swerved to avoid a rabbit at 60mph on the 2003 Dragon trip (tennesse) if you still think it is better to swerve.