PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Ugh, hit a dog on the way home last night. Was tooling down the street, minding my own business when I caught him in the right side of the headlights. I fired the reverse thrusters, but still got him. Doing about 25-30 mph at time of impact, hit him with the left front. My initial thought was to call animal control to come pick up the body, but when he started screaming, I still thought to call them to at least end the suffering. Much to my surprise, it looks like the dog may pull though, has a busted left front leg, but the owners, who were contacted, hauled the dog to the vet ER. Dog was in shock, so I hope there is nothing internal.

The dog:

My best guess is he is an Italian Mastiff, and probably worth as much as the car. Here is a google pic for those watching:


The car:


Best guess, the header panel behind the corner lens was completely trashed, corner of the fender pulled down, corner of the hood bent, headlight mounting assembly trashed, but the lenses are intact. Corner lens is scattered on the road. There may be more, I have to pull it apart to see how bad it is. The left headlight is pointing down though, which I don't like.

Thoughts: This was a HARD hit, not just the standard chihuahua getting rolled under the wheels like most dogs. The report should be ready to go in a week, I am taking a trip with family, getting back Monday of next week, by then the report should be ready, and I will have the guys phone number, only because I didn't think to write it down on site (oops). That gives him a chance to deal with his dog, and I don't seem unreasonable asking for money off the bat. Plus, I can go meet the dog under proper pretenses, as I don't like meeting people or animals this way.

Also, any suggestions, parts leads, etc welcome.

My Bullmastiff got out one day and charged a car on the highway putting a pretty substantial dent in the guy's driver's door. He slowed down, then took off. The dog shook her head a few times, turned around and came home, glad it was my 105lb female and not the 150lb male we had at the time...he would have tipped the car over lol. Most Mastiff breeds are pretty solid so when they hit, you know it.

hopefully the repairs won't be too bad to get sorted out reasonably...and the dog is ok of course:)

the dog should make it out okay..bulldog mastiff's are a very very tough breed..

Ouch. Talk to your insurance, explain what happened and maybe there's a deductible free "Act of God" clause or something. It'd be a lot better for both you and the dog owner to deal with than trying to get money out of him...

Only insurance I have is state minimum liability and uninsured motorist. I doubt I have coverage. I will have to look in to it though.

Daytime pic:

you made it sound alot worse than it was..ive seen someone hit a bulldog mastiff and it rolled up the hood and smashed the windsheild..

you got off lucky IMO

That may be true, but I don't exactly go around hitting these things every day. I also was not going that fast.

I certainly have considered adding comprehensive insurance at this point though.

RJolly87 wrote:That may be true, but I don't exactly go around hitting these things every day. I also was not going that fast.

I certainly have considered adding comprehensive insurance at this point though.

I think it is (comprehensive, PIP & uninsured motorist) worth having, but that is just me. One size does not fit all. Glad you were not injured and I'm not much of an animal lover, but I do not like to see them abused or injured (even if it is their fault as usually is). I hope it's not too much of a hassle to get your Buick repaired. - BC

Grabbed some more pics. I will probably get some body shop estimates in the next couple of days so I know exactly what I am looking at.












What I see so far is a bent header panel on the left side, the mounting area for the left corner lens was completely blown out. Corner of the hood is bent. Also some broken mounts on the left headlight/running light.

Got this lead so far:
http://elpaso.en.craigslist.org/pts/2452689524.html
Not a bad price for all front end lights, and a bonus wall hanging grille.

I head out of town for the weekend with parents on Thursday, when I get back, I am gonna start checking in with the dog owner. See how the dog fared, and what sort of resolution we can come to. Once I get quotes, I will probably straighten the header panel, which hopefully take care of the headlight alignment issue.

Dealership quote is in. Among items ranging from a $280 headlight assembley, to a $313 fender, and all the stops in between, the full quote weighs in at the tidy sum of $1764.35, at a threshold of 95%.

Ouch.

On a side note, he said my car looked better then even a lot of new cars that come in. People get nice cars, and then beat them to crap now days seems like.

Sorry for the dog and sorry to see the damage. I wanted to post a reply and hopefully be of some help. Even though you only have liability, you could make an insurance claim against the owner of the dog. I worked in insurance for a few years and have seen similar situations in Ohio.

I would suggest getting an estimate and approaching the owner of the dog to make sure he (the dog) is okay and then ask about repairs. The owner should be able to make a claim against their homeowner's/renter's policy. Don't be surprised if they are pissed at you for hitting the dog but at the end of the day, they are responsible for where the dog is and any damage that results. Even if they baulk at making a claim, if you can find out which insurance company they have, you can always call and make the claim yourself and then it is up to them to respond to the insurance company. If they simply don't respond, the insurance company will just pay you to avoid future problems but it could take a couple months.

If you can successfully file the claim and it is covered, don't be surprised if the insurance company wants to "total" your vehicle or says it is a "total loss." there are a few ways to avoid this and having to get inspections and a salvage title but, repairs alone will have to be under 100% of the vehicle value. If you are able and willing, tell them that you only need/want repairs done and you won't need a rental car while repairs are being done and that you are willing to accept payment based on the original estimate and will not come back to them for additional supplements or repairs that are discovered later. This will keep the cost down and make the insurance company more willing to pay you w/o totalling the car but, it is a risk on your part.

Hope that helps, I know it's long but thats a quick description. Again, sorry to see the damage but glad the dog will be okay.

Stopped by the dog owners house today. Dropped off my phone number, and got a good look at the dog. Dog stood up on the fence, and was looking me in the eye. Dog has paralysis in the left front leg, but no broken bones. Doing fine otherwise. Not sure if they are going to have to put the dog down or not, they are waiting to see if the leg gets any better. I bet the corner of the hood/fender hit the dog right in the shoulder. The guy was at work, and I hope he is reasonable. The misses sounded reasonable so far, but obviously don't know what they can do, given that they just got back from a big trip, and got to shell out for a $1000 vet bill. They said they will have to look in to the homeowners insurance option though.