I ran over the neighbor's dog this morning: need advice..

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I feel horrible, I ran over the neighbor's minpin this morning.. he ran right out in front of me and I didn't see him in time. I'll spare you the details but suffice it to say he didn't suffer..

Here is the problem: the particular neighbor and I have been at odds for years and at times the police were involved.. anyone else I would not hesitate to tell them the truth. I don't care who it is, a pet is like a family member and I owe my neighbor closure... that being said, we have had an uneasy truce going on and I know if I tell them, they'll think I did it intentionally...

Omg what do I do?

Maybe you could tell them, "I saw your dog run out into the street and get hit by a car" instead of admitting that you hit it yourself.

Just tell them you did it but it was obviously an accident. If your neighbors had a heart, they will not only accept and appreciate the fact that you told the truth but that you were the bigger person by doing so. But you should offer to pay for the dog's medical attention. And your neighbors will feel very grateful for your support.

Obviously you don't have to do what I tell you, its just a suggestion.

That's a good suggestion.. but I'm still afraid it may cause a fight.. these people are touchy.. I'm trying to think of a way to let them know anonymously(spelling?) I still have the body.. I feel terrible, and the longer I wait the worse it makes me look..

There is no medical attention.. unfortunately it was fatal.

I think you should tell them the truth, despite your history with this neighbor. There's rarely anything to be gained by lying or by evading it. And suppose that unknown to you, someone witnessed it?

You should probably offer to buy them a new dog, although it's also true that they shouldn't have allowed to dog to be running loose in the street.

Tough situation, all around.

Ok, I got up the nerve to go knock on their door.. no one is home..

I now have the dog in some LN2 (don't ask) and should be solid in a couple minutes.. as I write this I have an anonymous letter explaining what happened but not naming me.. I'll put some more ice on him to make sure he stays frozen till they get home and leave him on the doorstep in a styrofoam cooler..

It's a cowardly way to do it, but it will preserve the peace if I don't get spotted..

Wish me luck

You're right about that.




Sorry. No wish for luck from me.

They let a dog that will run onto the street be off leash?

I'm just going to say... um... freezing someones dog and leaving it on their porch sounds fairly horrific. I personally would have called the cops and explained what happened... at least then you have a written report of what truly happened. Not to scare you but... how would some random person magically know where the little guy lived. You're neighbors may immediately accuse you of this act anyway... and the dog on ice makes it seem a little more sadistic. Hopefully you haven't done this yet and can figure a better way than leaving a horrific dog sickle for your neighbors.

I'm just thinking if this happened somewhere where the dog ran away... the person hitting the dog would not know where to take it and leave it on a door step. The first thing that comes to mind is... someone who sees this dog every day in their yard must have hit it... and therefore must be a familiar neighbor. If they have some grudge against you they'll likely just assume it was you.

If it were me I'd either confront the neighbor and say I did it and apologize and as stupid as it sounds offer to buy them a new dog... even though it was their fault... it may soften them up into not taking you to court for whatever they claim you did to their dog. The only other thing I can think of is calling the cops and asking what should be done. I don't think you can go too wrong there if you are actually afraid of your neighbors.

Last edited by Lace-Bane on 16 Nov 2010, 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yes and this one loved to chase anything that moved.. it was just a matter of time.. I just wish it hadn't been me..

The cowardly deed is done.. I'm an ###hole for doing it this way, but hopefully it will prevent conflict.

Sorry, I know that shouldn't be funny, but that made me howl.

It sort of reminds me of the fatal attraction movie and finding the pet bunny boiling away in a saucepan.

Personally I think the OP is making a bad situation much worse. I'd just take it around in a black plastic sack when they are back home. Not leave a note or anything. Bite the bullet and say something like "I'm really sorry, but your dog ran out in front of my car this morning and got run-over and killed. I feel really bad about this." and take it from there. Try to be as sorrowful over the event as possible.

To be clear, this dog is infamous in the neighborhood and everyone on the block knows who he belongs to.. and had I not frozen him, it would be even more awful in a few hours (its warm here)

I shouldn't even have to be in this position, its not my fault.. I just don't need a gun battle erupting over this.. believe me when I say if it was any other neighbor, things would be much simpler.. it would be a long post to explain it all, but there has been violence between us and I don't want any more..

Can you still retrieve the body? Wrapping it up in a blanket, in a halfway natural position would look less horrible than a pile of ice around the dog. (It can still be frozen; animal bodies tend to take some time to thaw up.)

Absurde as it may sound, this little act of blanket-wrapping will demonstrate that you are sorry and do care about what happened, even if you do not fully know how to cope with it. And nobody would put their deceased human family member into the ice-box, but to arange them on the bed covered with a blanket sounds like a more viable option.

Whatever you tell your neighbour (and I think the truth would probably be the best idea here), try to show your concern about the whole thing. Appearing as a cold-hearted person who is not touched by a dog's very bad fortune will certainly not help any with this. The art is not to overdo it and therby to ruin the impression.

Your neighbour will probably be angry, confused, sad, all at the same time. You are likely to feel much the same way. Try not to let the situation escalate and if things look like they might get out of hand, retreat to your own house. In this case, it may be better idea to continue the conversation at some later point when tempers are less likely to flare up like a wildfire.

Fluffydog, I wrapped him in a towel...but it's irrelevant at this point its over..

I got busted. I changed my mind and decided to just dispose of the remains, I went to get the cooler and when I got there Dad and one of his sons pulls in (this is the boy who I caught in my house stealing my kids' video games, which let to a fight where I broke his dad's nose.. but that was a couple years ago) Dad doesn't speak english and I had to rely on this (out of all his kids why did it have to be this one?) Boy to translate... long story short, I explained the whole thing including trying to leave the dog anonymously (I had no idea if this boy was telling his dad what I was really saying at this point) I explained the reasons why and everything... the first question he asked me back was did he owe me anything for damage to my car... I almost threw up.. I guess he saw my eyes well up and we cried together a bit. He shook my hand and said (via translation) that if things were the other way around he would have probably done the same.. we talked for a bit and as it turns out this may actually improved our relationship..

You guys were right.. I should have been straight up and honest from the start..

is your neighbour korean by any chance?