Hit a dog.

[Turbojett]

So I came home from chilling with a few of my friends earlier tonight going my usual route. No big deal, I could drive home from work in my sleep if I had to (and practically have, many times; same route I take to work, practically). So I'm about two blocks or so away from my neighborhood, it's not quite as dense as the center of town is, but it isn't quite residential. Not so many cars on the road seeing as its about ten or so. I'm doing about forty-five, give or take (probably give). A little farther down the road, on the other side there's this large black dog just trotting down the street, probably not paying any mind to where he's going.

Suddenly he just darts out into traffic and runs right in front of me. I start laying on my horn and my brakes, and the stupid thing just stops, like a deer in the headlights. So I probably would have missed him if he'd kept going, but apparently, this stupid thing isn't moving, so I swerve to try and avoid him, but I was way to close to begin with, and brakes+swerving=spinout. I hadn't gotten my nose out of the way in time, and just at the last second, this dog decides that he's in danger and starts to move, but he didn't jump in time, and my right front bumper just freakin' walloped him straight in the ass and sent him FLYING.

Now this is a big dog, not necessarily tall, but he's big, I'd say the size of a German Shepherd (It wasn't. I couldn't tell what it was, and it had no tag, so I assume it was just a stray.), and I hit this guy so hard that his butt carried him AIRBORNE, a line drive right into the concrete base of a lamppost. Damn thing never had a chance.

Anyway, long story short, I pulled into a nearby covenience store, called the police (local number, who then directed me to animal control, who, I assume got rid of the carcass) and then went back outside to inspect the damage (this is in the Cobalt, btw).

Surprisingly, as hard as I hit it, the only real damage is a broad scuffmark on the bumper's strike face and a few scratches along the rise between the headlight and the grille--I guess where his back claws and $h! hit it (Boy I heard them scrape)-- but surprisingly, it's nothing that won't buff out. However, hitting a dog that large did cause just a tiny bit of sag between the front bumper and the headlight. there's not a bit of sag between the fascia and the fender however, I think it **could** have been a bit distorted or something. I can just barely wriggle my fingertips in between the fascia and the headlight. Anybody know any way I could fix that problem? I mean it's not really that obvious, but it'd be best to fix it. I dunno if rainwater getting in there could screw anything up or rust anything.

Edited May 28, 2006 by Turbojett

[ocnblu]

You could try heating the bumper cover, which sometimes allows the plastic material to regain its memory (seriously). Unless there is hidden damage to metal parts (impact bar, mount brackets to frame rail) there should be no rust problem.

[Cory Wolfe]

Ouch...

[gerardo]

Poor dog.

[ocnblu]

Yeah, that's a whole other subject. I'd be devastated if I hit any animal.

[gerardo]

Yeah, that's a whole other subject.  I'd be devastated if I hit any animal.

Same here .

[Cadillacfan]

I witnessed an entire family of ducks get decimated by a 18-wheeler on a busy highway last year. It made me sick to my stomach.

[daves87rs]

Wow...that just sucks...

[the_yellow_dart]

Sorry to hear that.

Must be hard when it's a dog.

I've hit a deer and a chicken, but those don't make you feel quite as bad.

[knightfan26917]

I'd be devastated if I hit any animal.

*nods*

Same here.

Turbo ... sorry about your accident.

Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker

MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/

Models.HO = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/trainroom.html

"I must be lonely" ... Matchbox 20 ... '3 am'

[trinacriabob]

I've only hit a squirrel and a kitten. The latter was kind of sad. It was raining in Portland OR (so what else is new) and these little black kittens just blended in with the wet pavement. It was too late. I had already nailed one. I heard the thump. The sad part was that it was down the street from my Mom's and I drove up and down that street a lot.

A dog is harder. If it's any consolation, you didn't mean to do it. They're not as smart as we are. That's why some become casualties of the automobile.

[Croc]

I've never hit an animal, knock on wood, but I can't stand driving over a roadkill carcass.

[Turbojett]

Yeah, that's a whole other subject.  I'd be devastated if I hit any animal.

Yeah, I did feel pretty bad about it, and still do. Especially since just about everyone else on the internet that I've told thinks that I'm an inhuman whore just because i hit a dog and then had the utter GAUL to ask if I damaged the car. ("F-- the car! You killed a dog! You're an a-hole! You expect us to feel bad?!")

Yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better. Thanks. Real Pals, they are.

If there were any solace I could take (I'm not really), the dog did appear to be a stray, it had no collar and its fur was unkepmt.

Now had it been a pet, I don't think I'd ever forgive myself, because I've actually had two pet dogs that have met that fate. Both times, the drivers were total jerks, and one of them even threatened to sue because he cared more about the (negligible, at best) damage to his damned Mercedes.

I didn't really go too far into that because I didn't think anybody really cared to hear so much about it.

[76ChevyTrucker]

I've hit a dog once before, I felt bad for a while, but like you TJ, it was a stray and had no tags, and looked like it had the mange. I found it hard to do, but at the same time, I knew that he was in a better place than roaming around without a family to love and care for him. I feel for ya becuase I felt like crap for a while, but at the same time I was able to get over it fairly quickly.

[Sixty8panther]

Wow... well it was an accident so what can you do?

As far as the car just take people's advice and then

if all else fails then try taking it to a bodyshop as it

may be a very cheap fix... realignment of the

bumper cover perhaps?

[CARBIZ]

Wow that sucks. I ran over a small dog about 12 years ago on a cold winter night. I pulled over and it lay, quivering on the pavement. I was afraid to touch it, incase it bit me, but I couldn't leave it. It was very cold (Feb.). A police car happened by. I just knelt beside the poor animal, talking soothingly to it, until it died. The officer wrapped it in a blanket and drove off.

I hug my 10 year old Husky every night and thank God the one night he ran off across traffic 3 cars narrowly missed him!