Mailman ran over our dog . . .its the THIRD dog he has killed!

[thechickenchick]

Oh I am so sorry. I hate telling my 14 year old when something like that happens, so I can imagine how hard it will be to tell your little boy. If he is as sensitive as mine, they take it so hard.

My DS was with me both times I accidentally hit and yes, killed our dogs. Yes I was being careful. I felt so awful. Nothing like that had ever happened to me and it happened twice in 3 months. I have to say though if the MM made those comments I would be suspicious too!

I understand about letting your dogs run loose. We also live in the country. Our closest neighbor is 3 miles away. Both of our dogs run free. Our little yapper stays close to home, but our big dog loves to follow the oilfield men all over out here. If they are going too far they just load him up on the flatbed and take him with! They love that silly dog! He tangled with a porcupine the other day and I was in town at an appointment so I couldn't come right out. The foreman loaded him up and ran him all the way to town and dropped him off at the vet for me.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Oh, what an evening you'll have!

I've had two dogs run over by farm trucks, obviously my fault.
We had a 4 month-old puppy, too, and I ran her over accidentally. At least you don't have to tell your son that YOU ran over his dog. Kids don't take that too well.

Good idea on the fence. And it sounds pretty. Anything Victorian..

Our property is fenced and they dig under, so be aware of that, as someone else mentioned.

 

[The Chicken People]

Sorry for your sons loss! Life teaches us many things! I am pondering the same fencing questions! Country life is great..nearest neighbor is dh Boss and landlord! He hayed the field between our houses and now my chickens and dogs know no boundaries..before it was the tall grass! So will the electric fence keep my chickens in or harm them?

 

[Eggs4Sale]

Quote:
You are one lucky lady, to live in an environment like that! How sweet of those big, tough oilmen... That's America!

 

[Boyd]

sorry you lost your dog

But as a former package courier, dogs running down the road after us make us very nervous. I would not at any time swerve to avoid a dog that ran in front of me nor would I brake more than normal.... The reason is this... unless your MM was driving a personal car of some sort, most commercial delivery vehicles are VERY top heavy and hard to control in emergency situations. A dog is nothing more than a speed bump and I would loose my job by swerving to avoid and wrecking my vehicle.

As far as getting cornered on the porch, well I did carry a taser, and later on a special pepper sprayer by Kimber. It was simple. Rural people hardly EVER chain or fence their dogs up. I hate being bit. If I was your mailman and was cornered on your porch, your dog would have been shot. If I'm out in the open, yeah, I would have tazed it. I have more room to run out of there.

Before I am flamed, I've been attacked about a half dozen times a year, had to have tetnas and rabies shots, stitches and antibiotics from bad bites. The main reason I left that field of work is because I was tired of hurting other peoples pets because they are irresponsible pet owners.

 

[thechickenchick]

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You are one lucky lady, to live in an environment like that! How sweet of those big, tough oilmen... That's America!

I think I am pretty lucky too! I can't imagine living any where else. I am surrounded by wonderful country and wonderful people.

 

[horsejody]

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I don't think anybody would flame you. I understand the problem with roaming dogs. Please remember - most rural people don't let their dogs roam. It is never a good idea to let a dog roam. When my neighbors' dogs killed my chickens, they actually stood in court and said stupid things like, "we live in a rural area, and everybody lets their dogs roam." When I responded to the judge, I told her the truth. A few do. Most don't. People that think that it's OK to let a dog roam are in denial.

PLEASE DO NOT LET DOGS ROAM!!

You may think your neighbors love them as much as you do, but maybe you haven't heard from all of the places the dogs visit. They threaten wildlife. They threaten livestock and other pets. They can be injured or killed by other animals. They can bite people. They can cause traffic accidents. I used to have a neighbor that spouted off garbage about it was such a good dog and we were in the country so it was OK to leave it loose. Well, one day his dog was off roaming and got on the highway. A car swerved to miss it, and people died.

I'm sorry the OP's dog was killed, but I wouldn't blame the mailman. We can't expect people to run their cars into the ditch because our dogs are in the road when they should have been safely in their yard. Obviously, this was a recurrent problem since it was the 3rd dog hit.

 

[ksacres]

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I think this says it all.

 

[Boyd]

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Before your next dog commits suicide, why don't you invest in a cable or chain to tie off your dog?

 

[lorieMN]

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I agree totally with you..I dont swerve to avoid any animal in the road..I rolled my pickup several years ago because a deer ran into the side of the truck..it was glare ice on the road and the deer had just enough weight to send the truck into a spin on the ice..truck rolled 3 times and I got away without a scratch,thank God for seatbelts.. if its the third dog ran over I think you need to worry about your pet managment more then the MM..keep your dogs out of the traffic..pretty simple to do.