My Neighbor’s Dog Ran Over My Car

One day I came home from work and I noticed my neighbor, Ms. Watt, appeared to be fighting a small animal on a leash… and losing. The puppy was a young Saluki dog- an Egyptian breed known for its speed, quick turns and playfulness. And it was pinwheeling at the end of her leash like it was a wounded blue marlin at the end of a fishing line. Together the two of them moved down the sidewalk in a bizarre gait of tugs, spins, whirls and pirouettes. I thought it was bizarre but didn’t think much more of it.

Pretty Dog. Too bad they are spastic without lots of yard to run in.

Back in October my wife and I were returning from a great day at the Maryland Renfair. It was dark and the weather was still warm and the top was down in the Chevy SSR as we arrived home. I noticed Ms. Watt and her spastic dog at the corner of our cul-de-sac. As I continued down the street, I heard the her yell at us, and then felt a thump and heard the awful shrill yelps of the dog. The damn dog had chased my vehicle, caught it, and may have attempted suicide beneath the wide tires of the SSR. My wife urged me to stop immediately so she could make sure the dog was okay, and I let her out as I went to park the truck.

Want to see how Salukis run? Watch this video here.

I went back to the corner to where Ms. Watt was bent over checking the yelping dog to make sure no bones were broken, and she was yelling at my wife about “going too fast” (I wasn’t), and “why did you hit my dog?” (It hit me!)  It wasn’t like I had run over the dog in its yard or in a public crosswalk. The crazy critter chased me down and hit my car! So much for speeding if a dog can catch me.

I asked if the dog was dead and then asked why she had the dog off the leash. I told her where she could find an emergency veterinarian, but the dog seemed fine, just shook up from the experience. My wife offered to pay for the Vet’s bill and I flashed her a dirty look since I had no intention of paying for any animal whose owner was too careless to keep it on a leash.

The next day I went to Ms. Watt’s house and asked how the little Saluki was doing. She told me it was doing fine and that the Vet had prescribed pain pills but the animal didn’t seem to need it. I told her I was glad her pet would survive and that it was lucky it wasn’t killed chasing cars in the dark like that.

A week passed and I got a letter in the mail from Ms. Watt. It included a copy of the Vet bill for 125 dollars and a hand-written note requesting that I reimburse her. So I sent her a letter back by registered mail with the following note:

Ms. Watt,

After brief consideration for your request for me to pay for your emergency veterinarian’s visit, I must decline. I fail to see how I am responsible for any injury to an animal that chased my car on a public street and hurt itself when its owner clearly could not maintain control of the animal. Perhaps if it had been on a leash and I had struck it in your yard or when you were crossing the street I might reconsider.

If you insist on pursuing this matter, I would need an accident report from a policeman and I could see if my car insurance would cover a claim. I somehow doubt that a claims adjuster would fault me.

As a reminder, in Fairfax County, you must maintain control of your dog at all times or face a summons for violation. The law is detailed here:

(pertinent details of leash law snipped for space here)

My wife and I are pleased that your pet was uninjured and the 125 dollar vet’s bill seems like a small price to pay to learn such a valuable lesson.

I certainly hope this does not in any way create any animosity among the neighborhood, and I look forward to seeing you at the next cluster association meeting.

I thought the issue was settled, but on Thanksgiving, Ms. Watt walked the pinwheeling Saluki by my house as my infant son and I were on the front porch enjoying the weather and waiting for the turkey to finish cooking. She accusingly told me that she had to have the kidney and part of the Saluki’s liver removed and it was somehow related to the dog’s encounter with the rear fender of my SSR.

I asked her if they had lemon laws for dogs. Hers was clearly defective. She walked away in a huff. My wife had overheard the conversation and yelled after Ms. Watt to have a Happy Thanksgiving, but it sounded much like Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates when she yelled for Rob Schneider to “Keep Running!” after she had beaten him with a bat.

I haven’t heard anything more about the issue. But yesterday night when I came home from work in the dark I saw Ms. Watt walking her pinwheeling spastic Saluki again, but this time she had a bright blue glowing leash. I swear to god it looked like the Star Wars kid having a light-sabre battle with Darth Saluki. And she was losing.