Sad news for Muffy & nunu

Bunnylady

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Now, see - this is the part I don't understand: most people actively avoid damaging their vehicles, particularly if the cars are new (or at least, new to them), and they know that there isn't any insurance to repair or replace the damage (it's generally illegal to be driving without insurance, at least in my state; but insurance companies get sticky any way they can). A dog or cat would probably go under the bumper and cause basically no damage, but even a miniature horse is a lot taller and heavier; it would likely go up over the hood and right through the windshield. As @Southern by choice pointed out, hitting a horse isn't just guaranteed to trash your car, it's a potentially life-threatening situation. To think that this guy came cruising down this dark country road, saw some horses in the road, and decided to risk his life by deliberately slamming his car into one goes a little beyond reason, y'know? To me, the idea that he suddenly came on these big animals in the dark, realized he had a choice between hitting one, or running off into the ditch and possibly flipping his car and killing himself that way, so he chose to aim at the smallest one and prayed that he'd survive the impact seems much more reasonable.

A guy I vaguely know lost a much-loved Appaloosa mare a few years ago when several of his horses got out on the road one night. If I recall correctly, 3 horses actually got hit; the driver couldn't leave the scene because he was too badly injured and the car wasn't driveable. The only reason the horse owner wasn't charged in that case was because he was able to show the investigating officers that it wasn't negligence on his part, his fence had been deliberately cut "by a person or persons unknown." Even though it wasn't his fault, he felt terrible that his animals had nearly cost someone their life.

Seems to me that the worst this guy could be charged with is animal cruelty, because he didn't stop; if he can convince a judge that he felt it was the horse's life or his, he may get off scot-free. On the other hand, he may have at least a decent shot at suing you and the owner of the farm these horses wandered away from for the repairs to his car.

I have minis of my own, and I know how they can work their way into your heart, but I'm with Southern - as painful as your loss is, you should be glad only a horse was killed.
 
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Lewanu-mom16

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I will never be glad my animal was killed ever yes granted the guy lived thru it but keep in mind where I’m from the guy didn’t report it and because he didn’t report it he’s now liable for the damages he himself has caused the laws here state as such that unless he calls it in he doesn’t get the damages paid for by the owners or the farm owners he himself is now at fault and keep in mind as well that where I’m from this guy lives in an area that’s mostly farmland areas so he knew he was gonna run a high risk driving around in farm land areas late at night so if he’s a local he should’ve known he needed to slow down yet he didn’t in fact he maintained full speed and hit Muffy and kept on going thru word of mouth we learned his kids were even bragging about him killing her while they were riding the bus to school a few days later! This guys not a caring soul he’s a disturbingly heartless monster who could’ve stopped but he didn’t he instead chose to just leave her there to die and not care what happened to her that’s what we r all upset over here is that he just left her there to die alone luckily a lady that was driving her car was behind him and witnessed everything and she was at least kind enough to stay with my baby til help arrived but she died in the kind ladies arms before I could get there myself. The fact that this guy hit my poor baby girl and just kept on going is inexcusable and Muffy being a smaller mini horse yes she’s a great deal larger than a dog or cat but the guys vehicle to keep on driving like that had to be a fairly new model that was built to wistand large scale impacts like that since all we had to tie his car to the scene was a piece of the vehicle that was like a chunk of metal that didn’t even have a vin number on it anywhere if it wasnt for word getting around so quickly we’d have never been able to know who the guy was & so thanks to word of mouth we were able to match the piece of the vehicle at the scene to his damaged area on a portion of his own vehicle. We r not upset that he can’t be charge with anything we r more upset that he’s not been cooperating on anything because he doesn’t care about an innocent animals life being taken by his own hands. Bottom line is we r gonna try pressing charges and he will be held accountable for what he’s done in some way because this man has to learn that u don’t just hit someone’s family member and leave them there to die.
 

Bunnylady

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to keep on driving like that had to be a fairly new model that was built to wistand large scale impacts

Modern vehicles are built to break. They are designed with "crumple zones" that fold and bend and absorb the impact, and direct the force downward or any direction besides toward the passenger compartment. Just a couple of days ago, a car on one of our busiest streets was torn in two when the driver crossed traffic and struck a tree. Since this was a city street with lots of stop lights in the middle of the day, there's only so fast the driver could have been going - and his passenger walked away with no injuries. That's a modern car for you

Even if the guy that hit your mini was driving a pickup or an SUV, he still must have done thousands of dollars' worth of damage to his vehicle. Most people who buy used cars don't have that kind of money to just throw away, and that's effectively what he did by not stopping or reporting the accident. He must have had a darn good reason not to want to talk to a cop . . . and it wasn't because it would spoil his fun, knowhatimean? He may have claimed to have been stone-cold sober, but he may not have been; there's more going on here than just him not caring that he hit a horse.

He might have been drinking, he might have been on his phone, he might just have been really tired; there are a lot of things that could have delayed the moment when he realized that there were horses in the road. Or maybe the horses just stepped out of the dark in front of him; animals have been known to do that. I can think of a lot of scenarios in which, by the time he realized there were large animals in the road, he was too close to stop. He suddenly had several choices, all of them bad, and he had to pick one - fast!

Why did he leave? To anyone who knows anything about human nature, the most obvious answer is: he left, because he had something to hide (and it wasn't an evil grin). It might be as simple as what he said - he was driving without insurance, and he was trying to avoid the repercussions from that. Not the most mature choice, but it makes sense.

As for why he has stopped cooperating, maybe it's just that he's fed up with the whole mess? See, he did something irresponsible - he took a car on the road before he had insurance for it. Someone else did something irresponsible, too; they failed to keep their animals safely at home, where they belong. Because these two acts of irresponsibility coincided, he now has thousands of dollars of damage to his vehicle, which he has to pay for, and because of the way the law is written, he is on the hook for the other person's irresponsibility, too (and that's just the money side of the matter!) He has confessed to his role in this whole sad, sorry affair, and he just has nothing more to say. I don't see a 'monster,' I see a man who is understandably frustrated, aggravated, and who wishes the whole thing could just go away.:hu
 
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Latestarter

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You lost a family member? I was under the impression you lost a mini horse... that wasn't even living with your family, but on some one else's property.

You can call me names, including cold hearted, and I'm sorry you lost your animal/pet but again, I agree with Bunnylady... there is something else going on here that he didn't stop.

No person in their right mind would INTENTIONALLY hit a horse, even a mini, if there was some way to avoid it. Especially given the "fact" you stated that he recently bought the car and wasn't insured (How do you know all that you espouse as factual?)... which in and of itself might have been sufficient for him to NOT want to deal with cops. Given the choice of hit a full sized horse in the road, hit a mini horse in the road, or hit a tree, other structure, ditch, and potentially die from the impact... Sorry little horse, you're the loser in that choice string... I'm sorry but I also have trouble believing that he would go home and "brag to his school aged kids that he killed a horse with his car"... Really? You think that?

If he had been moving at any kind of speed, the damage done to the front of his vehicle would have been substantial. Like more than sufficient to ruin it, kill the radiator, stop it from running, and possibly end him up in the ditch anyway. Since all you found was a very small piece of the vehicle, I doubt he was moving all that fast. I also doubt that he hit the animal head on (as you suggest). I would guess it was a glancing blow at the worst. Newer vehicles are made of tinfoil and plastic, just the opposite of what you state. They are built to NOT withstand impacts but to crumple and protect the passengers inside through force reduction and absorption (metal crumpling).

I DON'T know all the facts, and I wasn't there (neither were you), so the TRUTH about all of this is an argument of futility, and a "he said, she said" whatever... He may have hit the animal just hard enough to knock it out of his way, off the road, and continued on thinking he hadn't hit it hard enough to do any damage/kill it. I suggest that you are jaded and are NOT seeing this clearly but are "making" this the worst possible case scenario.

I'm sorry, but I am now out of this thread...
 

Lewanu-mom16

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What u don’t realize ok for one is he was interrogated by cops after we identified him thru evidence and word of mouth (his kids were observed bragging about it by a mutual friends kid riding the same bus) and he openly stated he chose not to stop and keep in mind too out here it’s not uncommon for locals to be idiots towards other neighbors with animals on site whether they are boarders or ones own animals I know this guys actions might seem hard to believe but it’s true he was in fact sober and had no problems hitting her cuz he knew he’d have gotten caught if he stayed around and therefore chose to flee the scene and not call it in he is a coward in my opinion because he chose to leave my poor baby girl to die and honestly that to me is disgusting behavior regardless of how it happened. Im sorry if it seems like I am turning this into a pity party (cuz I’m not) but I know this area quite well I grew in this same exact county for years. So I know quite often there have been times when locals just don’t give a crap and will not slow down on the rd and will not care if they’ve hit anything whether it’s a human or an animal! We r in the middle of a nationwide manhunt based out of our state right now for a guy that knew he had shot and killed a sheriff and is now running from the law cuz he KNOWS he’s in trouble so if a guy is not willing to own up to the fact he knowingly murdered a human officer what makes u think a human would care to own up to the fact he knowingly murdered a poor defenseless baby animal and didn’t care whether she was still alive or dead?!
 

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I'm sorry you lost your pet . Not much to add to what has already been said .
 

Bunnylady

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it’s not uncommon for locals to be idiots

locals just don’t give a crap

If it isn't theirs, they don't care - sadly, my friend, that is the way most people work, not just your neighbors. That's why it's so important that you take care of what matters to you; because nobody else will. OK, that's a bit cynical, but in large part it is true; most people operate in their own little bubble world, and anything outside of it just never comes on the radar screen. They care about what they chose to care about; they don't go out of their way to get involved with much beyond their friends and family.:idunno

I am sorry you lost your pet. Are you going to get Nunu another buddy?
 

Lewanu-mom16

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If it isn't theirs, they don't care - sadly, my friend, that is the way most people work, not just your neighbors. That's why it's so important that you take care of what matters to you; because nobody else will. OK, that's a bit cynical, but in large part it is true; most people operate in their own little bubble world, and anything outside of it just never comes on the radar screen. They care about what they chose to care about; they don't go out of their way to get involved with much beyond their friends and family.:idunno

I am sorry you lost your pet. Are you going to get Nunu another buddy?

we have plans to get him more friends yes, we've been offered afew doelings as buddies for him but after what happened to muffy we r not planning to board anymore horses there at least for now as my friend & i both agree this area with minis is just not a safe area to board without a stable kept solution, so we r working on some safety precautions for nunu & the girls so they all remain safe there plus we r working on buying a plot of land soon since we were offered a free tiny house of our own so we looking at land to move everyone onto with us one we can get it all setup. we have afew remodels in the tiny home that have to be addressed first as well as afew minor repairs before we can move in & thats expected to take all summer and possibly a lil bit into early fall but even so once its all setup & ready to move in we can finally have nunu boy safe & sound with us thank goodness! lol we've already considered ideas of constructing very sturdy barn & putting up good strong fencing for additinal livestock once we get the goats settled in. we've been thinking of getting poultry like chickens quail & some turkeys too lol and have thought of maybe trying out a small dairy herd of jersey cattle, we r planning to add a few veggie gardens in as well. some of the veggies grown will be a healthy trwat for all the animals. the rest we plan to eat or sell at farmers markets if theres extras. we've decided that if in the near future we have the cash & if we feel we r ready again that we will consider adding another horse to our family someday but its still very difficult for my fiance & i both as even now we r still grieving very heavily & probably will continue to do so for quite a long while at least for now things seem to be perking up for us all.
 
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