Who’s Responsible When an Idaho Pet Gets Hit By a Car?

So, you accidentally ran over an Idaho house pet... 😳 

Now what? It's one of those things you can't imagine happening to you until it does.

First things first, whenever possible, try to ID the animal and get in touch with the owner. In a situation like this, the best scenario you can hope for would be for the owner to retrieve their pet, excusing you from any further involvement.

When a car hits an Idaho pet, who's responsible for what?

In short, it's entirely circumstantial. If an unleashed house pet strays from home and meanders into the road, you, the driver, most likely aren't at-fault.

The truth is accidents happen. Kids forget to latch the gate. Pets dig their way out of the yard from underneath the fence. Drivers can't see a stray dog on the road in the dark of night. Sometimes it's out of the pet owner's and the driver's control.

Still, when an accident is truly unavoidable, it's typically the pet owner who's responsible for the animal.

Be careful, it gets tricky when it comes to vet bills.

FYI: even if the animal is suffering and in need of life-saving or critical care, if you're the one who brings a maimed pet to a vet or an animal hospital, you could be billed for their medical expenses.

Idaho pet owners aren't required by law to provide domesticated animals with anything beyond that of basic care and vaccinations. If the pet owner were to disagree with your choice to seek emergent (and costly) care for the animal, technically, they would be off the hook financially.

In a perfect world, the pet's owner would assume all responsibility for a truly unavoidable accident. But are you really willing to gamble on what could be a $5,000+ vet bill?

Email your opinions and stories to ryan.valenzuela@townsquaremedia.com.

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