Have you ever run over a small animal? - Page 2 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

MontanaXVI · 08-31-2006, 06:18 AM

My senior year in high school at football practice I line up across from some 125lb freshman, mind you I am about 6'3" and around 260 (at the time)

poor thing looked so helpless after it got ran over, I did not go back to check on it though, I thought it would live, and sure enough it eventually got up and hobbled off to the side.

and that is a true story.

SaltPork · 08-31-2006, 06:25 AM

Squirrels, chipmunks, birds, cats and a dog. I actually paint a sillhouette on the side of my car for each victim. I've decided that if it's between crashing my car or killing a fluffy rat, the rat dies, simple as that. The dog I felt bad about, but you know what, it should have been tied up, it's called a fucking leash law for a reason.

ozahs · 08-31-2006, 08:44 AM

Racoon, squirrel, rabbit, many birds, a cat, probably a few snakes. The most recent thing I ran over looked like a mink or weasel of some sort. It was right here in town. Bizarre looking thing, never seen one before.

On my last business trip to Phoenix, I was driving around in a rental and a pigeon flew up in front of the car, resulting in an explosion of feathers. It suprised the hell out of me.

I've been very lucky not to have hit a deer yet. They are crawling all over my nieghborhood, so I drive real slow when it is dark.

When an animal is thrashing around after being hit, that is what's known as "death throes". Not a pretty sight. It is instinct taking over the body, fighting off whatever has attacked it, even if the attacker has moved on.

I don't feel much sympathy for animials I've hit, probably because the are not sentient. I would prefer not to have hit them, in most cases, but if it is a choice between losing control of my car vs. hitting an anmial, the animal loses.

JustJess · 08-31-2006, 10:17 AM

I once hit a family of raccoons. It was dark country road in the middle of nowhere. I still feel guilty - it was a FAMILY!

And I came close to hitting a deer once. Damn thing scared the crap out of me, I was driving through a blizzard and turned down a back road, and it was standing in the middle of the road. I screeched to a stop and (the large racked) buck was standing practically outside my side window. Yeesh.

I've hit lots of frogs. Can't avoid 'em. Stupid frogs.

Aaaannnd... the two worst deer stories I know.
My brother hit a deer in a Ford Festiva (tiny tin can). Broke its legs. He had to walk up the road to a neighbor's house to borrow a gun and put the poor thing out of its misery.

Some local kids hit a deer going 75 miles an hour. There were deer guts through the whole engine block. Had to take the kids out through the back of the car, after opening it up like a soup can. Youch.

Grancey · 08-31-2006, 10:47 AM

No, never, not gonna happen. I won't let it happen. I even walk way around the grassy areas when the baby frogs are hopping. I do kill mosquitos, and that's about it. I've never had a snake crawl across the road in front of me. How I would react? Would I try to avoid it? I'm not sure that I could run over a snake, though I am deathly afraid.

snowy · 08-31-2006, 01:02 PM

I had a cat run into my front wheels once. I was horrified. At the time I was carrying a carload of good guy friends, who all swore up and down they saw the cat run off. I didn't want to look, and I didn't really believe them.

Later they told me that no, the cat had not run off...it had died. I told them I had always had a feeling they were just trying to comfort me.

But at least they tried to spare me some pain.

abaya · 08-31-2006, 01:29 PM

I haven't personally hit anything (that I know of), but I had an experience like WillRavel's... though I didn't wreck my car. There was a bunny or opossum, not sure which, crossing the road... I lived at the end of a dead-end gravel road, so there wasn't any traffic, but I swerved hard and nearly ended up in the ditch. That taught me to never do that again.

Other related events:

--When I was 7 or 8, I was in the car when my mom ran over a local cat or dog. I just remember the thump, and the fact that my mom did not stop.

--Last summer in Zambia, my boss was driving me and a few other people to the water pump for our daily water run (the back of the truck was full of big barrels). She had stopped to pick up someone else in the village, and in the meantime the local kitty had lain down in front of the back wheel (we didn't know, obviously). After 5 mins the boss drove away, and as I sat in the truck-bed looking back, I saw the cat writhing in the dirt... at first I thought it was rolling in the dust, but then I realized it looked ghastly and unnatural in its twisting motions. It had been completely run over and was in its death throes, as someone else said.

The children in the village just stared and stared, and my boss started crying once she realized what happened (she loved that cat). It was very disturbing to see the cat die in that manner. By the time we came back from our water run, they had already disposed of the carcass, but my boss couldn't forgive herself for a long time.

I hope I never end up running over any animals, though it's probably bound to happen. I hate the feeling of killing something that was alive and innocent just a few seconds before. I know, I'm a softy.

ShaniFaye · 08-31-2006, 01:33 PM

and whats wrong with being a softy? I could never respect someone that DIDNT feel that way.

oracle2380 · 08-31-2006, 02:00 PM

I've hit an animal while driving but when I was younger (16 or so) my neighbors' mail boxes and trash cans didn't stand a chance.

SaltPork · 08-31-2006, 07:50 PM

Squirrels=natures little speed bumps....

I have nothing more to say on the matter.

splck · 08-31-2006, 08:34 PM

A couple of cats, snakes, opposums, squirrels, a few deer, a porcupine and lots of other, "oh shit what was that" animals.
A co-worker that hit a moose had $26,000 damage to his truck

abaya · 08-31-2006, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShaniFaye

and whats wrong with being a softy? I could never respect someone that DIDNT feel that way.

Well, I'm glad to know that at least YOU respect me for being a softy, Shani!

And yes, I agree with you. One of the many things I love about my man

is that he's a total softy.

(But don't tell him I told you, wink wink...)

ngdawg · 08-31-2006, 08:49 PM

I had a bird commit suicide on my grill out in Kansas....my son picked it out with a stick at a rest stop as I stood back and repeatedly stated 'EW!!!'
I instinctively brake if an animal comes running in front of me.

Bobaphat · 08-31-2006, 09:07 PM

I hit a racoon once. It was the middle of the night out on a state highway in the middle of nowhere. I had been on the road for more than an hour and litterally had not seen another car the whole time. I probably was the only car on the road for 10 miles in either direction. The road was wooded on either side and very narrow. The poor thing just walked right in front of my tire, I didn't even have time to swerve.

spindles · 09-01-2006, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaya

Well, I'm glad to know that at least YOU respect me for being a softy, Shani!

And yes, I agree with you. One of the many things I love about my man

is that he's a total softy.

(But don't tell him I told you, wink wink...)

Nah - I'm with you. I'd feel bad if it happened, but I'd also stop and put them out of their misery if they were still alive. I thought that was what the tire iron was for

SaltPork · 09-01-2006, 05:51 AM

One more thing: I once hit a skunk. You can't even begin to appreciate the circumstances that that situation creates. I was doing 70 mph and caught subtle movement out of the corner of my eye. It was 3 AM and my reaction times were, shall we say, lean. I just figured that whatever it was wasn't going to be where I was going to be...that was an incorrect assumption. The skunk waddled into the road with amazing speed. I hit it square with the middle of my bumper, the car was low to the ground and I could feel the skunk bouncing under the car. I got off the highway and remember thinking, as I stopped at the light, "Hey there's no smell, cool." A nanosecond later, the most horrible odor wafted from the vents, the open window, through the steel frame and quite possibly from the paint. Now, I've smelled skunks before, who hasn't? This was a new level of awful effluvience. It wasn't bad enough that I was going to have to remove skunk chunks from my car, but the skunk aroma was epic.

So for those of you that have hit a skunk, you know that the smell actually lingers for about 3 weeks, lessening in vileness eventually. For those of you that have never hit a skunk with a motorized automobile, don't.

Grancey · 09-01-2006, 07:38 AM

When Red saw that I had posted here he said that he couldn't believe that I had actually read this thread. Well, I didn't. The title of the thread was enough to make me stay away. When I did post here, I did so and left without reading what I'm sure are great posts. But I just can't. Please watch out for the little creatures.

zakool21 · 09-01-2006, 10:21 AM

I don't think I've ever hit anything live, but I'm sure I've ran over some alraedy-been-flattened roadkill.

Funny to find this thread. Today I went out to the mailbox (we have the kind that are out by the street) and I found a flat squirrel about 3 feet from the sidewalk.

Knowing family who have hit deer, I have good reason to think they've got to be some of the stupidest fucking animals on earth. No wonder why my family hunts/eats them!

analog · 09-04-2006, 06:34 PM

I saw an armadillo on the side of the road today... I thought it was just hanging out until I passed it and looked back and saw it was only half of the it... the other half was all over.

Those things must really suck to hit with your car.

08-31-2006, 06:18 AM	#41 (permalink)
MontanaXVI Junkie Location: Go A's!!!!	My senior year in high school at football practice I line up across from some 125lb freshman, mind you I am about 6'3" and around 260 (at the time) poor thing looked so helpless after it got ran over, I did not go back to check on it though, I thought it would live, and sure enough it eventually got up and hobbled off to the side. and that is a true story. __________________ Spank you very much

08-31-2006, 06:25 AM	#42 (permalink)
SaltPork Everything's better with bacon Location: In your local grocer's freezer.	Squirrels, chipmunks, birds, cats and a dog. I actually paint a sillhouette on the side of my car for each victim. I've decided that if it's between crashing my car or killing a fluffy rat, the rat dies, simple as that. The dog I felt bad about, but you know what, it should have been tied up, it's called a fucking leash law for a reason. __________________ It was like that when I got here....I swear.

08-31-2006, 08:44 AM	#43 (permalink)
ozahs Tilted Location: Eden Prairie, MN	Racoon, squirrel, rabbit, many birds, a cat, probably a few snakes. The most recent thing I ran over looked like a mink or weasel of some sort. It was right here in town. Bizarre looking thing, never seen one before. On my last business trip to Phoenix, I was driving around in a rental and a pigeon flew up in front of the car, resulting in an explosion of feathers. It suprised the hell out of me. I've been very lucky not to have hit a deer yet. They are crawling all over my nieghborhood, so I drive real slow when it is dark. When an animal is thrashing around after being hit, that is what's known as "death throes". Not a pretty sight. It is instinct taking over the body, fighting off whatever has attacked it, even if the attacker has moved on. I don't feel much sympathy for animials I've hit, probably because the are not sentient. I would prefer not to have hit them, in most cases, but if it is a choice between losing control of my car vs. hitting an anmial, the animal loses. __________________ "It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"

08-31-2006, 10:17 AM	#44 (permalink)
JustJess Unencapsulated Location: Kittyville	I once hit a family of raccoons. It was dark country road in the middle of nowhere. I still feel guilty - it was a FAMILY! And I came close to hitting a deer once. Damn thing scared the crap out of me, I was driving through a blizzard and turned down a back road, and it was standing in the middle of the road. I screeched to a stop and (the large racked) buck was standing practically outside my side window. Yeesh. I've hit lots of frogs. Can't avoid 'em. Stupid frogs. Aaaannnd... the two worst deer stories I know. My brother hit a deer in a Ford Festiva (tiny tin can). Broke its legs. He had to walk up the road to a neighbor's house to borrow a gun and put the poor thing out of its misery. Some local kids hit a deer going 75 miles an hour. There were deer guts through the whole engine block. Had to take the kids out through the back of the car, after opening it up like a soup can. Youch. __________________ My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

08-31-2006, 10:47 AM	#45 (permalink)
Grancey Life's short, gotta hurry... Location: land of pit vipers	No, never, not gonna happen. I won't let it happen. I even walk way around the grassy areas when the baby frogs are hopping. I do kill mosquitos, and that's about it. I've never had a snake crawl across the road in front of me. How I would react? Would I try to avoid it? I'm not sure that I could run over a snake, though I am deathly afraid. __________________ Quiet, mild-mannered souls might just turn out to be roaring lions of two-fisted cool.

08-31-2006, 01:02 PM	#46 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	I had a cat run into my front wheels once. I was horrified. At the time I was carrying a carload of good guy friends, who all swore up and down they saw the cat run off. I didn't want to look, and I didn't really believe them. Later they told me that no, the cat had not run off...it had died. I told them I had always had a feeling they were just trying to comfort me. But at least they tried to spare me some pain. __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

08-31-2006, 01:29 PM	#47 (permalink)
abaya Location: Iceland	I haven't personally hit anything (that I know of), but I had an experience like WillRavel's... though I didn't wreck my car. There was a bunny or opossum, not sure which, crossing the road... I lived at the end of a dead-end gravel road, so there wasn't any traffic, but I swerved hard and nearly ended up in the ditch. That taught me to never do that again. Other related events: --When I was 7 or 8, I was in the car when my mom ran over a local cat or dog. I just remember the thump, and the fact that my mom did not stop. --Last summer in Zambia, my boss was driving me and a few other people to the water pump for our daily water run (the back of the truck was full of big barrels). She had stopped to pick up someone else in the village, and in the meantime the local kitty had lain down in front of the back wheel (we didn't know, obviously). After 5 mins the boss drove away, and as I sat in the truck-bed looking back, I saw the cat writhing in the dirt... at first I thought it was rolling in the dust, but then I realized it looked ghastly and unnatural in its twisting motions. It had been completely run over and was in its death throes, as someone else said. The children in the village just stared and stared, and my boss started crying once she realized what happened (she loved that cat). It was very disturbing to see the cat die in that manner. By the time we came back from our water run, they had already disposed of the carcass, but my boss couldn't forgive herself for a long time. I hope I never end up running over any animals, though it's probably bound to happen. I hate the feeling of killing something that was alive and innocent just a few seconds before. I know, I'm a softy. __________________ And think not you can direct the course of Love; for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. --Khalil Gibran

08-31-2006, 01:33 PM	#48 (permalink)
ShaniFaye Submit to me, you know you want to Location: Lilburn, Ga	and whats wrong with being a softy? I could never respect someone that DIDNT feel that way. __________________ *I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!*

08-31-2006, 02:00 PM	#49 (permalink)
oracle2380 Upright Location: Up in Washington watching the puddles grow.	I've hit an animal while driving but when I was younger (16 or so) my neighbors' mail boxes and trash cans didn't stand a chance. __________________ "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost

08-31-2006, 07:50 PM	#50 (permalink)
SaltPork Everything's better with bacon Location: In your local grocer's freezer.	Squirrels=natures little speed bumps.... I have nothing more to say on the matter. __________________ It was like that when I got here....I swear.

08-31-2006, 08:34 PM	#51 (permalink)
splck it's jam Location: Lowerainland BC	A couple of cats, snakes, opposums, squirrels, a few deer, a porcupine and lots of other, "oh shit what was that" animals. A co-worker that hit a moose had $26,000 damage to his truck __________________ nice line eh?

08-31-2006, 08:49 PM	#53 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	I had a bird commit suicide on my grill out in Kansas....my son picked it out with a stick at a rest stop as I stood back and repeatedly stated 'EW!!!' I instinctively brake if an animal comes running in front of me. __________________ Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

08-31-2006, 09:07 PM	#54 (permalink)
Bobaphat whoopity doo Location: Seattle	I hit a racoon once. It was the middle of the night out on a state highway in the middle of nowhere. I had been on the road for more than an hour and litterally had not seen another car the whole time. I probably was the only car on the road for 10 miles in either direction. The road was wooded on either side and very narrow. The poor thing just walked right in front of my tire, I didn't even have time to swerve. __________________ --size matters not-- yoda

09-01-2006, 05:51 AM	#56 (permalink)
SaltPork Everything's better with bacon Location: In your local grocer's freezer.	One more thing: I once hit a skunk. You can't even begin to appreciate the circumstances that that situation creates. I was doing 70 mph and caught subtle movement out of the corner of my eye. It was 3 AM and my reaction times were, shall we say, lean. I just figured that whatever it was wasn't going to be where I was going to be...that was an incorrect assumption. The skunk waddled into the road with amazing speed. I hit it square with the middle of my bumper, the car was low to the ground and I could feel the skunk bouncing under the car. I got off the highway and remember thinking, as I stopped at the light, "Hey there's no smell, cool." A nanosecond later, the most horrible odor wafted from the vents, the open window, through the steel frame and quite possibly from the paint. Now, I've smelled skunks before, who hasn't? This was a new level of awful effluvience. It wasn't bad enough that I was going to have to remove skunk chunks from my car, but the skunk aroma was epic. So for those of you that have hit a skunk, you know that the smell actually lingers for about 3 weeks, lessening in vileness eventually. For those of you that have never hit a skunk with a motorized automobile, don't. __________________ It was like that when I got here....I swear.

09-01-2006, 07:38 AM	#57 (permalink)
Grancey Life's short, gotta hurry... Location: land of pit vipers	When Red saw that I had posted here he said that he couldn't believe that I had actually read this thread. Well, I didn't. The title of the thread was enough to make me stay away. When I did post here, I did so and left without reading what I'm sure are great posts. But I just can't. Please watch out for the little creatures. __________________ Quiet, mild-mannered souls might just turn out to be roaring lions of two-fisted cool.

09-01-2006, 10:21 AM	#58 (permalink)
zakool21 Upright	I don't think I've ever hit anything live, but I'm sure I've ran over some alraedy-been-flattened roadkill. Funny to find this thread. Today I went out to the mailbox (we have the kind that are out by the street) and I found a flat squirrel about 3 feet from the sidewalk. Knowing family who have hit deer, I have good reason to think they've got to be some of the stupidest fucking animals on earth. No wonder why my family hunts/eats them!

09-04-2006, 06:34 PM	#59 (permalink)
analog Banned	I saw an armadillo on the side of the road today... I thought it was just hanging out until I passed it and looked back and saw it was only half of the it... the other half was all over. Those things must really suck to hit with your car.