Knotts says animals matter, too
January 12th, 2008It happens too often, pet advocates say: A driver accidentally runs into a dog or a cat, slows briefly, then keeps on driving, leaving a suffering, or dead, animal behind.
In South Carolina, that soon might be against the law.
A Senate bill filed this week would require any motorist who hits a dog, cat or horse to stop at the scene and report the accident to police so the animal can get treatment. Driving off could mean as much as a $500 fine.
Getting hit by a car whose driver didn’t stop turned out better for Duke than it does for most animals.
The mixed-breed dog is recovering from a broken pelvis in the Irmo home of Nichole Fondell. He was rescued by youngsters after being struck by a car near Dreher High School in mid-November.
Fondell fell in love with Duke during his recovery at Shandon-Wood Animal Clinic, where she works as an animal technician.
“The idea (for the law) is wonderful,” Fondell said. “It’s too bad we have to talk about making drivers do it.”
Lexington Sen. Jake Knotts, the bill’s sponsor, would like to see Duke’s rescue repeated regularly.
A few years ago, a driver hit and killed one of Knotts’ dogs and simply “waved at me, honked his horn and kept on going,” Knotts said. And, recently, he said, youngsters mentioned similar experiences to him, prompting him to introduce the bill.
