Have you ever?????

@chulce (1537)
United States
August 4, 2010 5:34pm CST
Well, today I experienced something, I never thought possible, I hit a deer. Living where I do in Texas, there are a lot of deer. The saying here goes; "It isn't if you will hit a deer, it is when you will hit a deer." I guess today was my when. Have you ever hit an animal? Did it scare you when it happened? Did you feel bad? Did you have any damage done to your vehicle. For me, well as you know I did. Yes, it did scare me when it happened. Yes, I did feel bad about the animal. I was actually more concerned about the animal than I was myself. Yes, there was a lot of damage to my vehicle.
3 people like this
16 responses
@saizo6 (2199)
• United States
5 Aug 10
Ouch, I can imagine the damage done by hitting a deer. My sister-in-law hit a deer with her sister's car before and it really messed up the car. Something like that was a common occurrence where I used to live because there were deers all over the place. But luckily for me, during my time living there I never hit one. The only animal I have ever hit with my car was a jackrabbit and a squirrel and I felt really awful about those two times. I wasn't scared when I ran over the jackrabbit because I didn't even notice that I hit anything at the time. The squirrel was another issue. I saw the poor thing run away but then it was stupid and ran back towards the road and right into my bumper. I was very grateful that there was hardly any damage done to my car, it would have been expensive to repair.
@saizo6 (2199)
• United States
8 Aug 10
Ah, that reminds me of the time my cousin ran over a snake with his motorbike. I was riding with him at the time and it was a freaky incident since I'm not a snake fan. The thing was slithering across the road and we just mowed it down. I didn't even feel bad about it at the time either.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
16 Aug 10
I don't like snakes either. One less to worry about in my opinion. One of my jobs that I worked recently, the drive would take me down a road that often saw quite a few snakes, during the summer more than usual. I probably saw at least a dozen or more squished on the road. Most poisonous. They are so skinny, I'm sure you wouldn't feel them if you did hit them even with a motorcycle.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
7 Aug 10
Its amazing how different animals affect us. I hate hitting any animal. Okay let me rephrase that, it probably wouldn't bother me to run over a snake. I don't care for snakes. I'm very afraid of snakes. I had a tragic experience when I was a child that has stuck with me all my life. Even if I go to a zoo, I won't go near the snake tanks even though I know they can't get out and hurt me.
@eurekafemme (5877)
• Philippines
5 Aug 10
Oh, sorry to hear that, Chulce. Let's just be thankful to God you got home still in one piece and unharmed.... First of all, I don't have a car and I don't drive. But I can very well relate in this situation. My husband always does the driving and he uses a motorcycle then. Here in the Philippines there are so many stray dogs and cats that they are the ones who are often the victims. My husband often tells me to hit them when you are about to hit them and never try to avoid them or you'll be in serious trouble.you'll get further damage from avoiding them than from actually hitting them. How can I? It gives me shiver seeing those helpless animals in their most gruesome look... It's not out of guilt but affection... Poor thing, I'd often say... I don't care if the vehicle was damaged or not as long as nobody (man and/or animal) got killed or harmed from the accident....
@chulce (1537)
• United States
26 Aug 10
Hi eurekafeeme, Thanks for the well wishes, I appreciate it. I am doing a lot better now, finally got my car back. Which, I must admit is very nice. I have also gotten a shorter commute for work, which really helps. I don't have to drive so far into the country.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
7 Aug 10
As far as I can tell, the deer wondered off. I don't think that I killed him, but simply hurt him a bit. I wasn't driving that fast, I actually was doing about 10 miles under the speed limit. Being at a reduced speed I am sure saved me from severe injury. I actually am a little bruised up. Here it is day 3 and I am quite sore.
• Philippines
7 Aug 10
Oh, dear... Accidents can really do happen no matter how careful you are. And, your case, is the best example. Lucky deer he was spared of his life. I hope you will feel a lot better soon, Chulce.God bless you.:)
5 Aug 10
I too once hit a deer as I was driving along here in England. It jumped off a high bank right in front of my car and I had no chance to avoid it. It was dark and I was alone. The deer was lying on the road in front of my car and I just didn't know what to do. It was a few years ago now, before I had a mobile phone. I sat in the car contemplating whether to get out and see if I could do anything or whether to immediately go and call a veterinary surgery. Before I could make my mind up, the silly animal got up, shook itself and ran off! I was so relieved. I hate hitting anything while I'm driving and have occasionally hit a bird. It upsets me for ages afterwards.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
7 Aug 10
Wow! It still amazes me at how strong the deer are and the fact that they can walk away from something like that. I know there are quite a few times that they don't but, it is a relief when you do here that they are able to walk away.
@hongocha (63)
• Thailand
5 Aug 10
in my hometown, there i only one deer in the zoo, so hitting a deer is impossible, but it's totally normal if you hit dogs, cats, chickens, or even pigs, i am quite careful so i haven't ever hit one. usually, hitting those kinds of animal can kill them and put you in jeopardy because you lose your balance and crush something else
@chulce (1537)
• United States
7 Aug 10
Wow, in a zoo. Isn't it quite amazing how zoos differ around the world. Here we find Tigers, lions, polar bears and other animals of such nature in our zoos. Deer however, are native to our area so, you won't find them in a zoo around here. We experience them on a regular basis.
• Indonesia
5 Aug 10
In my country (Indonesia - Jakarta, deer was always in the cage, so it's impossible to hit.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
7 Aug 10
At least you know they are safe from humans. I really feel for the animals that live here. We as humans have taken over their land completely and have forced them to live in such tiny areas. I feel so bad for the animals of our planet. I wish there were a better way for all to have plenty of space to live in harmony.
@boogzter (52)
• Philippines
5 Aug 10
It would be really scary if you hit an elephant or a rhino perhaps coz you car will surely be a wreck... lolz
@chulce (1537)
• United States
7 Aug 10
Good point. I probably would have had to be cut out of the car, then I would be out a vehicle. That would not have been good. Of course the elephant would probably wonder what hit him and then scratch at the area. lol
@stealthy (8181)
• United States
4 Aug 10
I'm from Texas but haven't lived there for a long time. The only thing I "hit" when I lived there was a bird which actually flew against the outside passenger mirror and splattered a lot of blood. When I lived in New Jersey, I hit a dog that ran out in front of my car. I hit the brakes before the impact and the dog ran up onto the porch of a house. It seemed to be O'K, just scared. Thinking that maybe that was the house that it belonged to, I rang the doorbell but no one was at home. I had to get back to work(I had been out for lunch), so since it seemed to be uninjured, I left it there.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
7 Aug 10
Wow, talk about a close call. I know how those go. Around here lately, its either dodging deer or dodging squirrels. There are a lot of them. I am sure the dog was frightened. Its little life flashed before its eyes. I bet he might have learned some what of a lesson and decided it was best not to do that anymore, just to stay put.
@echomonster (2226)
• Greenwood, Mississippi
5 Aug 10
Thankfully, no, I've never hit anything. I make a point not to drive at night -- pretty much the only time I've had to was when I took a night class at college, but that was only one semester -- because I think that's when you're most likely to hit deer. Deer are common where I live and I do have family members who have hit them (and damaged their vehicles severely), but I'm really hoping that experience never happens to me.
@jpso138 (7851)
• Philippines
5 Aug 10
In our country there are no deers. Most of the time, what we find crossing roads are domesticated animals like goat, cows and even ducks. Well, they usually are tied with a rope and some of them happened to have cut the rope and roam around reaching some roads. I have seen incidents of animals being run over by vehicles. I in my case have hit an animal. It was a dog but luckily the dog did not suffer an injury. It was me however who was injured since I was driving a motorcycle. When I hit the dog, I loss my balance and injured myself, including a minor damage on the motorcycle.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
26 Aug 10
Hi jpso, Sorry, I didn't respond sooner. Yikes, I hope you didn't injure yourself to badly. My husband also rides and has several close calls with animals as well. He ended up having someone run him off the road earlier in the summer. He got banged up a bit, lots of damage to his car. It was horrible. It took almost 2 full months before we could get all the repairs done on his motorcycle. There are many people here that have no courtesy for motorcyclists. There are quite a bit of domestic animals in our area as well, we live in a country area, so we do see chickens and other farm animals on the roads at times. It can be scary sometimes around here.
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
5 Aug 10
Fortunately, i have never hit a deer. I have an aunt that we make deer jokes about at family gatherings. It seemed that each year she would get a new car to drive. The reason she needed a new car was she hit a deer almost every year. She lives in an area of high deer traffic. I am sure she didn't mean for the accidents to happen. Deer can be very unpredictable. You just never know when they will cross your path.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
26 Aug 10
Is she lives in an area like the one I live in here in Texas, I completely understand. There are actually several elderly here in our town that have the same issue, they have hit a deer every year and the damage was so bad that their cars were totaled and had to be completely replaced. One guy that I read about not to long ago actually hit 3 deer at one time, one flipped so hard it smashed in the roof of his car, they had to use the jaws of life to get him out of the car.
• Australia
4 Aug 10
While we don't have a problem with deer, here in Western Australia there is a problem with kangaroos. Driving back across the Nullabor Plain a few years back, I was unfortunate enough to hit a kangaroo whilst approaching a small town on sunset. Even though I didn't kill it, I still hit it and it scared the wits out of me. Thankfully, there was minimal damage done to the vehicle.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
4 Aug 10
Wow, I guess the kangaroos are the deer for you all there in Australia. I am glad you are okay and that you did have minimal damage to your vehicle. You were lucky. I can only imagine how big kangaroos can get, I don't think I have actually seen one, not even in a zoo. I think the closest I have come are the walabys (sorry can't remember how to spell).
@Suke002 (311)
• United States
4 Aug 10
I never hit an animal myself before but I have been driving by when I saw a baby deer on the side of the road laying in the gutter (alive in the middle of the city really) I had to double take to see if I saw right and it was a cute baby deer sitting there looking around. Animal service people or whatever you call them came and got the animal and I was glad it was alive. And another time I saw a rabbit trying to cross the street as fast as it could and alas, it wasn't fast enough and got hit by a truck and went flying in the air into the gutter on the side of the street with broken legs I think, and bouncing frantically, trying to hop onto the yard. It was so sad, and my sister cried because my mom would'nt go stop to help it (even though we wouldn't know how to help it).
@chulce (1537)
• United States
4 Aug 10
It is so sad to see these things happening to the creatures that were here before us. In many ways I wish that there were some way that we could protect them from us and the damage that we can cause with our vehicles. It is scary. I am sure that your sister was affected for a little while with that little bunny getting hit. It is so hard to experience it for the first time. I personally try very hard avoiding animals, although, if traffic is heavy, you have to make a quick decision and unfortunately, the animal has to lose. I have to say I also get rather mad at the people who intentionally go off to hurt animals. One day, my cat decided she was going to cross to our neighbors yard, a lady down the street actually turned her car wide enough to try and hit my cat. I was so mad, I wanted to find out exactly where she lived. Not sure what I would have done, if I did take that step, but I'm sure it would not have been very nice.
@Thumb86 (287)
4 Aug 10
Oh my! so sorry to hear that you hit a deer! i wouldn't beat myself up too much about it though. These things happen. I myself have never hit an animal..I would definitely feel bad if I did. Did it just appear suddenly on the road? Where in Texas do you live? I don't think there are many deer here in Wales...Well, maybe in the valleys..But not where I am. A lot of rabbits though..Ive seen a few lying on the road from where other drivers have hit them.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
7 Aug 10
It happens quite frequently here. I live in the area that is known as the Hill Country of Texas. It runs from San Antonio all they way up to the Austin area. We have a lot of animals in this area. Which, I love to watch. Tons of birds as well as other animals. I'm just glad that I didn't get injured any worse than the few bruises that I have.
@lord91 (16)
• United States
5 Aug 10
Well i have never hit anything but one time my mom hit this bird and it was sad and kinda funny because you could see the feathers fly up and everything. As for dear i have been lucky enough to not be in a accident with one
@chulce (1537)
• United States
7 Aug 10
Birds have a tendency, to get in weird situations. I've had a few fly at me in odd ways and sad to say have hit a few of them. I almost took out a vulture that was feeding in the road a few weeks ago, he actually lifted up and I heard is feet hit the roof of my car. It is lucky that you haven't hit a deer. It is a scary situation. He actually came out of no where and ran straight into the side of my car. I didn't see him.
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
4 Aug 10
I've never hit anything big like a deer. (knock on wood) Back in high school I hit a pregnant possum. I was on a really skinny road in the woods and it shot out of the weeds right under my tire. I must have run right over the middle of it because it actually shot all the unborn babies out of the belly and all over the road. A few years ago I might have hit a dog. It was winter time and very early in the morning so it was still dark. We were going around a turn and saw something dark sitting in the middle of our lane. I couldn't hit the brakes on the turn because I was afraid I would slide out of control. We heard a thump but weren't sure what it was. A day or so later we heard the people that lived near the turn found their dog had been hit by a car, but there was no blood or hair under our car so we aren't sure it was us. My husband hit a deer with our van but luckily the damage wasn't too bad. Our insurance covered it.
@chulce (1537)
• United States
4 Aug 10
Wow, messy there. But, it can be so hard trying not to hit critters when they do cross a busy road. I bet that was gross to witness at the time. I actually felt so bad, I wondered trying to look for the deer. I think I might have stunned it and it wondered off. Although, the darn thing hit me not the other way around, it actually took out my driver side door and front fender area. Such a mess. What you may have it was a clump of ice and not the dog. If you didn't find any indications on your vehicle, you are probably right, it may not have been you. I feel sorry about pet owners when that happens, however, it is our responsibility as pet owners to make sure we know where our little loved ones are and make sure they remain safe. That is a huge problem around where I live as well, a lot of pet owners don't watch their pets close enough and I see so many along the roads at times. It is horrible.
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
19 Mar 11
Hi. chulce. At least you was brave enough to confess your accident than to lie about it. I will give you credit for that. I have never hit an deer or any animal at all. It is a blessing that you were not injured or killed. And you are strong enough to admit that you were concerned more about the animal than you was than for your own self. I am so sorry to hear about the deer being struck by your vehicle.