Dog owner must pay US$6,660 compensation to Lamborghini driver who hit her golden retriever
Dog escaped with minor injuries in incident, but Chinese law means the owner can be held liable for the cost of repairs for failing to control the animal
A dog owner in eastern China has agreed to pay a Lamborghini owner 45,000 yuan (US$6,600) in compensation after her dog ran out in front of the car and caused minor damage to the vehicle, a local broadcaster reported on Tuesday.
The golden retriever escaped with minor injuries when it ran into the road and was hit by the sports car in Suzhou, Jiangsu Television reported.
The animal ran off after it slipped its leash while it was being walked by the owner’s 13-year-old daughter on July 17.
The golden retriever was only slightly injured but the 8 million yuan car was left with a damaged side vent, which cost an estimated 450,000 yuan to repair.
The report said that the driver had initially offered the girl 2,000 yuan to pay for the dog’s veterinary bills, but the girl called her mother, who then insisted on calling police.
Under Chinese civil law the owner, a woman surnamed Zhou, could have been held liable for the full cost of the repairs, because she had failed to keep the animal under control.
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However, officers mediated an agreement between the dog owner and the driver, a man named Wang, who agreed to accept a tenth of the total.
Wang wrote on Weibo on Sunday: “It’s impracticable and may hurt the family if I ask them to pay all the costs, so I chose to have private mediation with the dog owner. And the dog owner said she also wanted her daughter to learn a lesson, so she paid me 45,000 yuan as compensation.”
