Marcia Pinkstaff Has Dog 'Totaled' After Hit By Minivan In Crosswalk

If a car gets "totaled" by an insurance company, that means the cost to repair the car exceeds the value of the car itself. Insurance companies typically then cut the car's owner a check for the value of the car and call it good.

But what if a dog gets "totaled?" That's the question a Parker, Colorado, woman had to ask late last week after her dog Sasha was hit in a crosswalk by a minivan. "She didn't see us and she hit Sasha, very, very hard," Marcia Pinkstaff, Sasha's owner told The Denver Channel.

According to ABC11, the driver's insurance company offered to pay for one or two trips to the vet, after which the dog would be 'totaled.' The company offered to buy Pinkstaff a replacement puppy.

flickr photo via darkuncle

Comments

[ca ca poo poo]

05:49 AM on 08/18/2011

anyone hits my dog while we're out for a walk is going to get their skull cracked

[jennyjen]

06:42 AM on 08/18/2011

A friend of a friend was just killed while walking her dog. Let's all be more alert while driving and walking. Slow down a bit.

I hope that this woman sues the socks off of the insurance company. Had to read further to get the name of the insurance company - which is Farmers.

I have a roofing client who has lots of trouble getting payment from Farmers - word to the wise - avoid that one folks.

What is disgusting is that this claim cost is a drop in the bucket to the company and their shareholders. They should be ashamed. Aren't I funny?

[ca ca poo poo]

07:56 AM on 08/18/2011

yes i had a bad run in with farmers 5 years ago. it took several days to get a refferal to a repair shop. the repair shop took 2 weeks to get my car fixed when all that needed to be replaced was a bumper. my rental car fees were 600 dollars and farmers told me they would only cover 2 days. well when i got a little loud and had my uncle of whom is an attorney threaten a law suit that got them off my back very quickly. so yeah do NOT trust farmers insurance. and to jennyjen i am so sorry about your friend.

[mistercoyote]

08:12 PM on 08/18/2011

I got rid of my Farmers home owners policy when I ran across a website that was something very close to "farmersiInsurancesux" That was a very very bad sign.

[sam ella]

01:09 AM on 08/18/2011

I think these companies have too many lawyers and adjusters and too few PR people. sombody teach them to be a little more respectful. so nasty to compare a beautiful living creature to a vehicle.

[abrellis]

12:01 AM on 08/18/2011

What does the dog get for being totaled? Extra "Kibbles and Bits"? too funny

[SlimPickins79]

12:12 AM on 08/18/2011

uhh no...either cremated or buried. not funny.

[abrellis]

04:39 PM on 08/18/2011

article doesn't say dog was killed...my point wasn't that the collision was funny but that it was odd that after 2 visits to the vet the dog is "totaled", so what does the dog get?

[ccjmfk]

11:55 PM on 08/17/2011

Sediments aside an animal legally is property and is only valued at it's market value. A pedigree may be worth hundreds, maybe a few thousand, a pound "mutt" price of it's adoption. My kitty -see icon- is priceless to me, but adopted from the pound, from the eye of property laws, worth only his adoption fee. Shame dog was hit by car, but accident, and from the insurance point of view worth only the value of a replacement dog of similar value. The insurance company by "totaling" it is saying it whats the dog to be put down and replaced with another one, like a car. The driver's insurance company is willing to pay some vet fees, it may be the best deal the dog's owner can get.

[NunyaBus99]

08:17 PM on 08/17/2011

very simple, DO NOT settle with the insurance company and go after the party who is at fault. Let them deal with what will be covered or not covered. If the dog can be healed then they need to pay. There is no law that says you have to accept the insurance company offer. If a pet bill is 10K the party at fault has to pay!

[MISTERUNCONVENTIONAL]

07:32 PM on 08/17/2011

My dog got totaled too. Had a flattened nose from repeated collisions with parked cars.

[twain307]

04:16 PM on 08/17/2011

A pet may be property, but it is still a sentient being. I would hope that Denver has animal cruelty laws on the books, and an active chapter of the ASPCA, and that a combination of the two (with maybe a good attorney thrown in) will get the insurance company to see the light.

[Stone Hendge]

04:09 PM on 08/17/2011

The solution to this is to require every dog to have pet insurance.

[TracySLC]

04:14 PM on 08/17/2011

If someone hits you (or your pet) with their vehicle, then they should bear the culpability, not the individual who was hit.

[sugarpops]

05:15 PM on 08/17/2011

The person who caused the damage is responsible for repairing the damage caused. Liability insurance, which every driver in Colorado is required to have, is purchased to cover the damage the driver causes.
Not only should the insurance company pay up to the limit of liability that is required to repair Sasha, the driver can be held liable for all addition costs.

[Proximate Cause]

02:46 PM on 08/17/2011

Anyone else getting tired of Corporations?

[SlimPickins79]

12:13 AM on 08/18/2011

You mean tired of people.

[NoahVail]

02:43 PM on 08/17/2011

Its OK, Insurance Companies are people, too— right?

[baltikasky]

01:48 PM on 08/17/2011

what the hell??!!!!!! yeah, this country doesn't need any reformation whatsoever. good job, guys.................

[DrDooit]

11:42 AM on 08/17/2011

If the dog cannot be saved or is going to have poor quality of life after healing, the insurance company is correct in their decision.

[onwisconsin]

02:50 PM on 08/17/2011

Not an animal person, eh?

Dogs, their human companions, and vets should be the only ones in the equation when choosing when to end their lives. Dogs show us when they are in too much pain to go on.

No insurance company should ever have the right to tell a person to put down his/her dog. That is a highly personal decision.

[NunyaBus99]

08:13 PM on 08/17/2011

If the dog can be saved then they must pay. Even a dog with only 3 legs can still have a good quality life. So i would not allow the insurance company to dictate it. Bottom line, if someone is negligent they have to pay. If insurance doesn't cover it then they go after the person. They don't have to settle with the insurance company. That should between the insurance policy holder and the company.

[Gary Storch]

10:21 AM on 08/17/2011

Insurance Companies..they need t be totaled!

[1differentdrummer]

07:53 AM on 08/17/2011

More "sanity" from an insurer.

[NikitaAhn]

05:25 AM on 08/17/2011

Whoever made that offer clearly isn't an animal person, if they honestly think that a pet can be "replaced" like a worn out pair of shoes. I hope that Sasha makes a full recovery, regardless of who is paying for it.