Public Enemy Number 1

[journey11]

$2500 must be the insurance default amount for a deer strike. That's what mine was too. I drove the car home ( 97 Blazer) but had it towed to the shop because the grill was smashed into the radiator and I didn't want to risk a 14 mile drive in it.

I agree with Ridge @journey11 , make sure you go over everything carefully. I had the A/C on when I hit the deer, and it didn't work after. They said coincidence. The water pump also leaked when I got it back and it hadn't before. They tried to weasel out but I got a little affirmative on them and they ended up fixing it.

I'm glad we have a little over a week until our appointment with the collision repair guys. It has given us time to figure out what all has been affected. We've already called them once and added two more items to the estimate. I'll be sure to look it over well before we drive out of their parking lot.

When this car, an '07 Ford Escape, was only a couple of years old we hit a dog--a chihuahua of all things--and as it went under the vehicle it struck the oil filter and knocked it completely off. We just kept on going thinking tiny dog, no big deal, until the check oil light came on and the engine completely seized up. We lost all our oil! I would think that it was really more of a manufacturing problem, but the insurance paid to have a new engine put in and it all went quick and seamlessly. They did want to know if we had any idea who the chihuahua's owner was so they could hunt them down. LOL, of course we didn't know! (And I would have stopped if I'd thought there was any chance the dog had survived, but we hit it going fast on the main highway.) They didn't give us any problems and my premiums didn't go up. Same company now, Safeco. I hope they'll do well by us again. It's only been 7 years since we last called them! I'm sure they got theirs!

 

[journey11]

@Ridgerunner , DH used to sit out on the porch and wait for them to come out and he'd shoot them, but that took forever and sometimes he'd miss. My neighbor let me borrow her metal trap. It's a big one, about 4' long and the opening is about 12" X 12". It's rusty too, so I don't know if that maybe helps camouflage it. I set it up along one of their routes from under the barn with kitchen scraps in it. They especially like apples and cabbage.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not sure where the trail is but I'll try apples and cabbage in the area.
Thanks.

 

[journey11]

I'm not sure where the trail is but I'll try apples and cabbage in the area.
Thanks.

They like to stay up against buildings and such more so than out in the open. If you have apple trees, they'll make a bee line for them when they are ripe and start falling.

 

[Nyboy]

Ridge is there any chance you can get a 2nd dog with understanding it is not a pet but working dog?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Nope, no chance. That's what the two we have were supposed to be. That's why we chose the size we did, they "needed" to be able to handle coyotes. Some battles are not worth fighting.