It's a dog eat dog world for guides
5 February 2008, 10:36
Tokyo - A Japanese group promoting guide dogs said on Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against a truck driver who killed one of their dogs as it crossed an intersection with an elderly man.
The Chubu Guide Dogs Association, based in the central city of Nagoya, sued the driver and his company last month, demanding 5,4-million yen ($50 650) in damages for the Labrador retriever.
"It takes two years to raise a guide dog," an association official said. "We want people to know how valuable they are."
The accident happened in September 2005 when the six-year-old dog was guiding a man, then aged 69, at a pedestrian crossing when the light was green.
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The Chubu Guide Dogs Association, based in the central city of Nagoya, sued the driver and his company last month, demanding 5,4-million yen ($50 650) in damages for the Labrador retriever.
"It takes two years to raise a guide dog," an association official said. "We want people to know how valuable they are."
The accident happened in September 2005 when the six-year-old dog was guiding a man, then aged 69, at a pedestrian crossing when the light was green.
The truck ran over the dog and then hit the man, who suffered brain injuries but survived, the official said.
"The dog protected me," the elderly man later told the association.
"I was hit after the dog cushioned the impact," the man said, as quoted by the association official.
The dog had been on loan from the association.
The driver was fined 500 000 yen for professional negligence. The dog association had been in civil negotiations with the driver and his company for compensation, but the talks failed. - AFP
Durban
