Veteran sued after beloved dog's death - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2

Louisville, KY. (WAVE) — A Kentucky woman who hit and killed a man’s dog is now claiming he owes her nearly $1,000.

The dog was a 4-year-old, 100 pound German Shepherd named Corporal Dakota Rambo Higgins. Its owner is 30-year Marine veteran and retired Colonel Ken Herrington.

Their bond was so close, Herrington called Dakota a therapy dog.

“”He was just a good friend, a son I never had,” he said.

The accident happened October 29, 2015. The driver, Maggie Cassaro, is the only witness to the actual accident.

“It jolts the car. There’s a noise. The car jolts,” Cassaro said, replaying the accident. “I pulled over. It was a dog. I petted its head.”

Herrington said he was training Dakota in his front yard when the dog ran after a deer.

“You can’t stop a hunting dog going 30 miles an hour who’s after his prey,” Herrington said.

Nine weeks after the accident, Cassaro sent a letter to Herrington asking for $901.60 to repair her car.

“It’s very easy to frame me as the bad person here because I am asking for damages,” Cassaro said.

“I was absolutely astonished,” Herrington said. “I was stunned that a lady who killed my dog that she may not have even known she had killed would ask me for damages for her vehicle.”