Driver for Amazon ‘runs over pet dog, leaving family upset and facing huge vets’ bills’
A dog owner says an Amazon delivery driver crashed into her pet outside her home and failed to stop, leaving her family devastated and a £1,200 vet bill.
Steve Cockerham said Molly, the German shepherd, had a severe injury to one of her hind legs and vets said she may need risky surgery or need to be admitted after the incident on September 21.
The footage shows an unmarked white van heading towards his path, but before the dog has time to stand up and run out of its way, the van runs over the animal, pushing it to the ground.
While the dog is still under the van, the driver, who works for an independent delivery company on behalf of Amazon, turns back and leaves without delivering the package.
The online giant claimed it sent a £25 pet bed to the Cockerham family from Otley, West Yorkshire, as an apology.
But Mr Cockerham, who said the crush may have been a child, is now fighting Amazon to force it to “duly acknowledge the serious damage caused by one of its delivery drivers and take proactive steps to address this matter head on”.
He said he was told the driver did not respond to the police warning and would likely face only minor fines.
Mr Cockerham wrote of the incident: “An Amazon delivery driver entered our property and ran over our 12-year-old German Shepherd, Molly, who was sitting quietly in the garden.
“The driver drove forward over her, then turned around – narrowly missing her with the front wheels – and sped out from under the vehicle.”
Molly’s treatment includes x-rays, but the vet said she may need “extensive surgery as she may not survive or the heartbreaking possibility that she may need to be put to sleep.”
He says he is now effectively a three-legged dog and the family will be purchasing a dog wheelchair so he can continue to enjoy being outside.
Mr Cockerham said Amazon’s handling of the case was “wholly inadequate” because he had been told the firm would not consider reimbursing any veterinary costs until Molly’s treatment had been completed and all final invoices had been submitted.
“We have now incurred a cost of £1,200 and the treatment is expected to last for a long time (possibly years),” he said.
“Amazon was also deliberately vague about what costs it would recognize, stating only that we were required to ‘provide all final, itemized invoices to the independent delivery company’ before reviewing the claim.
“This is not an acceptable approach to compensating for damage directly caused by the driver,” he said.
He condemned Amazon’s apparent failure to respond to a request for a response within the 14-day period.
He said it was the most distressing of the three damage claims he filed against Amazon because it involved a living animal. “He could very easily have been a child,” he said.
Mr Cockerham said two weeks after his dog was injured, his daughter Hollie “was approached and propositioned by two Amazon drivers working together while alone in the dark on our property”.
Amazon apologized and sent him a £10 voucher.
“We have never encountered this type of behavior from any other delivery company and I no longer trust some of the drivers Amazon uses, which is a shame because some of them are exceptional.”
After posting the images on social media, Amazon contacted Mr Cockerham to say that its US administrative investigation team was working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
Independent Amazon has approached Amazon for comment.
A spokesperson for the company told the BBC that delivery drivers are independent contractors and are not employed directly by Amazon.
They added that compensation was the responsibility of the delivery company.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: Independent: “We can confirm that we are carrying out an investigation following reports that a dog was injured after being struck by a vehicle outside an address in Otley on Sunday 21 September 2025.
“Local NPT Officers are in regular contact with the dog’s owner and the investigation is ongoing.”
