UNITED KINGDOM – A DOMINO’S delivery driver ran over and killed a cat before speeding off without checking the animal was ok, according to its devastated owner.
Heartbroken Lily Seymour, the cat’s owner, claims a manager at her local branch initially denied the incident and told her: “I really don’t care” when she rang up to complain about the hit-and-run.
Lily’s 10-year-old feline Shadow died just moments after he was struck by a vehicle on the road near their home on the Isle of Portland, Dorset.
Neighbors told Lily, who is 23, how they had witnessed the Domino’s-branded car collide with Shadow and drive off without stopping.
Heartbroken pet owner Lily Seymour claims a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver mowed down and killed her cat outside her home
She immediately called the chain’s Wyke Regis franchise in nearby Weymouth, where she says staff initially denied Domino’s involvement in the incident.
However, the fast-food chain has since apologized for the incident and launched “an internal investigation to ensure it will not happen again”.
Lily, a children’s entertainer, stated: “They were absolutely heartless. I was already livid, but for them to tell me that they ‘really don’t care’ was hard to take.
“My heart is broken. He wasn’t just a pet. He was family.
“There were two lads on the street who saw exactly what happened and said the Domino’s driver just drove straight off without seeing if Shadow was ok.
“We run a small animal charity in the area so we got a phone call pretty much as soon as it happened. When we heard it was a large black cat, we added two and two together and feared the worst.
“A guy had put his jacket over Shadow and he was in pain for a few minutes and then he passed away.
“Straight away we called Domino’s and their response was pathetic. My mum had to do it because I was hysterical.
“At first they denied responsibility but we told them we have witnesses. Then the man, who was apparently the manager, told us: ‘Listen, I really don’t care.’
“I’ve since heard from Domino’s area manager who apologized greatly for the accident and more importantly for the manager we spoke to on the phone who claimed ‘he didn’t care’.”
Lily went on to say that it was the manager’s reaction which really upset her.
She went on to add: “That manager is the one I’m mainly angry about. The driver who hit Shadow made a mistake not stopping to see if Shadow was okay and I am still very upset at him.
“I’m seething with the way the initial call was handled. It was just extremely rude. They’ve been helpful since the post went viral but that’s because they’re worried about their reputation.”
Lily runs Portland and Weymouth Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) with her parents Maxine, who is 54, and Nick, who is 52.
The volunteer-led organization took in Shadow three months ago after his previous owners could no longer afford to keep him.
Lily’s post about the incident, which took place at around 9pm on Saturday, has been shared almost 1,000 times.
A Domino’s spokesperson stated: “We are very sorry about this incident and have given our sincere apologies to Mrs. Seymour for the understandable distress.
“We would like to reassure Ms. Seymour that we are taking this incident extremely seriously and we are in the middle of an internal investigation to ensure it will not happen again.
“We have offered Ms. Seymour a donation of £500 to a charity of her choice, which she has kindly accepted.”
