Dog owner fuming after seeing CCTV and being offered £25 dog bed as apology
Charlie Fenton and Wayne Ankers Editor
11:53, 19 Nov 2025
A dog owner has been left fuming after Amazon ‘gifted’ him a £25 pet bed after one of its delivery drivers ran over and almost killed his beloved German Shepherd.
Steve Cockerham, 54, received the offering after his 12-year-old dog called Molly was run over by a courier who was delivering a parcel to his house in Otley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. Shocking CCTV captures a white van driving over Molly whilst she is sitting calmly on a driveway.
It can then be seen quickly reversing – while Molly is still underneath – before she escapes from around the rear wheels and the driver quickly drives off. Steve said Molly was left “seriously injured” and suffering “extensive tissue and ligament damage” following the incident which is being investigated by police.
He also says vet bills have left him so far £1,200 out of pocket with Amazon sending him the bed as an ‘apology’ which he says is a “slap in the face”. The dad of two contacted Amazon’s UK complaints department shortly after the incident in September and was later called back and offered a dog bed ‘as an apology.’
Steve Cockerham’ with his dog Molly.
Steve accepted the “gift” after being told by the online shopping business that they couldn’t consider reimbursing anything until Molly’s treatment was complete which he says “could be years”. But since posting the video on social media he says he has been contacted by a senior executive from Amazon USA who told him they “need some time to figure out how to put this right but they are working on it”.
Steve said: “It would have been better off not gifting the bed at all as it felt like a slap in the face. Our youngest dog Skye who is only two years old has since destroyed it.
“Molly has never known a second’s worth of cruelty until that driver came up the driveway. All she has known is kindness. We all think the world of her.
Video grab captures the delivery driver running over Steve Cockerham’ dog Molly.
“I am very angry with Amazon and feel let down as it seems they have drawn a blank. I find it unacceptable considering we had already spent £1200 and there was no sign of getting any of that back.
“Molly’s treatment could take months or even years. It has left us out of pocket and they have done nothing about it having caused the problem.”
Steve said he didn’t see the incident happen on September 21 but knew something “wasn’t right” when he noticed Molly was in “quite a lot of distress” later the same day. It was only the next day when he was investigating Molly’s discomfort that he came across the CCTV to which the dad said he was “shocked” by what he saw.
Steve said: “It wasn’t until the next day that I checked the CCTV. I thought to myself ‘this explains everything now’.
Video grab captures the delivery driver running over Steve Cockerham’ dog Molly.
“I was working on my dad’s tractor when I heard a yelp from one of the dogs. It was loud enough to make me stop what I was doing.
“I thought something was a little off with how fast the driver was clearing the drive – it just didn’t look right as they were clearing off hastily. I was furious, shocked, and heartbroken when watching it.
“It felt like my heart nearly jumped out of my chest over concern for Molly’s injuries.”
Steve called the vets who he said were also “furious” and needed to urgently look into Molly’s injuries. He said they put her under and performed X-rays to find out what was wrong.
The dad has told how at one point vets “recommended” that she be “put down” if she didn’t recover from the treatment.
Steve Cockerham’ dog Molly.
Following the incident he also reported what happened to West Yorkshire Police.
A spokesperson for the force said: “We can confirm we are investigating following a report of an incident whereby a dog was injured by a vehicle outside an address in Otley on Sunday 21 September 2025.
“Local NPT Officers have been in regular contact with the owner of the dog and the investigation is ongoing.”
A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed they were “aware of the incident involving one of their delivery service partners” and said that the “parties involved were working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible”.
