I've heard of hitting a deer and staying upright too but IMO the impact would be higher, not right at the front wheel, so I'm not sure it would've made a difference in this case.
I hit a small lean cat that ran in front of me at around 20-25 mph. Maybe it weighed 6 lbs?
I braked until I saw it wasn't stopping and would run right in front of me, so I released brake and hit the gas a little.
The impact with the cat about ripped the bars out of my hands at that slow speed and a much smaller animal.
The dog was much heavier and the riders were probably doing 55-60 - rider would've gone over anyway I think.
OMG, that is wild. I can't slow it down enough but it certainly looks like he sees the truck and instinctively flings himself away at the last possible millisecond
Not bashing the driver whatsoever - as this is an extreme situation and we get to see it in slow motion.
If you watch it frame by frame, the guy who hits the dog is already doing a "stoppie" that is twisting to the side. He's on his way down before he even hit the dog. All of his weight is almost directly over the front wheel because he is mostly sitting on the tank and not on the seat or pegs.
From my days of motocross, if you think you are going to hit something that you can go over - straighten up and give it the gas. This saved me when I ran over a queen-sized box spring on I-95 a few years back. At least I saw it coming. Kind of like punching a straw thru a potato.