# sad,angry,hurt!!!!!



## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

my dog bit a woman in the neck,she only met him twice with my husband and i. i told her she could never pet him on the other side of gate he is warey of people he dont know.my head was turned for not even 5 min. i hear this mean growl i turn around she has her face in my rexy face trying to hug or kiss him she didnt back up,i ran to stop my dog from biting it happend so quick. she gets 6 stitches my rexy got death row.has this ever happen to anybody before?do you think we were wronged?my family dont derserve this my baby boy was only 2 and i feel he was protecting his family.my kids lost there best buddy and my husband and i lost our fur son.even animal control said they had no problems with rexy they were taking him for walks without a muzzel.but because he attacked her in the throat thats why we had to euthenize him yesterday.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Where do you live?
I am very sorry for your loss...

There's quite a few ways to manage this, actually, one is never letting the dog outside when people are near your fence/gate.
Another is leashing him. A third would have been simply telling her to leave your area and/or take the dog inside...or not turning your back while she was still there


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

I am so sorry for you and the loss of your boy Rexy. I know our dogs are not supposed to bite, and I know that I am probably wrong for my thoughts. But I think the woman had been warned, she invaded his space, it is her fault that she got bit. Again I will probably get redirected for my thoughts on this, but I think that it is wrong that your pet was put down because of her stupidity.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

thank you im hoping by coming on here i can feel alittle better,my husband and i are going over and over maybe if we had signs up,maybe if i was quicker,we should of found a behaviorist,if we put up a stock gate fence maybe rexy would still be here.i just wished she would of gotten my attention first,i could of gave her his ball and she would of been fine.even the dog warden is confused for 11 days they had him and said he was super friendly they didnt see any meaness in him.but because he met her twice and he bit her in the neck thats why he had to be put down.its a sad situation.


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

She was on the other side of the fence? Like reaching over to pet him? Then she's 100% at fault IMO. Especially since she was warned. It's just sad that none of that matters, the dog is always to blame no matter what the circumstances are.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Oh Im am so sorry .I live w/ a dog who can if her space is violated be aggressive. People reach grab and in general do things that as a kid I would have gotten my butt kicked for. I hope your kids can have another fur brother or sister when you are ready. So sorry.


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## bad_news07 (May 23, 2011)

I am really sorry for you lost I do not believe it was your doggie or your fault. These dogs are amazing, but they are still very fast and VERY powerful. I think she should have respected Rexy's space maybe she wasn't too savy on dog behavior. Hope this serves as a lesson for anyone reading this. I know I will be more careful when I have people coming over or getting near our house thanks to this post.


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## GSKnight (Oct 18, 2011)

This is a very sad story for all involved.


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## GSDLove (Dec 6, 2007)

I am very sorry for your loss.


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## jang (May 1, 2011)

This was clearly the fault of the woman--I am sorry that she was hurt but for crying out loud--how stupid can people be? I wouldn't even put my hands through the fence to put my neighbors constantly yapping maltese! I am so sorry for you and your family--this is really unfair...your yard..your dog--that woman invaded your space 
jan


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

That's horrible. I think it's the lady's fault as well. ​


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

Sorry for your loss.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I am sorry this happened. I think the lady was at fault and I feel bad that you had to euthanize your dog, but maybe the dog did have some issues, and maybe six stitches is better than what might have occurred if everything just went on as normal. The dog was two and you you know that he seems to have a problem with the fence to the point where you warned people. It sounds like the dog was in a different element in animal control. 

The fact is, with you in the vacinity and having met the lady a couple of times, the dog did not just bark and try to warn her away, he bit her badly. If anything, his threshold for biting was extremely low and without extensive behavior modification and management, a repeat of the bite was probably inevitable.

And that he was acting fine at animal control is more of a problem. The reason I say that is that if you have a dog that goes psycho whenever it sees men in baseball caps, you can socialize it to men in baseball caps and mark progress. When you have a dog that is pretty much fine all the time but with very little warning goes into full attack mode, that is much more difficult to train, behavior modify, measure progress. 

I know this hurts terribly, right now, but the boy did not suffer when put down, and whatever demons he had are quiet now. I do not think you were at fault, I think the dog had something going on. 

The neighbor should not have done what she did, but people are stupid. If you have dogs that will nail someone over the fence than you have to make that fence in accessible to the general public. I know that sucks, and I am not blaming you, but I think that it is hard to believe that if it was not this woman it would not have been anyone else either. 

Warning people is rarely enough these days. How many of us have had people ask if they can pet our dogs and we tell them "No, he is not good with people" and the person reaches out anyway saying that dogs just love him? Who is going to win that exchange if the dog bites. It a reasonable world (in the point of view of dog owners) the dog and owner would be exonerated. Not so in many places here. 

I feel your pain. I hope that this does not turn you against dogs in general. And I hope your neighbor recovers as well from the fear that it must have invoked. And I am sure she remembers the warning and probably feels somewhat guilty about the overall outcome, deep down, whether she acknowledges it to you or not.

ETA: If the dog was in the yard and the person came up and was not acknowledged by you, I think that the dog could have considered it some type of attack. But you were talking to the lady with the dog not five minutes before, the dog should not have attacked, barked ok, growled ok, but attacked someone his people were talking to a few minutes before, not ok.


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## Geeheim (Jun 18, 2011)

So sorry for the loss of your fur baby. Sounds like a bad deal all around. =(


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## Betty (Aug 11, 2002)

So sorry for your loss.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

What a sad situation, this must be heartbreaking for you.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

selzer said:


> I am sorry this happened. I think the lady was at fault and I feel bad that you had to euthanize your dog, but maybe the dog did have some issues, and maybe six stitches is better than what might have occurred if everything just went on as normal. The dog was two and you you know that he seems to have a problem with the fence to the point where you warned people. It sounds like the dog was in a different element in animal control.
> 
> The fact is, with you in the vacinity and having met the lady a couple of times, the dog did not just bark and try to warn her away, he bit her badly. If anything, his threshold for biting was extremely low and without extensive behavior modification and management, a repeat of the bite was probably inevitable.
> 
> ...


I was not talking to her 5 min before,5 min before my 3 year old and rexy were playing good and noone was by my gate.i then turned my head to look at my new health insurance cards but was on my deck not near the gate then heard this growl i never heard before deffiently a back off growl.i jumped up and ran to get rexy away from there and it happend so quick.she never got my attention which seemed odd to me and when i turned to see what rexy was growling at she was halfway in our yard leaning inthats how he bit her neck.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

missmyrexy29 said:


> my dog bit a woman in the neck,*she only met him twice with my husband and i. i told her she could never pet him on the other side of gate he is warey of people he dont know.my head was turned for not even 5 min. i hear this mean growl i turn around she has her face in my rexy face trying to hug or kiss him* she didnt back up,i ran to stop my dog from biting it happend so quick. she gets 6 stitches my rexy got death row.has this ever happen to anybody before?do you think we were wronged?my family dont derserve this my baby boy was only 2 and i feel he was protecting his family.my kids lost there best buddy and my husband and i lost our fur son.even animal control said they had no problems with rexy they were taking him for walks without a muzzel.but because he attacked her in the throat thats why we had to euthenize him yesterday.


I am sorry, this sounded like you and she were talking, you warned her not to pet him on the other side of the gate as he is wary of people he doesnt know, and then your head was turned for not even five minutes and you hear a growl. It sounded like this happened not even five minutes after you told her not to try to pet him over the gate. 

But I guess you were not right there? 

I know stuff like that happens really quickly. 

I don't like it that the dog was not barking at the approach of a stranger that he would later bite with only a part of a second's notice. 

I am trying to make sense of this. It sounds like your boy had some aggressive issues. These are not kamakazi dogs. They generally let people know to get away. A fear-aggressive dog will generally bark and back up and bark and may even run after when the person walking away and clip the back end or leg and then run away. But they normally bark loudly to let that person know they need to get away. And only as a last resort to do the go for a bite -- usually after snarling, growling, or snapping, and usually when they know that they cannot get away, like if they are leashed or cornered. 

Unless the dog was specifically trained to bite in this situation, I am thinking that there was an aggression issue, very possibly genetic, that would have been very difficult to work on and feel comfortable that the dog is 100% cured. 

My point is that this was a terrible thing that happened, but I don't think you should beat yourself up over it, because it may have been something you had very little control over, and sooner or later, there was going to be a serious issue. It is just sad that you had to lose your dog. 

There may have been some things you could have done to manage the dog, like put up a 6' fence and maybe use an e-fence within the fenced yard to limit access to the fence/barrier and not feed the dogs barrier aggression -- if that is what it was. But hindsight is 20/20, and in this case his first transgression was pretty major. 

A bite to the throat is never going to go over well to whatever animal control there is. Six stitches could have been much more serious.

None of that makes it easier to lose your buddy though. I can't imagine how bad that has to be. I am not trying to make you feel worse. By suggesting that the dog had an issue that was most likely not your fault, and very likely to cause some kind of a problem down the road is a clumsy attempt at trying to ease it somewhat.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

missmyrexy29 said:


> I was not talking to her 5 min before,5 min before my 3 year old and rexy were playing good and noone was by my gate.i then turned my head to look at my new health insurance cards but was on my deck not near the gate then heard this growl i never heard before deffiently a back off growl.i jumped up and ran to get rexy away from there and it happend so quick.she never got my attention which seemed odd to me and when i turned to see what rexy was growling at she was halfway in our yard leaning inthats how he bit her neck.


So a stranger bent over the fence while your GSD was out there with your 3 year old child? 

I am so sorry this has happened to you and your family. I agree with much of what Sue has said. Dogs will usually warn before biting. You can second guess yourself all day long and it won't change anything. Who knows what may have actually triggered this. I hope this woman learned a lesson and has accepted her part in this. I hope you and your family can move forward from this and heal. :hugs:


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

jang said:


> This was clearly the fault of the woman--I am sorry that she was hurt but for crying out loud--how stupid can people be? I wouldn't even put my hands through the fence to put my neighbors constantly yapping maltese! I am so sorry for you and your family--this is really unfair...your yard..your dog--that woman invaded your space
> jan


Exactly. The woman was trespassing. The dog is your property. 
Very sorry for your loss. Sorry that woman had to pay with stitches for her stupidity.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

1sttimeforgsd said:


> I am so sorry for you and the loss of your boy Rexy. I know our dogs are not supposed to bite, and I know that I am probably wrong for my thoughts. But I think the woman had been warned, she invaded his space, it is her fault that she got bit. Again I will probably get redirected for my thoughts on this, but I think that it is wrong that your pet was put down because of her stupidity.











I am so sorry about your dog.


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

I am so sorry for your loss. I am even more sorry that there such stupid people in this world that do such stupid things that our dogs have to pay with their lives for. That woman came into YOUR yard, bent over YOUR fence, and stuck her face into REXY's face. And did it with your 3 year old in the back yard. She was in the wrong, IMO. 

Honestly, if some stranger walked up to me, in MY yard and stuck his face in mine and tried to kiss me, I would bite him too. Or at least smack the crap out of him. Why do we expect our dogs to take it and then euthanize them when they don't?? There are entirely too many stupid people on this planet and the world would be better off with a few less of them.


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## e.rigby (May 28, 2011)

I'm a bit lost... why exactly did you euthanize your dog? Were you made to? Because even if authorities confiscated your dog, they would not have put it to sleep so quickly after the incident... there are trials and procedures to first go through. On top of all of that, the woman was 100% in the wrong. She deserved to get bitten for being so blatantly ignorant of your warning and of the dog's communication.

I'm sorry you euthanized your dog  I wouldn't have... and I would have fought tooth and nail if anyone told me I should. 

Where do you live? What are your laws? etc etc etc?


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## BGSD (Mar 24, 2011)

Hmmm....my dog gives plenty of warning to people who get near our yard (when he's outside). If your dog was also barking at the woman, I don't understand why in the world she approached the dog and stuck her head into his face.

I mean, the dog is making it pretty clear that she should not come any closer.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

i'm from Buffalo ny,which they said is a one bite state and since he bit her in the neck thats why they couldnt give him 1 more chance which fine we understand we live in the suberbs.what were mad about is first off the only spot he could of bit was the neck since her head was in our gate.also we had a friend to take him until we moved we were gonna give him 100 a week for dog sitting for us.we told them we would of moved,put stock gate fencing up and hired a behaviorist to come to our house.also he gave her a warning he growled she didnt back off.the scarey part is she has a pitbull she should know dog behavior.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

I'm so sorry you have lost your dog. 

My dogs are not aggressive to people, but 2 of them do not like other dogs. Because I live on a corner and I have a picket fence, I put up a second fence 5 feet from the first one. It is cheap wire fence with metal stakes. That is because stupid people think it's fun to watch my dogs run and growl and bark at their dogs. I don't want my dogs thinking about biting between the pickets and hurting another dog. I am almost always outside with them, but nothing is 100%.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

also we tried lawyers which they said we had a case but since we didnt have 2000 dollars upfront they couldnt take our case,we were willing to pay 500 dollars a week but guess lawyers are heartless.he said he didnt want us to lose and us get mad and not pay him.but were not that kind of people.we were gonna pawn all our things its only material things we can get all that back but rexy we couldnt get back,but after adding everything we still didnt have enough.we tried sooooo hard to do what we could to get our baby back.his last day they made us chose they take him to euthenize him or we can take him,of coarse we wanted him to be with us his last moment on earth not the dog warden.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

BlackPuppy said:


> I'm so sorry you have lost your dog.
> 
> My dogs are not aggressive to people, but 2 of them do not like other dogs. Because I live on a corner and I have a picket fence, I put up a second fence 5 feet from the first one. It is cheap wire fence with metal stakes. That is because stupid people think it's fun to watch my dogs run and growl and bark at their dogs. I don't want my dogs thinking about biting between the pickets and hurting another dog. I am almost always outside with them, but nothing is 100%.


Thank you!each day my baby is not here it seems harder to get through these days,its been 13 days since our baby was taken from us and 2 days since hes been gone.its even harder on my 7 year old and 3 year old. yesterday my 3 year old made me cry we had pizza for dinner and she asked me mommy im full can i give my pizza to rexy,it was sooo sad.we also live on a corner house with wire fencing and we asked our land lord to put up a stockgate fence which we said we would pay for she said no because her dog wouldnt like it,REALLY?.I also was always outside with my dog and normally quick with stupid people.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

my husband and i wanted to know if we could sue the city for wrongly killing our dog,it wont get rexy back but atleast we can get justice for our babyboy and our family for putting all of us through ****.if we did win i would open up a gsd rescue in rexy name and move to the country with acers of land.this is all a nightmare to us.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

You can contact attorneys and find out if they would take your case, but honestly I don't know many that would.

I'm sorry for your loss.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Sorry about your loss, but don't sue, you will never win a case against the city for the wrongful death of a dog that has bit someone on the neck. No matter if it happened on "your" property or not. Especially that you were renting. Also, if an attorney wanted a $2000 retainer for the case to free your dog, can you imagine the retainer needed to take on a case like this? You also would be compensated the price of your dog, if, and its a huge if, you won. Not nearly enough to buy land and move to start a dog rescue.

This isn't a wrongful death suit, its a wrongful destruction of property in the eyes of the law. And to make you whole they would give you the price of the dog, much less then you would ever spend on attorney's fees. Call around, but it would take a very interesting attorney to take on a case like this.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

thank you for advice,were gonna atleast call to find out if we have a case.yesterday the ac called us saying we can pick up rexy (his ashes),they just hand us a flimsey paperbag like my baby is a piece of trash.it was so heartbreaking.were going today to find him a cute urn,he deserves to rest peacfully.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Rather than trying to sue people, why not put your energy into researching the entire topic. Research dog bite cases and their outcomes. Research the lawyers -- there are lawyers our there known to be willing to work on dog-cases, people need to know how to find these lawyers. Find lawyers who have won tough cases, and make a list, spend some time on it. Go beyond your state. Then make up an educational thread or website. Your dog bit someone, what to do, what not to do.

I think that the first advice to anyone with a formidable dog should always be, train your dog, socialize your dog, idiot proof your yard, secure your borders, contain your dog. But when the worst happens, people need to know where to go to get the best advice, to find a lawyer, to know whether they should apologize or not, stuff like that. 

Then maybe your Rex will not have died in vain. Maybe his death can help other dogs and their owners to have a different outcome.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

Tuesday when my husband took rexy to be pts the aco said they had to hold onto his body for a day or two why?.we don't get any of this.Iwanted to go tuesday but my husband didn't think i was strong enough,i get panic attacks and have anxiety,so i stayed home with my kids.my husband wanted to know if there are any lawyers,judges or police officers or animal control wardens on here that can explain this nightmare to us.we really need to make sence of this.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Thank you for sharing your story as hard as it may be. It reminds me of a story my old classmate told me that happened to her family probably 25 years ago. They had a GSD in a fenced yard. They had a nice swing set and the kids from an apartment building nearby wanted to play on their swings, hopped over their fence only to be pinned up against the fence by their GSD. They child was not bit, but obviously scared. My classmate's family ended up getting rid of the dog - not sure if they were requested to euthanize it or give it to another family. Just sad many are punished for others' stupid actions.

Your story will definitely make me be more cautious. When my dog is in the car, the windows may go up a little higher. I've people try to stick their hand in the car to pet our old dog. Out in public I may be more firm in saying "no" you cannot pet my dog.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

thank you!thats what my family were telling me to do,I just wouldn't know where to begin.my husband and I both don't wish this on our worst enemy,this is the worst feeling in the world.there is people that we can pay to do our website right?my typing is bad would want it to look professional.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

missmyrexy29 said:


> Tuesday when my husband took rexy to be pts the aco said they had to hold onto his body for a day or two why?.we don't get any of this.


Probably to test for rabies. 

I'm so sorry this happened.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

Gretchen said:


> Thank you for sharing your story as hard as it may be. It reminds me of a story my old classmate told me that happened to her family probably 25 years ago. They had a GSD in a fenced yard. They had a nice swing set and the kids from an apartment building nearby wanted to play on their swings, hopped over their fence only to be pinned up against the fence by their GSD. They child was not bit, but obviously scared. My classmate's family ended up getting rid of the dog - not sure if they were requested to euthanize it or give it to another family. Just sad many are punished for others' stupid actions.
> 
> Your story will definitely make me be more cautious. When my dog is in the car, the windows may go up a little higher. I've people try to stick their hand in the car to pet our old dog. Out in public I may be more firm in saying "no" you cannot pet my dog.


Thank you for reading my story,for some reason being on this forum is making me feel better.I know rexy is gonna make me more caueious for our next gsd we own this spring were gonna get another baby only this time were gonna rescue a gsd.there are so many that just need a loving home.were doing everything diffrent,best trainer,stockgate fencing and signs all over.i'm soo sorry for what happend to your friends family it does suck that these babies have to pay for people stupid actions.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

selzer said:


> Rather than trying to sue people, why not put your energy into researching the entire topic. Research dog bite cases and their outcomes. Research the lawyers -- there are lawyers our there known to be willing to work on dog-cases, people need to know how to find these lawyers. Find lawyers who have won tough cases, and make a list, spend some time on it. Go beyond your state. Then make up an educational thread or website. Your dog bit someone, what to do, what not to do.


This is a great idea, and I might try to do something like this. I actually work for an injury law firm... and we do have a handful of dog bite cases (we represent the injured person) so I know the ins and outs of the law. I've also extensively researched the dog laws in both Minnesota and Wisconsin (I live in Wisconsin, work in Minnesota). 

I helped a friend through an incident where her dog bit a child that was visiting her home... and I know in Superior (Douglas County), Wisconsin the state, city, and county ordinances provide that a dog has to "attack" a person twice *while not on the owner's property* before animal control can euthanize the dog. 

Laws aside, there is also homeowners insurance to worry about. Some companies will refuse coverage after one bite incident, others will be more lenient or at least allow the homeowner to appeal their decision to cancel coverage. In the case of a renting situation, I would guess that 99% of the time, your landlord is going to give you a choice: move or get rid of the dog. The reason most landlords don't allow pets (in addition to the mess issue) is because of liability reasons: their insurance policy simply won't allow it.

In my friend's case, she was contacted by her insurance company after the injured party decided to file a claim, and they told her that they were going to drop coverage unless she could show proof that she either euthanized the dog or surrendered it. The agent was very understanding and also offered her the chance to appeal the decision. It was a non-issue, however, as she'd already decided to euth the dog because he was extremely aggressive and dangerous and, we believe, beyond any help.

I've researched what companies don't breed discriminate and I'm currently in the process of looking for companies where you can purchase types of "liability insurance" to cover a particular breed of dog or a dog with a bite history. I've actually become sort of a "go to" person at our law firm since, although we only represent the injured party, we do get a lot of calls regarding issues with dogs where people are questioning their rights. The attorneys usually want me to handle these calls to see if I can help the dog owners out.

Just a final though (sorry, got a lot more wordy than I originally intended): there ARE people out there who attempt to get injured on purpose so they can file a claim and get compensation. Sad, but true. Our law firm tries our best to recognize these individuals so we don't take their cases: we only want legitimate claims. It's a scary, scary thought because, as owners of a powerful dog breed, we need to be cautious about human/dog interactions, and if there's idiots out there looking to get bit, it gets all the more dangerous.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

That's what is scaring my husband and i with the sitauation,he said that the woman who was bitten by rexy was broke,my husband knows her husband they both went to ntts together(truck driving school)but we only met his wife twice.also there landlord is selling there home so there gonna be forced to move soon.but if she was being devious and wanted to get bit on purpose.she knew i didnt want anybody to touch my dog on the other side of the gate,and she didnt even get my attention.can they sue us and win?.since the attack we havent talked to them,we have nothing to say to them since getting our dog killed.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

I am so sorry this happened to you. :hugging:


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## CelticGlory (Jan 19, 2006)

This is a very interesting article to read on NY's bite law New York.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

What state are you in? I can check into the liability laws. PM me if you'd like.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

Rott-n-GSDs said:


> What state are you in? I can check into the liability laws. PM me if you'd like.


i'm in Cheektowaga NY


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

CelticGlory said:


> This is a very interesting article to read on NY's bite law New York.


thank you for finding the artical on nys,thats what the aco told us that were a 1 bite state. i thought that was a little unfair due to my dog was a good baby,never showed aggression before.my daughter was next to him thats why he attacked her.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

I still remember a month ago i went across the street to a girlfriends house to drink wine i had rexy in the backyard,we were sitting in her garage so i can see rexy.people were walking by he didnt bark or growl once at people,as soon as i came in the yard then he was barking.we were trying to figure that out.also he always followed me everywhere and my daughter to.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

NYS Bite law:

A "dangerous dog" is one that "without justification" either (a) attacks and injures or kills a person, "companion animal," farm animal or "domestic animal" or (b) "behaves in a manner which a reasonable person would believe poses a serious and unjustified imminent threat of serious physical injury or death" to one or more of the foregoing. (Sec. 108, subd. 24(a).)_* There is an exception for dogs assisting the police. (Sec. 108, subd. 24(b).) The conduct of the victim, either on the day of the attack or at a much earlier time, also can exempt a dog from "dangerous" status. (Sec. 121, subd. 4.)
*_

If I recall, didn't the bite victim stick her head over your fence to "hug" your dog?
As far as I'm concerned, that would have been enough to exempt your dog from "dangerous status".

Unless I missed it, how and WHO determined that your dog should have been put down?
Did you go through any judicial process?
Was there any litigation?


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

I am so sorry this happened to you.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

Anthony8858 said:


> If I recall, didn't the bite victim stick her head over your fence to "hug" your dog?
> As far as I'm concerned, that would have been enough to exempt your dog from "dangerous status".


It depends on the people deciding the case. Often, though, the criteria is considered to be what a "reasonable" person would see as cause. As dog people, we all know that what she did would be considered aggressive to a dog. To John Q. Public, she was just going to give the cute little doggie a hug. Sadly, it's not dog people who decide these things.


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

Dainerra said:


> It depends on the people deciding the case. Often, though, the criteria is considered to be what a "reasonable" person would see as cause. As dog people, we all know that what she did would be considered aggressive to a dog. To John Q. Public, she was just going to give the cute little doggie a hug. Sadly, it's not dog people who decide these things.



Common sense is not so common- Voltaire


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## BMoore (Oct 18, 2011)

Here in RI we have a "1 bite rule" meaning if you can prove the women wasn't supposed to do what she was doing, or that you told her not to touch your dog, the dog will get away with it scotch free. I think the 'victim' can try suing you, but the animal itself is let off with a warning. 

This way if someone trespasses on your property or breaks in your dog isn't considered at fault. It's a shame this happened, although I feel you could have brought the issue to court. You are allowed appeals in bite-cases. It isn't a simple "you have to put him down" without a fight thing. There are always options.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

Anthony8858 said:


> NYS Bite law:
> 
> A "dangerous dog" is one that "without justification" either (a) attacks and injures or kills a person, "companion animal," farm animal or "domestic animal" or (b) "behaves in a manner which a reasonable person would believe poses a serious and unjustified imminent threat of serious physical injury or death" to one or more of the foregoing. (Sec. 108, subd. 24(a).)_* There is an exception for dogs assisting the police. (Sec. 108, subd. 24(b).) The conduct of the victim, either on the day of the attack or at a much earlier time, also can exempt a dog from "dangerous" status. (Sec. 121, subd. 4.)
> *_
> ...


the animal control said we had to euthenize rexy,we had a lawyer who said we had a case he even said cheektowaga is so screwed up where they have there own rules.he wanted 2000 dollars which we dont have.if he could of stopped the euthenization date for 30 days we could of had 2000 dollars in a month. yes the woman stuck her head in the fence also didnt get my attention.thats why my husband and I want to sue,we know it wont bring rexy back but if we can get justice for my baby boy .also to help the next family that lives in cheektowaga.


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## IllinoisGSD (Sep 21, 2011)

What would you sue the lady for? Putting her head in your gate? I don't believe there are laws against that. I'm sorry for your loss, but I don't think suing anyone is going to do any good.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I am curious who is paying for her hospital bills? Because if it's her, and you sue, you could get slapped with a nice little counter-suit for all the hospital bills incurred.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

BMoore said:


> Here in RI we have a "1 bite rule" meaning if you can prove the women wasn't supposed to do what she was doing, or that you told her not to touch your dog, the dog will get away with it scotch free. I think the 'victim' can try suing you, but the animal itself is let off with a warning.
> 
> This way if someone trespasses on your property or breaks in your dog isn't considered at fault. It's a shame this happened, although I feel you could have brought the issue to court. You are allowed appeals in bite-cases. It isn't a simple "you have to put him down" without a fight thing. There are always options.


it does suck that now my baby is gone that im starting to learn the laws for nys,it also sucks my family is a mess over this. i could of proved i told her never to pet him on the other side of the fence,my friends were there and they told her to.only our friends who came over all the time could pet him without my husband or me.that woman we met twice but rexy did not think of her as one of our friends,i didnt even remember her name.we met her 6 months apart.and i was on my deck why be quiet she should of said something to get my attention,in stead of my dog who growled and had my attention.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

IllinoisGSD said:


> What would you sue the lady for? Putting her head in your gate? I don't believe there are laws against that. I'm sorry for your loss, but I don't think suing anyone is going to do any good.


we werent sueing her,we wanted to sue the city for not doing anything right,even the lawyer said they dont go by the law they have there own rules\laws.we talked to a few people who there dog bit one was another german shepherd who jumped there gate and attacked a biker,she had another chance.my gsd never left our yard she was in our yard.these people lived in buffalo ny with there gsd.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

msvette2u said:


> I am curious who is paying for her hospital bills? Because if it's her, and you sue, you could get slapped with a nice little counter-suit for all the hospital bills incurred.


were assuming them or there insurance,they told our landlord they were not gonna sue any of us,so they say we heard from animal control they have 3 years to decide.and if it was my dogs fault then we would of payed them without court.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

jetscarbie said:


> I am so sorry this happened to you.


thank you,i know each day it's supposed to get easier but it's getting harder to not be with my baby.normally rexy makes me feel better when im sad he always knew when i am not in a good mood.makes things worse my daughters 4th birthday was 3 days after we put rexy to sleep,rexy was keira's best friend.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

Just wanted to update: the lady that stuck her head in my fence is suing us,were not to happy about this.she lied to her laywer and said she was trying to sell girl scout cookies...REALLY??????? the good part is we have people writing statements our neighbors, that saw this happen and never saw a form or cookies with her including our land lord who walked her home after the incident was laughing. he never saw anything in her hands either,so hopefully she'll be screwed for lying to a judge!!!.She also said to her laywer that my dog attacked my husband....again a lie,were wondering where she got that information from, so other words saying he was aggressive before biting her,but if that was the case if he was agressive before why stick your head in my fence,i'm sure my laywer will be asking her that question.if trying to sell girl scout cookies get my attention,she stuck her head in my gate and never called me over or anything...REALLY?.We do have a laywer my landlord is having us use his laywer and he said he is the best,so were hoping everything works in our favor.We also have a good update were adopting a lab/pitbull mix he is a year old and came from a gassing shelter from south carolina.A rescue in New Hamshire pulled him for us and we'll be driving 8 hours away to get our new family member,he'll be home with us November 26 a few days after thanksgiving.we talked to our landlord and they said the'll put a diffrent fence up where noone can lean in our gate and deffently wil be more causious with this little guy,we had to learn the hard way......but we did learn.Below is pics of our new baby Max he is soooo georgous and handsome,couldn't see him being gassed had to save this baby boy.Also I feel like Max was supposed to be with us mabe all this happend for a reason.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

If you are being sued, you really should not post anything about it online. Remember that anything you put online can be used in court, for or against you.


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## missmyrexy29 (Oct 19, 2011)

I know I was told that,just needed to vent somewhere.am very angry.and wanted to update our new baby were very excited for him only good thing coming out of this.


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## mebully21 (Nov 18, 2011)

first off make sure your homeowners and the landlords homeowners insurance will allow a pit bull mix onthe premises. since you are being sued by the woman your dog bit i can guarantee you your homeowners will NOT allow a pit bull type breed on the property.. it is foolish to adopt a pit bull mix right now, or any breed.. the woman can sue you for her medical bills and pain and suffering, your homeowner insurance will pay her just to shut her up even if they know she is lying only because it will cost more money to hire their lawyers to prove her wrong so they will make a settlement just to make the case go away.

your landlord will probably NOT allow a pit bull type breed or gsd again due to this incident.

i would seriously reconsider getting another dog right now, wait until the case is settled with the homeowner insurance companies and the landlord and then ask what type of dog you can have there ... 

if you bring home another dog and it cant stay there you will have to return it to the rescue...

just wait out the case and go from there


(i am in insurance and own a bully breed and a gsd, so i know what i am talking about as i see incidents like this alot at work, once the homeowner insurance pays out they get very picky , also bully breeds and other large breeds are blacklisted from 99% of homeowner insurance companies)


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

mebully21 said:


> first off make sure your homeowners and the landlords homeowners insurance will allow a pit bull mix onthe premises. since you are being sued by the woman your dog bit i can guarantee you your homeowners will NOT allow a pit bull type breed on the property.. it is foolish to adopt a pit bull mix right now, or any breed..


Well... homeowners' insurance that don't have lists of excluded breeds do not exclude based on PAST dogs. They certainly could've excluded coverage based on the GSD, but since the dog has been PTS it's a non-issue. If they were going to cut her off, it doesn't matter whether she has another dog or not: they'll just do it.

My friend's insurance was going to cut her off after her dog bit someone, but since she had the dog PTS, they still offer her coverage, regardless of the fact that she has gotten another dog since the incident.

They can either cut you off, or cover you with whatever dog(s) you own. 



> the woman can sue you for her medical bills and pain and suffering, your homeowner insurance will pay her just to shut her up even if they know she is lying only because it will cost more money to hire their lawyers to prove her wrong so they will make a settlement just to make the case go away.


True that she CAN sue but not true that homeowners will automatically pay. If all homeowners' insurance automatically paid, I wouldn't have a job (I work for a personal injury law firm). If there is something in the state's law regarding "provoking" or "taunting" the dog (there is in Minnesota) the woman doesn't have a leg to stand on and the homeowners' insurance will say "see you in court" and no lawyer worth his/her salt will pursue the claim past that point. 



> your landlord will probably NOT allow a pit bull type breed or gsd again due to this incident.


I can't remember if the OP rents, but if they do (I'm too lazy to go back and check), you certainly do have a point. Landlords can do whatever they dang well please, although they likely would've had to alter the rental agreement already, or at least will have to give the OP sufficient notice that the dog has to go.



> i would seriously reconsider getting another dog right now, wait until the case is settled with the homeowner insurance companies and the landlord and then ask what type of dog you can have there ...


Just a note.. this could take years. In Minnesota, the statute of limitations on personal injury claims is six years, which means it can take up to six years for a settlement, longer if the statute of limitations is preserved by actually filing a lawsuit.


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## mebully21 (Nov 18, 2011)

any insurance company can exclude based on a past incident, they just dont tell you that.. same with blacklisted breeds, they will tell you what is excluded, but ask for it in writing and they wont do it as technically they are not allowed to blacklist dog breeds (well here in nj anyway)

if she is being sued the woman is probably going to sue her AND her landlord since the landlord owns the house and nowadays everyone is sue happy.

and yes, homeowner insurance companies DO settle irregardless of who is wrong in certain instances to make the claim go away.. its cheaper for them to offer a nice settlement to NOT go to court and have attorney fees.... its done here in nj, and i am sure other insurance companies in other states do it.. they just dont tell you that they do..


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

mebully21 said:


> any insurance company can exclude based on a past incident, they just dont tell you that.. same with blacklisted breeds, they will tell you what is excluded, but ask for it in writing and they wont do it as technically they are not allowed to blacklist dog breeds (well here in nj anyway)
> 
> if she is being sued the woman is probably going to sue her AND her landlord since the landlord owns the house and nowadays everyone is sue happy.
> 
> and yes, homeowner insurance companies DO settle irregardless of who is wrong in certain instances to make the claim go away.. its cheaper for them to offer a nice settlement to NOT go to court and have attorney fees.... its done here in nj, and i am sure other insurance companies in other states do it.. they just dont tell you that they do..


Again, I work with settling lawsuits with insurance companies every single day. They will occasionally settle a bogus claim just to get rid of it but are not stupid so they know dang well that an attorney isn't going to waste costs attempting to try some questionable claims, so they simply deny them, and they often go away. Most personal injuries attorneys do not get paid unless they win, so they have a lot more at stake than a multi million dollar insurance company.

Most of the time though, if a dog bites a kid (particularly a cute little girl) they will settle. Adult bites are more tricky, and we rarely take those cases, because usually there's not much of a claim.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I'd be concerned about the landlord situation, but also until I was able to fix whatever problem(s) led up to the bite, whether it was too short of fence, not supervising the dog properly or what, I'd be reluctant as well to advise you get a pit bull.
But since it's already with you, work on being the best owner you can be, invest in training classes, supervise it constantly so there are no more "oopsies", since you already have one strike against you.


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## Billy Jack (Apr 19, 2011)

That's a tough one. I feel your pain. I recently had to let my GSD go after he turned on my spouse. Buck defenitly had his issues and was a one person dog (mine).


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## ShadowBandit (Oct 26, 2011)

We lost our gsd in a very similar way in October so I feel your pain, I was heartbroken. I'm so sorry for your loss.


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