# Dog attacks dog



## Natalie818 (Feb 12, 2013)

My GSD accidentally got out of the house and attacked a neighbors dog that was walking by. I was immediately there to grab him but the other dog did get bites on his leg that required stitches. The neighbor is furious and said he wouldn't press charges if I put my dog down (not an option) next he went on to say he will find an attorney and hopes we have good homeowners insurance. 

So my question is, besides reimbursing the vet bills what more can he sue me for? My dog loves people and kids but gets aggressive only when he sees other dogs. He has been through 2 months of obedience training and I just scheduled more training to hopefully work on socializing him. I love him dearly and am getting scared since I don't know what the neighbor will try to do or what he legally can do... Please help!! I need advice!


----------



## Zookeep (May 17, 2012)

The only thing you can be sued for is the cost of the vet bills.


----------



## x11 (Jan 1, 2012)

get a lawyer right quick - who knows what they can sue for; emotional distress?


----------



## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Zookeep said:


> The only thing you can be sued for is the cost of the vet bills.


In this society you can sue anyone for anything. Doesn't mean you will win but if you have the money you can take them to court.

I would contact your insurance company right away and let them know what happened.


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Without the dog, I would go and talk to your neighbor. Now that you both have calmed down. Explain that you are willing to pay the full vet bill, and that you signed your dog up for more classes and you are going to crate him before you open the door for any reason. Explain that you are very sorry that this has happened. 

If your back yard is fenced, you may even consider making the front door area totally off limits. Never leave this dog outside unsupervised whether in a fence or not. But if you make it a habit to go out the back door, into the fenced yard, and leave your yard with your leashed dog from there, you might avoid the charging out the front door thing altogether. 

I think that she will only get vet bills from you, but it is hard to say. It is not fun. But most places have a 1 bite forgiveness, and biting a dog is not the same as biting a person. On the other hand, if animal control is involved, then that may be this dog's one misdemeaner. 

If you have a family lawyer you might want to consult him and let him know the extent of everything. 

I really don't think your home-owner's insurance should be involved at all in this as this was not a bite to a human, just a dog. With a human you can be totally traumatized and need therapy, and have pain and suffering, and maybe skin grafts, and maybe the spouse can sue for lack of services or however they can put that. The point is, with a human, I think it can get really ugly. Most places understand that dogs are indeed dogs when it comes to other dogs. And you will have to pay damages, not made up punitive damages. I think. I am not a lawyer and have not been faced with this yet.


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Lawyer. 
It's not good to give advice based on hearing one side of the story but also we don't even know what state you're in, etc.
Get an attorney and be prepared.
Have you paid the vet bills yet? Keep records of everything!


----------



## Zookeep (May 17, 2012)

To be more accurate, I should have said the only thing they can recover for is the cost of the vet bills. Anyone can sue anybody for anything. The question is what can they successfully sue for.


----------



## Trotter (Jan 16, 2013)

Civilly, your liability exposure is limited to repairing "the property" (as dogs are viewed in most jurisdictions), which means vet bills. If the victim is special in some way that makes it more valuable, and that value is lost or reduced (show dog, valued breeder), then you could face that exposure, as well.

This should be a handleable amount and you should consider leaving your homeowners insurer out of it, if you can. They'll certainly pay it, but may drop you (try getting a new insurer if you've been dropped) or may condition your coverage going forward on a dog limitation of some sort (including "not that dog", not a GSD or other "aggressive" breed, not a dog over 20 lbs, etc.). The Very Real downside to not telling your insurer is that not telling them breaches a precondition to coverage. If the neighbor is really mad and files a suit (even one that might ultimately not succeed), you'd have to hire a lawyer or risk a default judgment (bad). If you then told your insurer, you could be told "sorry, you didn't report it promptly, so no coverage due to lack of compliance with conditions, best of luck." You'd then pay for the lawyer on your own. Or, your insurer could go ahead and pay for this claim, but drop you (see, "bad to be dropped," above).

Non-civilly, the neighbor could involve the authorities and what happens to your dog will depend on the laws of your jurisdiction. You may be confident your dog wouldn't do to a child what he did to the other dog, but you likely will not succeed in convincing your neighbors. In any event, neighbors don't like living in fear of a dog and they may attempt to make life rough for you and your dog until the dog's gone.

Tough situation, to be sure. Be sympathetic to the frightened/angry neighbor, offer to pay any/all expenses (may include neighbor's time off work, travel, etc. to give the dog care, vet trips, etc.), maybe offer to muzzle the dog when it's out of the house, that kind of thing. Anything to appease him/her and stop additional response.

As for the dog - I'm no expert, but it sounds like obedience training and more socialization may not impact either dog aggression or high prey drive. Under these facts, I'd consider finding someone who handles drivey dog issues like this for some one-on-one sessions, setups for failure w/E-Collar correction, and the like. S/he may suggest modifications to the home environment that permit the dog to believe it ranks at the pack's peak, thus making the world your dog's oyster.

Good luck.


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I would hold off on the home-owner's insurance until after I tried to talk calmly to the person. Why have a mark against your dog if you don't need it? If all they can charge is the vet bills (not sure), then you don't want to involve the homeowner's insurance. 

Some policies do not insure if you have a GSD, and even if they do, they may drop you like a hot potato if you call them on this for now. Getting new insurance if your dog has a mark against him may be very difficult. I don't think if it is a dog-dog, but in our crazy society it is hard to say. 

Get him back into classes and keep going, and keep going, and keep going at least until he passes his CGC. 

Good luck.


----------



## Natalie818 (Feb 12, 2013)

Thanks everyone!! I live in California, and I was very nice with the neighbor and immediately offered to pay the vet bills.. But he wont give me his name or address so i cant cant reach him to discuss this and he wont call me after i gave him my number and the proof of vaccinations. I have already met with an animal control officer to explain my side of the story. So after she reviewed his complaint and my input the case was closed as accidental. 

I forgot to mention the neighbor is fostering this puppy lab and said he is in training to be a see and eye dog. Also that he is worth 42k and isn't sure if the puppy will still be able to get trained. The animal control officer said he is probably speaking out of emotions cause a few stitches wouldn't stop a puppy from this special training. Luckily the puppy is alive and didn't need drastic surgery. 

So I know he is upset and I want to do everything I can to make it right. But I'm worried that he is trying to blow this out of proportion and take advantage of this situation.

Most of all I don't want him to go after my dog!!


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

> The animal control officer said he is probably speaking out of emotions cause a few stitches wouldn't stop a puppy from this special training.


Well, if the puppy is sufficiently traumatized that it affects his ability to work, then yes, it could put him out of commission.



> Non-civilly,


Curious, Trotter, are you an attorney...?


----------



## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

natalie818 said:


> thanks everyone!! I live in california, and i was very nice with the neighbor and immediately offered to pay the vet bills.. But he wont give me his name or address so i cant cant reach him to discuss this and he wont call me after i gave him my number and the proof of vaccinations. I have already met with an animal control officer to explain my side of the story. So after she reviewed his complaint and my input the case was closed as accidental.
> 
> I forgot to mention the neighbor is fostering this puppy lab and said he is in training to be a see and eye dog. Also that he is worth 42k and isn't sure if the puppy will still be able to get trained. The animal control officer said he is probably speaking out of emotions cause a few stitches wouldn't stop a puppy from this special training. Luckily the puppy is alive and didn't need drastic surgery.
> 
> ...


 
get a lawyer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

What did the animal control officer say you should do?


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

msvette2u said:


> Well, if the puppy is sufficiently traumatized that it affects his ability to work, then yes, it could put him out of commission.




I would think that a dog that cannot recover from an encounter with a dog would not be suitable as a seeing-eye dog. I know that my dogs have gotten stitches from other dogs and they have not become basket cases or dog aggressive. But who knows what someone might claim.

If he is fostering the dog for the seeing eye, wouldn't it be up to the owners of the dog, the organization to do the suing. 

That would be important if it goes to court and this guy claims the dog is worth x and is being trained for the seeing eye, and those claims are not substantiated. I guess it depends on whether he tries to sue in small claims court or a different court. It makes sense to get your HO insurance involved maybe. I don't know. It's too bad you cannot talk to the guy. People say a lot in the heat of a situation, and they often think it through and feel differently after the fact.


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

That may or may not be true; and yes, what happened and what they "can claim" are quite possibly two vastly different things.


----------



## angryrainbow (Jul 1, 2012)

That puppy isn't worth $42k, trained or not. 
Most fully trained service dogs top off to about $10,000 ($2,000 for pup, $2,000 for training, $6,000 for food, treats, traveling, time, vetting for 2 years).
He is taking advantage of you.

If the puppy is not able to recover and do training, then it wasn't service dog material anyways. That is why many get washed out-- because they cannot overcome a little minor negative experience (poor nerves, low threshold).

If he didn't offer his exchange of contact then I wouldn't have given him mine.. Any reasonable person would want to sort this out under the table. I think he is just trying to scare you.


----------



## Trotter (Jan 16, 2013)

msvette2u said:


> Well, if the puppy is sufficiently traumatized that it affects his ability to work, then yes, it could put him out of commission.
> 
> 
> Curious, Trotter, are you an attorney...?


Correct. Insurance coverage is my niche.


----------



## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

Where in Ca are you? I am in Orange County. If you are nearby, PM me. I am an attorney, but my paid job is law professor. I will help you for free.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

angryrainbow said:


> That puppy isn't worth $42k, trained or not.
> Most fully trained service dogs top off to about $10,000 ($2,000 for pup, $2,000 for training, $6,000 for food, treats, traveling, time, vetting for 2 years).
> He is taking advantage of you.
> 
> ...



Agreed.


----------



## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Cheyanna said:


> Where in Ca are you? I am in Orange County. If you are nearby, PM me. I am an attorney, but my paid job is law professor. I will help you for free.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


 
Outstanding offer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Natalie818 (Feb 12, 2013)

selzer said:


> What did the animal control officer say you should do?


They said I am responsible for vet bills and he could take me to small claims court. But she did roll her eyes about the 42k training for seeing eye. Her comment on that was, "the dogs alive, he still has a leg, and the bone/muscle was not damaged. So why shouldn't he able to still get training?"


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Natalie818 (Feb 12, 2013)

Cheyanna said:


> Where in Ca are you? I am in Orange County. If you are nearby, PM me. I am an attorney, but my paid job is law professor. I will help you for free.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Thanks so much!! Just sent you PM, any advice would be truly appreciated!! 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Natalie818 (Feb 12, 2013)

Animal control said dogs are considered personal property, so they are treated like damage to a car. She did say they cannot sue for trauma to the dog because of this... I just don't know if the owner can sue for his own trauma from experiencing the scary attack :/


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

> Where in Ca are you? I am in Orange County. If you are nearby, PM me. I am an attorney, but my paid job is law professor. I will help you for free.


What a nice offer from you, just had to say that 

Good luck with everything Natalie818!


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

1) Put up a fence so this doesn't happen again. It's all about protecting your dog.
2) Get the trainer on board working with ways to train against attacking. Yes, this can be done. Highly trained sport dogs who hate other dogs compete all the time and learn to ignore other dogs. Yours can too.
3) Call a lawyer. Consults are typically free
4) Get documentation from the AC officer who dismissed this as an accident.
5) Document all efforts to contact the person to pay for vet bills.


----------



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Just a side note..... Don't settle anything without a written settlement agreement. You may pay vet bills, and think it's over, then get slapped with a suit for further damages. I'd suggest you take the attorney up on his offer, and maybe draft the offer to pay for damages. Have it delivered to his residence. He already showed that he doesn't want to correspond, so let him be.
Being proactive, may help you down the road.


----------



## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

First off - the neighbor does not even OWN the dog!!!! As everyone says, many many dogs wash out of training for seeing eye/service dog....have seen several people raise them, and most of them HAVE washed out...so until the dog finishes service training, it has only the value of a puppy of that breed...

That is a super offer of Trotter to help you!!! Kudos!!!

Lee


----------



## frillint1 (Sep 2, 2010)

I agree keep records of everything. You did more than the persons dog that attacked my dog. My boy got attacked by a bullmastiff/pitt mix.It was a bad attack he latched on to the side of my dogs face and we couldn't get him to let go for at least 15 minutes then I was able to run back to my apartment and get to my door, but before opening it the dog came flying around the corner again and latched on again it was a horrible attack. I never got an apology, never asked if my dog was okay or anything. They were lucky I am a nice person. She did rush her dog to a vet even though he didn't have a scratch on him she was afraid her husband would be mad if she didn't take him. I just couldn't believe I never got an apology and even after the attack I went to then asked if their dog was okay and told them where I would walk my dog that way they could avoid that area until I moved, but they didn't even do that they walked their dog where I asked them not to and that was the only thing I asked of them. My dog couldnt relax after that and that attack did change him. That was my point of telling you my story is that attack changed my dog around other dogs and he was scared to death and was super aggressive to any dog he saw big or small. He is still a little iffy sometimes, but I have finally been able to get comfortable. 

You need to be more careful with your dog. He could really mess up another dog mentally or physically. Or your dog could go after the wrong dog. You really need to get a special trainer and take precautions.


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I would also watch your dog, so nothing bad happens. You never know what someone will do to get even or for revenge.


----------



## Trotter (Jan 16, 2013)

wolfstraum said:


> That is a super offer of Trotter to help you!!! Kudos!!!
> 
> Lee


[sound of skidding tires] WAIT! That very generous offer was made by Cheyanna in #18. I'm not licensed in California.


----------

