joto

We are very worried that we are going to get sued (national sport of America). Our rottie/shepherd nipped the cable guy today. She didn't break the skin on his hand, so no visible damage. She was behaving ok with him, until he started to leave. She does bark at everyone that comes here until she gets to know them and does sound aggresive, but she has never bitten anyone before. She is up to date on all shots. We haven't had a visit from animal control yet and I hope we don't. Has anyone else been in this situation & what was done about it?

TruBrit

did the cable guy say he'd report it?

joto

He didn't say he would report it, but you just never know what peoples reactions might be. He was young, probably in his early 20's. His parents or his workmates might tell him to go ahead and sue us.

TruBrit

guess you are insured if the worst comes to the worst?

she didn't break his skin so hopefully all is well.

NC Penguin

I guess one thing you could do to prevent such incidents occuring again is to put your dog in a separate room when you have visitors like that.

I was at a get together today at a neighbor's and they didn't allow their dog in the house whilst we and other neighbors were there. It could have been to stop the dog biting someone. Plus, there were young children present.

hatfield1

Well I think you’re probably ok. But we also keep the dog separated from people when they come over. Close friends and family seem to be ok. But she is a pit/beagle that looks more pit and it puts some people off, especially anyone with kids. Also she just doesn’t like some folks so why run the risk you know.

krizzy

One of my neighbours dogs killed another neighbours dog and they did not sue or ask for the dog to be put down...the dog that bite owners offered to pay the vet bill to try save the other dog...then got my neighbour a new dog...

Maz

Far more of a reasonable and rational approach.

anabella

Just keep your fingers crossed and pray for the best.. and if you are worried about it happening again you might want to consider getting an insurance that covers it, I don't know what the cost is but it might be worth your peace of mind..

norfolkbroad

This isn't exactly the same situation but last year we were out walking our dog as is our wont up in an area on a ridge here in Colorado Springs where dogs can officially be off leash. It's not a dog park but miles and miles of trails. Unfortunately, people on bikes also like to use these trails.

Anyway, since our dog is a herding dog, he liked to chase or herd bikes. Just ran with them but didn't touch them. One of the cyclists decided to kick him even though we said he was okay and wouldn't hurt him. Cyclist then rode off. A bit later in the walk we encountered same cyclist. Doggie was a bit further ahead around the corner so we didn't exactly see what happened but the cyclist fell off his bike. We suspect that he was trying to kick him again and knew for a fact that he hadn't attacked him, as he claimed. He waited for us in the parking area - he'd written down every number plate of the vehicles there so he'd know exactly who we were. My boyfriend gave him his business card and asked the cyclist to call him when he'd calmed down a bit. By this time he was raving.

About a week later we got a visit from the animal control people and were taken to court. The DA was very nice, understood exactly what had happened and agreed that dogs and bikes don't mix and since it was a leash free area the cyclist not exactly guilt free. However, there had been a complaint so she couldn't just forget about it. Long and the short of it was that we had to plea bargain having a dog off leash (even though it was allowed there) and paid $50 in court costs. The dog was on probation for 6 months and since no further incidents happened the record "went away".

Jerseygirl

As a dog lover I think dogs should always be on a leash unless they are on private property...for both the dog's sake and the public.

gamequeen88

i think that's why i will round to walking when i saw the dogs coming.
i used to bited by dog and i think i will afraid of that for at least 10 years.

katesbackagain

I was attacked by my neighbor's evil Chow in 2003. The dog escaped from their apartment, it was a completely unprovoked, vicious attack and I had no insurance at the time. I called animal control on them and demanded that they pay for my medical treatment, but all I got from them was a lousy $50. They avoided my calls and ignored me after that.

I never pursued it further as I'd only been in the US for a couple of months and didn't have the money or the energy to be able to sue them, but I should have. I had visible wounds which are now quite nasty scars and I could have taken them to the cleaners if I had chased after them. The hospital that treated my injuries advised me to take pictures just in case. All animal control did was take a report and as the dog had no history of violent behaviour (almost everyone in the complex was terrified of this dog and some had even been physically harmed by it but no-one reported it) so the owners were free to keep it.

If your dog didn't break the skin, the cable man can't really do much to you. He might report you to animal control, but without visible damage, I don't see how he can sue you. He can plead mental trauma, but I suspect that's about it.

hatfield1

We have a neighbor who has a bloody great mutt; he must be 80-90 lb. They have no fence and this dog just roams the yard barking at everyone and anything. Well now the post man/lady will no longer deliver their mail. Same goes for UPS and such. Kids have to walk on the other side of the street when passing. Anyone with a dog (on a leash) has to do the same. I have asked her to put the thing on a leash if she’s just going to let it out side all day. She will not and insists that the dog is nice and just wants to be friends. I’m mean what can you do? Just hope she keeps up her heavy drinking and her liver will fail and then someone will take that bloody dog away.

Sally

No one can be totally sure what a dog's reaction to strangers will be so I think that's sensible. It amazed me that at the elementary school here people would bring their dogs to the gates and let kids crowd around them to pet them when school came out.