Just got back from the ER for wife and dog...both were attacked by pit (1 Viewer)

[General Malaise]

Have they killed the weapon dog yet?

 

[Gianni Verscotchie]

Got Asher home and we had to take his bandage off this morning. My heart broke seeing how bad the damage looked. He has lines of staples in 3 different place and a tube drain coming out of the bottom line of staples. We have to give him 5 different medications and use a sleeve of one of my t-shirts around his neck to catch the fluid that drains from the tube. He's resting, but definitely in a lot of pain.

I took him for a very short walk before we removed his bandages this morning, and he froze when I turned left from our house, as the attach happened at the corner of our house/street. So there is obvious mental & emotional stress that we will have to work on as well.

So sad and so pissed off. I'm just grateful we still have our boy. :tears:

Sucks.

Just so you know your rights, the dog is considered property and you are entitled to a property damage claim for his medical bills, any loss of your time for his care - like transport to the vet. Pet medical supplies, etc.

Your wife is entitled to her medical bills and pain and suffering from her injuries. It didn't sound like she would have a lingering injury, but she may have a permanent injury in the form of a scar from the bite. Might even need scar revision surgery.

I would approach the dog owner and request his homeowners insurance name and policy number. If he cooperates, call the ins co and file a claim. If he doesn't, call a lawyer. They usually work on a contingency so you won't have to pay any lawyer fees out of pocket.

Hope your dog and wife heal soon.

If his dog was not added to his homeowners will they tell him to pound sand?

Yes. Unfortunately.

Ugh, I assume this happens often?

People with pits or other dogs on the "list" probably do not get the dog added as the homeowner doesn't want to have his insurance increase?

More often than not.

Some insurance companies incorporate animal exclusions in all of their policies.

Some offer it as an option for an additional premium.

Some will not write a policy if the dog is on the "list".

It's not too different from trying to buy car insurance when you have an 18 year old son in the house with two DUIs and multiple wrecks. It's high risk and the ins co's don't want that.

 

[Jobber]

If the homeowner's insurance doesn't cover their dog, what options are there for the victim?

 

[AcerFC]

If the homeowner's insurance doesn't cover their dog, what options are there for the victim?

go after the guy himself.I imagine

 

[Gawain]

I can't have my wages garnishied [/fletch]

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I'll answer the question, "Why own a Pitt bull (or similar breed)?". The simple answer is because somebody needs to!

I've owned a lab/pit mix (Raja) and currently own a Presa Canario (Stella). I've had and currently have a lab, too.

I didn't choose to get these type of dogs. Raja was given to us by close friends who already had too many dogs. Raja was taken from an abusive home. She was kept in a box under a deck and weighed only 35 lbs when she was rescued. Her natural weight was 85-90lbs. Raja was probably the best dog I've ever had.

Stella- my next door neighbor passed a few years ago and 6 months later, his squatting ### nephew moves into his house. A few more months go by and I find out he has bred his female Presa. Another two months go by and he gives us Stella. I was dead set against it. My wife however, doesn't ever listen to me and took the dog. Now even though I don't want the dog (for reasons I'll go into later), after spending the next month caring for her, feeding, shots, daily baths from coming home to a poo covered dog, the accidents inside and Stella sleeping on my chest every single night, my wife was ready to listen to me. However I was attached to the dog now.

So why? Well, because they're alive. Somebody has to care for these dogs. If not me, then who? It's not as important as say adopting a child, but I don't have the resources to do that. I can however trade the companionship of these dogs for the care I can provide.

Stella is a pure bred Presa Canario. I would only recommend this dog to a strong man , who knows dogs and won't be intimidated by a strong willed, STRONG dog. She is great with kids but not so great with other dogs. Stella just wants to play, but the moment the other dog decides they don't feel like playing and get aggressive, it's go time. My dog never initiates things but boy does she know how to finish things.

Even though she has never once been aggressive to my kids, Sella is never with my kids by herself, for even a moment. She will never be outside a confined area w/o her leash. When it comes down to it, I am the only one who can control her.

Now who else is going to be responsible enough to make sure she is properly cared for and trained? I cant just drop her off at the pound. I can't give her up to just anybody who thinks it'll be "cool" to have a dog like this.

So my answer on "why " is only because of circumstance and experience. I have the will and experience to properly care for a enormous breed like my Presa. I didn't get her or Raja cause I thought it would be cool or needed a working dog.

These dogs are out there and it's better for the dogs and the general public that I have her.

- -I apologize for grammatical errors and poor formatting, I've been writing this response over the past two hours , between appointments and all on my tiny iPhone.

 

[Bucky86]

When I was a kid there was a yellow lab that lived across the street. One day I was playing in the backyard and the house keeper accidentally let the dog out the little ******* and it tried to attack me. Luckily I wasn't bit.

 

[Otis]

I'll answer the question, "Why own a Pitt bull (or similar breed)?". The simple answer is because somebody needs to!

I've owned a lab/pit mix (Raja) and currently own a Presa Canario (Stella). I've had and currently have a lab, too.

I didn't choose to get these type of dogs. Raja was given to us by close friends who already had too many dogs. Raja was taken from an abusive home. She was kept in a box under a deck and weighed only 35 lbs when she was rescued. Her natural weight was 85-90lbs. Raja was probably the best dog I've ever had.

Stella- my next door neighbor passed a few years ago and 6 months later, his squatting ### nephew moves into his house. A few more months go by and I find out he has bred his female Presa. Another two months go by and he gives us Stella. I was dead set against it. My wife however, doesn't ever listen to me and took the dog. Now even though I don't want the dog (for reasons I'll go into later), after spending the next month caring for her, feeding, shots, daily baths from coming home to a poo covered dog, the accidents inside and Stella sleeping on my chest every single night, my wife was ready to listen to me. However I was attached to the dog now.

So why? Well, because they're alive. Somebody has to care for these dogs. If not me, then who? It's not as important as say adopting a child, but I don't have the resources to do that. I can however trade the companionship of these dogs for the care I can provide.

Stella is a pure bred Presa Canario. I would only recommend this dog to a strong man , who knows dogs and won't be intimidated by a strong willed, STRONG dog. She is great with kids but not so great with other dogs. Stella just wants to play, but the moment the other dog decides they don't feel like playing and get aggressive, it's go time. My dog never initiates things but boy does she know how to finish things.

Even though she has never once been aggressive to my kids, Sella is never with my kids by herself, for even a moment. She will never be outside a confined area w/o her leash. When it comes down to it, I am the only one who can control her.

Now who else is going to be responsible enough to make sure she is properly cared for and trained? I cant just drop her off at the pound. I can't give her up to just anybody who thinks it'll be "cool" to have a dog like this.

So my answer on "why " is only because of circumstance and experience. I have the will and experience to properly care for a enormous breed like my Presa. I didn't get her or Raja cause I thought it would be cool or needed a working dog.

These dogs are out there and it's better for the dogs and the general public that I have her.

- -I apologize for grammatical errors and poor formatting, I've been writing this response over the past two hours , between appointments and all on my tiny iPhone.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. But GL with all that.

And cool on people squatting and breeding dangerous animals. Sounds like that guy is well on his way to teaching a course on responsibility.



Hope your animals don't hurt anyone.

 

[Gianni Verscotchie]

When I was a kid there was a yellow lab that lived across the street. One day I was playing in the backyard and the house keeper accidentally let the dog out the little ******* and it tried to attack me. Luckily I wasn't bit.

Weren't your little racist dogs harassing some minority in an elevator last month?

Whatever happened there?

 

[Otis]

I would really have to restrain myself from not going after the owner of the dog with a lead pipe if this happened to one of my pets.

And imagine it happened to one of your children instead. I'd honestly never recover from this, and might well end up in prison. Why are people so, so dumb?

 

[Otis]

Guys listen, if I don't take in and make pets of the laser-shooting landsharks,who will??

 

[Hawks64]

I would really have to restrain myself from not going after the owner of the dog with a lead pipe if this happened to one of my pets.

And imagine it happened to one of your children instead. I'd honestly never recover from this, and might well end up in prison. Why are people so, so dumb?

Arrogance. MY dog would never do that because I trained it and it won't revert to it's instincts.

 

[Otis]

I would really have to restrain myself from not going after the owner of the dog with a lead pipe if this happened to one of my pets.

And imagine it happened to one of your children instead. I'd honestly never recover from this, and might well end up in prison. Why are people so, so dumb?

Arrogance. MY dog would never do that because I trained it and it won't revert to it's instincts.

I'd like to see a Venn diagram showing how coextensive the population of pitbull owners is with the population of people who ride motorcycles without helmets and people who have neck or knuckle tattoos.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

I would really have to restrain myself from not going after the owner of the dog with a lead pipe if this happened to one of my pets.

And imagine it happened to one of your children instead. I'd honestly never recover from this, and might well end up in prison. Why are people so, so dumb?

Arrogance. MY dog would never do that because I trained it and it won't revert to it's instincts.

I'd like to see a Venn diagram showing how coextensive the population of pitbull owners is with the population of people who ride motorcycles without helmets and people who have neck or knuckle tattoos.

A venn diagram of people that own pitbulls and people that think there is nothing wrong with Honey Boo-Boo's mom.

 

[Card Trader]

If you own one of these things you are a selfish moron who doesn't mind rolling the dice on someone else's life. Why can't pits just attack their owners? The world would be so much better.

 

[Zow]

I would really have to restrain myself from not going after the owner of the dog with a lead pipe if this happened to one of my pets.

Sounds totally rational.

 

[shadyridr]

I would really have to restrain myself from not going after the owner of the dog with a lead pipe if this happened to one of my pets.

s long as the peaceful pit is chained up first

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

I would really have to restrain myself from not going after the owner of the dog with a lead pipe if this happened to one of my pets.

Sounds totally rational.

I'm allowed.

 

[drummer]

We had some renters next door to us that had pits who would get out and run around unleashed all the time. The pits would break the wooden gate to get out. One of them attacked another neighbors dog, and I hit him with a bat several times before he let go. The local animal authourity wouldn't do anything about taking the dogs away. They got out once again, and that time I had enough.

I went to City Hall, walked to the code enforcement desk, and demanded they do something about it. I called animal control from there, and they heard their excuses. I wanted to put the onus on the landlord, and after they hearing my conversation with animal control, the code enforcement people came up with the solution of the landlord having to comply with the local laws and compliance, which would cost her a lot of money. She failed to comply, and the animal control wound up taking the dogs away and eventually euthanizing them.

I hope everything is ok (haven't read the whole thread yet) but I would go to City Hall and demand that the owner of the dog comply with the local ordinance if they have one. The landlord wound up evicting the neighbors for a lot of other reasons, and she knows that we won't put up with any of her tenants who cause trouble, because she knows now it will come out of her pocketbook.

 

[fasteddie_21]

So, basically what I've been told is that my choices are:

1) talk to the guy to see if he'll give us his home owner's insurance info and go that route

or

2) small claims court.

Awesome. So both options suck. Suggestions?

 

[chet]

So, basically what I've been told is that my choices are:

1) talk to the guy to see if he'll give us his home owner's insurance info and go that route

or

2) small claims court.

Awesome. So both options suck. Suggestions?

Who gave you those options? I assume you talked to a lawyer who didn't want the case. Do you have any friends who are also lawyers who could contact this guy on your behalf for no charge?

 

[DA RAIDERS]

So, basically what I've been told is that my choices are:

1) talk to the guy to see if he'll give us his home owner's insurance info and go that route

or

2) small claims court.

Awesome. So both options suck. Suggestions?

have you talked to him since the event happened? i'm taking option 1 with a lawyer and reverting to option 2 if he tells me to f off. option 3, put the dog down yourself

 

[fasteddie_21]

So, basically what I've been told is that my choices are:

1) talk to the guy to see if he'll give us his home owner's insurance info and go that route

or

2) small claims court.

Awesome. So both options suck. Suggestions?

Who gave you those options? I assume you talked to a lawyer who didn't want the case. Do you have any friends who are also lawyers who could contact this guy on your behalf for no charge?

Sadly, correct. And I do have one, but he's out-of-state.

And no, haven't seen the dude before or since. You'd think he'd come by and check on the wife and dog. POS couldn't be bothered to even do that....

 

[DA RAIDERS]

lawyer

 

[chet]

So, basically what I've been told is that my choices are:

1) talk to the guy to see if he'll give us his home owner's insurance info and go that route

or

2) small claims court.

Awesome. So both options suck. Suggestions?

Who gave you those options? I assume you talked to a lawyer who didn't want the case. Do you have any friends who are also lawyers who could contact this guy on your behalf for no charge?

Sadly, correct. And I do have one, but he's out-of-state.

And no, haven't seen the dude before or since. You'd think he'd come by and check on the wife and dog. POS couldn't be bothered to even do that....

If I were in your shoes, I'd do what I could to make the guys life more difficult. I'd hire a lawyer to write a threatening letter to start and I'd go down the path of suing him. Of course, you might be out of pocket following this course.

 

[culdeus]

So, basically what I've been told is that my choices are:

1) talk to the guy to see if he'll give us his home owner's insurance info and go that route

or

2) small claims court.

Awesome. So both options suck. Suggestions?

Get a better lawyer.

What sort of $$$ are you out at this point on meds?

 

[Apple Jack]

So, basically what I've been told is that my choices are:

1) talk to the guy to see if he'll give us his home owner's insurance info and go that route

or

2) small claims court.

Awesome. So both options suck. Suggestions?

Who gave you those options? I assume you talked to a lawyer who didn't want the case. Do you have any friends who are also lawyers who could contact this guy on your behalf for no charge?

Sadly, correct. And I do have one, but he's out-of-state.

And no, haven't seen the dude before or since. You'd think he'd come by and check on the wife and dog. POS couldn't be bothered to even do that....

If he hasn't followed up to check on your wife's and dog's welfare, get a lawyer and take him for every last penny possible.

 

[sublimeone]

Let's say FastEddie is unable to get these dogs removed from his neighborhood. Is there a safe, humane and effective way to maybe toss a special 'treat' over the fence that will eliminate the problem?

 

[fasteddie_21]

So, basically what I've been told is that my choices are:

1) talk to the guy to see if he'll give us his home owner's insurance info and go that route

or

2) small claims court.

Awesome. So both options suck. Suggestions?

Get a better lawyer.

What sort of $$$ are you out at this point on meds?

Dog alone, $1700+ thus far. Still waiting on ER bill...

It seems that the 3 lawyers I've contacted don't think it's worth their time to take the case, because my wife wasn't injured 'serious enough'.

Another couple of thoughts I've had:

1) The arraignment for the other owner is in a couple of weeks...wait to see what the judgement is and if the judge orders reimbursement (?)

2) File a claim against my insurance company, but it wouldn't count against us, right?

So pissed and frustrated at this point.... :(

 

[culdeus]

So, basically what I've been told is that my choices are:

1) talk to the guy to see if he'll give us his home owner's insurance info and go that route

or

2) small claims court.

Awesome. So both options suck. Suggestions?

Get a better lawyer.

What sort of $$$ are you out at this point on meds?

Dog alone, $1700+ thus far. Still waiting on ER bill...

It seems that the 3 lawyers I've contacted don't think it's worth their time to take the case, because my wife wasn't injured 'serious enough'.

Another couple of thoughts I've had:

1) The arraignment for the other owner is in a couple of weeks...wait to see what the judgement is and if the judge orders reimbursement (?)

2) File a claim against my insurance company, but it wouldn't count against us, right?

So pissed and frustrated at this point.... :(

I think you could certainly file on your own homeowners, but you will be under your deductible and therefore not worth it.

 

[Ned]

Maybe I missed it...... You haven't knocked on his door to talk to him?

 

[Joe Summer]

Sue him in small claims court.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Why small claims? Why not a real court?

 

[fasteddie_21]

Maybe I missed it...... You haven't knocked on his door to talk to him?

Nope. Not yet. What would doing that do? The guy has obviously shown a lack of concern for both my wife's and dog's well being, since he hasn't had the common decency to inquire as to how they are recovering.

And I don't see how knocking on his door helps me.

 

[fasteddie_21]

Why small claims? Why not a real court?

I'm 3 for 3 regarding lawyers who have turned down taking the case. Wife wasn't hurt 'serious enough'. So, so far, this guy has not had a single thing happen to him. His arraingment is in a couple of weeks, so maybe the judge orders restitution? I have no idea how this works or what options I have other than small claims court...and I hear that is bad at getting money back.

Love this system!

 

[sbonomo]

Sue him in small claims court.

problem is collecting. Even if you win there is not a high likelyhood of actually collecting anything.

 

[matttyl]

Maybe I missed it...... You haven't knocked on his door to talk to him?

Nope. Not yet. What would doing that do? The guy has obviously shown a lack of concern for both my wife's and dog's well being, since he hasn't had the common decency to inquire as to how they are recovering.

And I don't see how knocking on his door helps me.

Does he know where you live? Sorry if I missed that, but would he know how to get a hold of you if he wanted to?

 

[fasteddie_21]

Maybe I missed it...... You haven't knocked on his door to talk to him?

Nope. Not yet. What would doing that do? The guy has obviously shown a lack of concern for both my wife's and dog's well being, since he hasn't had the common decency to inquire as to how they are recovering.

And I don't see how knocking on his door helps me.

Does he know where you live? Sorry if I missed that, but would he know how to get a hold of you if he wanted to?

Seeing as it happened, basically, one step in front of my house and he saw me coming from it, I'd say yes.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Why small claims? Why not a real court?

I'm 3 for 3 regarding lawyers who have turned down taking the case. Wife wasn't hurt 'serious enough'. So, so far, this guy has not had a single thing happen to him. His arraingment is in a couple of weeks, so maybe the judge orders restitution? I have no idea how this works or what options I have other than small claims court...and I hear that is bad at getting money back.

Love this system!

If you are approaching lawyers who handle dog bite cases and 3 have declined to represent you, it seems likely your case is not economically worthwhile from the perspective of the civil justice system. In general "the system" (civil) works pretty well, but is not very good at settling small stakes disputes between neighbors. Unfortunately, the criminal justice system is also not really designed to address neighbor disputes.

 

[thecatch]

Sue him in small claims court.

problem is collecting. Even if you win there is not a high likelyhood of actually collecting anything.

He can garnish wages and even possibly put a lien on the guy's house or car once he gets a judgment. It's not worth a lawyer's time to go through that whole process from start to finish for a percentage of $5,000 (or whatever the number is), but FE does have some collection options if he wants to pursue it.

 

[Ned]

Maybe I missed it...... You haven't knocked on his door to talk to him?

Nope. Not yet. What would doing that do? The guy has obviously shown a lack of concern for both my wife's and dog's well being, since he hasn't had the common decency to inquire as to how they are recovering.

And I don't see how knocking on his door helps me.

Does he know where you live? Sorry if I missed that, but would he know how to get a hold of you if he wanted to?

Seeing as it happened, basically, one step in front of my house and he saw me coming from it, I'd say yes.

I know I'd want the guy to come forward on his own too, but I don't see this as a good reason to just assume option 1 isn't going to work. Assuming no lawyers are going to want the case... are you prepared to eat the costs just because he didn't initiate? He could very well have the policy to cover this, but is sitting on his hands hoping it all just magically goes away.

 

[IC FBGCav]

Sue him in small claims court.

problem is collecting. Even if you win there is not a high likelyhood of actually collecting anything.

He can garnish wages and even possibly put a lien on the guy's house or car once he gets a judgment. It's not worth a lawyer's time to go through that whole process from start to finish for a percentage of $5,000 (or whatever the number is), but FE does have some collection options if he wants to pursue it.

Did this for work.......we made a logo for a guy who was starting a company. He never paid an owed us 500.00. I filed a small claims case against him personally and won. He still did not pay. After two more rounds paperwork through the courts that he didn't respond too. I did a Writ of Executions and the sherrif went to his house and was prepared to enter the premise and take items of value to auction off on the court house steps to pay the debt. Our total collected with interest collected was 730+ dollars with interest and fees plus he had to pay the sherrif 30% of the judgement too. He wrote a check to the sherrif on the spot so the sherrif did not have to auction off items.

 

[fasteddie_21]

Well, some good news.

I contacted our insurance and they were extremely helpful. It seems that we CAN make a claim on their insurance. They explained how the process works and what I need to do. She even offered to get a copy of the police report and have their investigators get his policy number.

Well, that's good news.

 

[Bucky86]

Well, some good news.

I contacted our insurance and they were extremely helpful. It seems that we CAN make a claim on their insurance. They explained how the process works and what I need to do. She even offered to get a copy of the police report and have their investigators get his policy number.

Well, that's good news.

Amazing what insurance companies will do so they don't have to come out of pocket.

 

[shadyridr]

Well, some good news.

I contacted our insurance and they were extremely helpful. It seems that we CAN make a claim on their insurance. They explained how the process works and what I need to do. She even offered to get a copy of the police report and have their investigators get his policy number.

Well, that's good news.

thats pretty much what you should have done along. Let them handle it. I wouldnt bother exploring any other areas.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

Strange that an attorney wouldn't take the case. Seems pretty fairly easy to win. Maybe no money in it? Do you have an attorney friend who could guide you on what to do next?

 

[shadyridr]

Strange that an attorney wouldn't take the case. Seems pretty fairly easy to win. Maybe no money in it? Do you have an attorney friend who could guide you on what to do next?

because its cut and dry for insurance to handle. Thats the point of homeowners insurance

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Strange that an attorney wouldn't take the case. Seems pretty fairly easy to win. Maybe no money in it? Do you have an attorney friend who could guide you on what to do next?

because its cut and dry for insurance to handle. Thats the point of homeowners insurance

Is there any way I can sue you?

 

[shadyridr]

Strange that an attorney wouldn't take the case. Seems pretty fairly easy to win. Maybe no money in it? Do you have an attorney friend who could guide you on what to do next?

because its cut and dry for insurance to handle. Thats the point of homeowners insurance

Is there any way I can sue you?

PM ned Ryerson for details.

 

[Otis]

Yay pet animals!!