I'm suing "person A" because she lost control of her dog on leash then got loose and trespassed on private property and mauled my dog who was tied to a tree while I was in the working nearby. During recovery my dog died. I looking for compensation for all medical bills etc. Court is taking place in Canada and looking to get around or prove the following: Doctrine of Scienter; plaintiff (me!) has to establish i) that the defendant was the owner of the dog; ii) that the dog had manifested a propensity to cause the type of harm occasioned; and iii) that the owner KNEW of that propensity. For Negligence, I have to establish that the owner of their dog foresaw the risk that their dog would do such harm. While I certainly believe that the dog owner should be liable and have to control their dog, I'm having a hard time proving the above. Canadian precedents would be helpful. I really don't want to lose this case!
Craig S
I really dont think that you will win this one, that happened to my cousin before and since the owner had him on a leash before, nothing was done. =)
Nibblet
have you tried to find out if there was a history of the dog attacking other dogs, or getting out of their yard? I don't think you will win your case. I think you should let your doggie rest in peace. A dog should not be chained to a tree, or to anything, so it can defend itself.
Scott M
I'm sorry I don't have any legal advise for you, and I'm sorry for you loss, but I just wanted to say that this person should be morally responsible for what happened, and it says alot about there character. I'd make it clear to them that the dog better not come back onto your property regardless of what happens.
panzzer
you should have took care of your dog.
betotron don
paralegal in usa (nancyu46@yahoo.com)
brr cold
you may not be able to prove all but if you can prove most of it good luck try to take it to Judge Judy at judgejudy.com
System D Rail
I went through a similiar situation. I was walking my greyhound on a leash, and some idiots had a dog-fighting trained pit bull loose. Throughout the attack I was beating on the dog like crazy and he never even looked at me. The dog mauled my dog, went straight for his neck, but luckily his grip slipped and he latched onto my dogs front leg. Thankfully my baby made it through all the surgeries and skin grafts to patch him up, however he has permanate damage to that leg, and cannot extend or walk on it properly. My vet bills were about 7,000 USD. I was able to get two cases going. I sued the home-owner because the dog, and the tenant owning the dog were not allowed in the lease. I got a ruling in my favor against the home owner via a lean placed on their home. He cannot sell it or take out any kind of home-owners loan until I get money from him. This also incurs interest every year that it is not paid. My lawyer and judge told us of a precedent where I could also sue for my attorney fees. It had something to do with intent to harm. I wish I remembered the details. I also have a pending case against the dog owners. The night of the attack, the owners gave me enough cash basically to just walk in the door of my emergency vet clinic. In the eyes or the law, doing this was them admitting guilt. Police reports on the attack were made and it turned out that the dog was not registered or vaccinated. Unfortunately the dead-beat owners skipped town so that case is just kind of there for now. Good luck with your case...it is a shame that things like this happen. Do you have a leash law in Canada?
La Comtesse
Might be a good idea to place this question in the legal section. The Michigan 'Koester versus VCA Animal Hospital' case springs to mind, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm mistaken about the cases' relevence. You might also like to consider cases whereby a murder conviction was sought/obtained for an owner whose dog fatally injured a human: Whipple, Tomlin, Stiles etc. You could argue their connection and legal relevence to your own case.
This might also be useful: http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/investig.htm
The above poster describes a situation whereby it could be proven that the dog had a propensity to be dangerous; it was a fighting dog. In your case, it's going to be less clear-cut, and you may have to question a number of people to discover if the dog had any history of aggression.
Kazzled
Very simple to establish i) as the defendant would have to have come over to you when the whole ordeal occured. Did you guys swap numbers and or contact details? If by doing so, that person agreed that they were responsible for the animal at that time and gave you their contact details in response for the issue that occured. The reason we have leash laws is because of the fact that any animal (wether it be a normal occurance or a spontanious one) has the ability to become vicious at any time therefore it is our responsibility as their owners to have them on a lead at all times to prevent the animal from having the ability to attack, wether it be attacking a dog or a child. If it had've been a different scenario lets say, with a child dying and not a dog, there would be no fighting in the case. The owners would be fined and the dog put to sleep (not that im saying i agree with it as i am against putting down animals except in sickness cases). I think you should have lots of photos of the area the attack occured and the photos of your dog with the wounds caused by the accused dog. I think you should stress the point that you had done the right thing by keeping you dog tied up securely while you worked and that your pet died because another owner could not control her dog and therefore did NOT obey the law.
Orignal From: Dog biting another dog... Going to court and need help!?
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