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I won't bore you with all of the details, but basically the dog that bit my son is no stranger to animal control and has sent at least one other person to the emergency room, also during a completely unprovoked attack. Just after the dog was released for quarantine by animal control the last attack, the owners brought him to a park and left him unmuzzled and unsupervised right where children were playing, which is where my son was attacked.
The authorities have been contacted and things are moving along there regarding the recent attack on my son, but I'd also like to seek legal advice and possibly civil remedies.
Concern for the safety of others doesn't seem to be a priority for these dog owners, so perhaps concern for their checkbook will have more of an impact. They seem to need some kind of wake up call before the dog eventually maims or kills someone.
I'm not looking for legal advice, but for tips on how to find a good personal injury attorney, and any other resources, suggestions or tips an what else I can do. I want to do everything I possibly can to make sure this dog won't have the opportunity to attack anyone else ever again.
He wont be scarred for life though which is good news.It will be good news if he isn't.
I was in a bad situation with a guard dog, trained to attack. Fortunately, I believe that dog understood the muzzle end of a 357 caliber revolver, and he kept a 'friendly distance' while I manipulated my exit. Scarred for life? I haven't forgotten, and don't expect that I ever will. Fortunately, the dog and I were both unscathed in that incident. The owner was indifferent!
There's no excuse for human negligence.
A single bite is unacceptable. Let alone repeat attacks. The only consideration is whether the 'bite' was intentional. Many people 'play' with a large dog and get small punctures. Dogs have strong jaws and quick head movements. A quick turn of the head can cause a small puncture.
But any repeat bite, regrip, etc, means the dog had intention.
In this case, given what I've read, the owners were at fault. Personally, I drop any dog that draws blood with intent. Call it what you may, drop, put down, kill, etc.
Many people 'play' with a large dog and get small punctures.
I don't know all of the details in the first incident but with my son he was just running along a pathway and the dog jumped up and lunged at him. The only thing he did wrong was to come within a few feet of the dog. Evidently the owners had told some of the other people at the park not to make any sudden moves around the dog, but they didn't tell us that.
An attorney I talked to today said warning people about your dog at a public park wasn't a great defense. In fact it just underscored the fact that the owners knew the dog was a danger. The attorney said since the dog doesn't own the park and neither do the people who own him, they had no legal right to put constraints on other people's normal activities at the park to suit their dog's temperment.
[edited by: Jane_Doe at 2:48 am (utc) on June 21, 2006]
Thing that got me was the dog warden came and made it look like it was my fault - and I didn't have my dog licensed at the time.
I would definitely follow up with a lawyer on that, do your neighborhood a favor.
I agree. I get asked if my boxer is 'safe' to play with. Knowing my dog, I know that's he's 'safe' to play with. He's 100 pounds of puppy. Well-trained, hand-signal obediant, verbal-command obediant, eager and strong 'puppy'.
If I had to warn anyone, child, adult, elder, about a threat, I wouldn't allow my 'pup' near them. It's the owner's responsibility, not the dog's.
I would think they either acknowledge the bite occurred or not. By putting the dog in quarantine to me that means they know the attack occurred. The viscious dog and dangerous dog laws where we live are state laws so I don't see why what county the bite occurred in would matter since it was still in the same state. The ranger for the park is writing up a report but the animal control officer has not received it yet, so he said that might make him look into matters closer.
The owners apparently acted very cooperative and concerned to him when he investigated the incident. They even called him to ask what measure they could take to prevent an incident like this from occurring again! (How about not leaving the dog unsupervised at public parks for starters?) Plus, they told him about some other issues their family is going through right now, so he seemed sympathetic to them.
So their dog attacked my son and they wouldn't even take the dog home from the park after the attack. They yelled at me after the attack for telling them to take the dog out of the park. The wife even swore at me. My son is still on pain medication and has trouble walking.
And now they have the sympathy of the animal control officer and he's trying to bend the law to to not take any restrictions against them or the dog.
So what am I doing wrong here?
They even called him to ask wht measure they could take to prevent an incident like this from occurring again!
If you aren't getting anywhere with local law enforcement (have you checked to see if you can file a police report?), I suggest getting the local media involved. They usually love dog attack stories and being able to show public officials not doing their jobs. But make sure you go to the media first. If the dog owners get there first, then the story likely gets a "Gentle Dog Persecuted" spin.
I concur.
We have just banned pit bulls in this province. I completely agree with the ban.
If the dog owners get there first, then the story likely gets a "Gentle Dog Persecuted" spin.
I think the dog owners obviously got to animal control first and must have acted a lot more responsible to them than they did towards the first victim, my family and some of the concerned people at the park that they also had sharp words with.
Unfortunately, I suspect their behavior now is a reaction based on a chat with their insurance agent or attorney rather than any genuine or long lasting concern for the safety of others.
They even called him to ask what measure they could take to prevent an incident like this from occurring again!
Um ... a CRATE? a LEASH? How about: Leave the dog HOME?
This sounds more and more like misdirected predatory behavior. If a dog can't (or hasn't been taught to) discriminate between appropriate outlets for prey drive and a CHILD it has no business being loose around children (or cats, or people or ...) DUH!
If the county won't do anything, it still sounds like you may have some civil recourse. Hit these idiots in the pocketbook - hard!
I'm quite sure this is emotionally draining so I hope you know that we all support you in whatever actions you take.
I'm quite sure this is emotionally draining so I hope you know that we all support you in whatever actions you take.
But I think smoothing things over is for actions like not returning a borrowed lawn mower. I'm pretty good at letting things like that not bother me. But in this case I feel like I have to do whatever I possibly can to protect my kids and anyone else from ever getting bit again. My son is older and managed to get away relatively quickly. The next kids may not get away as fast, or might get bit in the face or neck. I remember seeing a girl around eight bending down and petting the dog that day. What if he had decided to bite her?
