Animal Injury, Dog Bite Dog attacked neighbors dog..

[bikezandbridgez]

My dog attacked my neighbors dog. He got out of his kennel, jumped the fenced and played with the tiny dog like it was a toy. The neighbors dog ended up needing surgery(by owners choice) and it all came out to over $1200 dollars.

We told them we would do our best to pay, but I'm wondering since they were the ones who chose to put all that money into the dog, do I have to pay it, or am I only liable for the value of the dog?

I don't make much money and the neighbor threatened if I didn't make regular payments he would take me to court. Can he an what can they really do to me in court?

 

[presutin]

Yes, he can. Try negotiating small installment payments to take care of those expenses from the veterinarian bills.

 

[bikezandbridgez]

I don't see why it works like that though. Isn't a dog just property....why can't we just pay the value of the dog. It's not my fault that they treat it like it's their kid.

 

[Duranie]

It is not their fault your out of control dog jumped the fence and almost killed their dog. If that is what the vet bill is, you pay it or you get sued. You are the negligent party here. They are not required to put a price on the dog. If your dog bit the child, no matter how severe the injuries, you could have been stuck paying a 10k dr bill too. I agree that you cannot compare kids to pets, but if they had the dog for a while they obviously love it and want to try and save it.

 

[Theresagail]

If you think that a dog is just "property" then you should get rid of your "property", since he is caged up in a kennel and wanting to get out to ruin other peoples "property". If my dog was hurt I would do everything I could to make him better again, to me he is my family. If you really think that animals are "property" you should get rid of yours, because he is a liability and not part of your family anyway.

 

[bikezandbridgez]

I care about my dogs..and by kennel I mean a huge fenced in dog area in my back yard..where they acutually have access to a large workshop to go inside. I don't neglect my dogs, but if I not there...I can't just let them roam free. The only reason I referred to them as property because as much as I care about them, I would save a humans life over theirs. The values do not compare in my mind. Also, I apologize if to me 1200 is a lot . Situations like this can be very stressful... and I am paying them. I just can't afford it all at once. Thats how much i make in a month. Sorry if I offended anyone, but I would never consided my dog a child. It's not the same no matter what you think. At least to me it's not. I believe that this forum is now finished. Thank you for answering my questions.