Dog Problem, Am I repsonsible?

[jrosler04]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section! I really dont' know where to post it!

I rehomed a chihuahua who was given to us in January..I rehoomed her about 7 weeks ago. (march 12th to be exact) The lady paid me 50 for the dog, and i haven't heard from her since then. She did call about 2 weeks ago & left a message on my answering machine, I returned the call,left a message, and called back about 2 or 3 times, never got an answer. I am in college full time & I work full time, so I totally forgot about it!

Today, I get this call (at 8 am!) from her, she is asking me who is responsible for the dog. I told her that she was, it had been in her care for almost 8 weeks now!

Apparently the dog killed one of her toy chihuahua puppies last night, and she seems to feel that I should pay for the puppy killed, as well as emotional damage.

I am personally rather confused by how I should be held responsible about a dog that I rehomed over a month ago. and especially when the dog was not supervised.

She first told me that she got home late to find her puppy torn to shreds, then she later said that she was on the front porch, and heard the commotion, went inside, and there was her baby torn to shreds. Regardless of what happened, I wasn't there, I have no clue...

Am I responsible for paying for the puppy that was killed by a dog she bought & paid for??

Thanks in advance.

 

[Duranie]

She owns the dog now. This is not your problem. Stop taking her phone calls and emails.

 

[jrosler04]

Ok, thanks! She told me that her attorney said it was my fault, because I obviously knew the dog was violent beforehand. Even though this was the sweetest dog I have ever met! I refused all calls from her after yesterday morning, she left several voicemails, but I did not return her call, we were waiting on her lawyer to call us first!

Thanks for your help!

 

[Duranie]

I still do not see how you are liable. Personally I would not talk to her attorney.

If its anyones fault its hers. If she left the dog unsupervised witn another puppy.

I have no idea how she can claim this is your fault.

 

[seniorjudge]

...I rehomed a chihuahua who was given to us in January..I rehoomed her about 7 weeks ago....

What's a "rehomed"?

What's a "rehoomed"?

Are these new politically correct words for something I should know about?

 

[Duranie]

Rehoming is the same thing as adoption. A small fee is given for an animal rather than all out selling it.

This woman paid 50.00 for a chihuahua which is a steal. What the heck doe she expect?

 

[jrosler04]

Ok, well that definately makes me feel MUCH better!

They were supposed to contact me today!

This dog, along with another chihuahua, and a miniature dachshund were all given to me from a puppy mill situation (breeding dogs, small cages, over 70 dogs in a small barn), we took them in to find them a new home where they would be spayed/neutered & properly cared for.

We kept the mini. D (goes great with my 2 great danes! LOL), and The other chihuahua has a great home being spoilt, I THOUGHT this was a good home for this one, but apparently I was wrong!!

Oh, and when I typed "rehoomed" that was simply a mistake, sorry.

We do a small amount of small animal rescue in our home, mostly dealing with exotic "rodents' (chinchillas, ferrets, sugar gliders, degus, etc) and we bring them in & find them new, better homes. This chihuahua just happened to need a new place....


The reason she feels that I am liable, is because I sold her an aggressive dog, and she believes that I knew the dog would do this, and that I knew she was aggressive! Which, she lived with us and we have 2 great danes, the mini. Doxie, as well as 2 other mixed breeds, and she never showed the least bit of aggression, she was here for 3 weeks!

 

[calalily]

You could google your state laws on selling animals and see what the law says there.
http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/buying.html Try this site and see if it has the information you need.

 

[Duranie]

Calalily, thatlink was helpful. I still think this woman is off the hook because she appeared to have no knowledge the dog was dangerous.

On a personal note, Chihuhauas are wierd dogs. They are VERY protective and require alot of attention. The dog probably killed the puppy because of competition. My neighbors have a chihuahua and it is not friendly. My BFF has 2 of them, and one is mean and beats up on the other one. They might be cute and cuddy but they are not the friendliest of dogs.

Read the above link. If you honestly had no knowledge that the dog was capable of doing this, I do not see how you can be held liable.

 

[calalily]

Some other things to consider:
1. Did the new owner ever contact you and say there were problems with the dog before the incident cited in your post? (What was the message on the answering machine you mentioned?)
2. Do you have documentation for the date the new owner took possesion of the dog?(Cancled check, receipt, contract, anything that would show she had possesion for 8 weeks before the incident). Take that documentation to court.
3. How many dogs does the new owner have total?
4. Does the new owner have proof it was the new dog that attacked her teacup and not one of the other dogs? (Since she wasn't there how can she prove it was that dog?

 

[jrosler04]

Some other things to consider:
1. Did the new owner ever contact you and say there were problems with the dog before the incident cited in your post? (What was the message on the answering machine you mentioned?)
2. Do you have documentation for the date the new owner took possesion of the dog?(Cancled check, receipt, contract, anything that would show she had possesion for 8 weeks before the incident). Take that documentation to court.
3. How many dogs does the new owner have total?
4. Does the new owner have proof it was the new dog that attacked her teacup and not one of the other dogs? (Since she wasn't there how can she prove it was that dog?

1.)The message that she left on my cell phone stated "Hi Jessica, This is ****, I adopted Sadie from you, we wanted to talk to you about her, and get some information about her from you. Can you please call me back when you get this. Thanks."

I called and left 1 message to her, and called her 2 or 3 other times, but didn't leave a message.

2.) The only documentation I have would be on an "animal forum" that I posted I had found a home for sadie..would that work?? I also may have documentation of going to the dog park to rehome her from work, as I take care of mentally & physically handicapped, and my client was with me that day!

3.) I really don't know how many other dogs, but she DID say to me that her australian sheppard, and another chihuahua were hiding in the bedroom when she found them.
I know she has AT LEAST 2 other chihuahuas, the Aussie, and I THINK she said she has terriers also...

4.) I guess the only "proof" she has would be that sadie had blood on her....of course, my thoughts are, she just wants someone to buy her another dog or 2, and she wants someone to blame this all on!

Sadie lived here with me, my parents (I am 20), and my younger brother (18), along with our 2 great danes, boston terrier mix (smaller than her), and a miniature dauchshund puppy. We also had a 18 year old chihuahua at the time she was here (she has since passed away from cancer) So, obviously, if she WAS aggressive, she would have taken that out on the puppies here, or the guinea pigs, cats, or any other small animals we had here.

It just doesn't make sense to us that she could have been that aggressive towards anything.

She complained to me that sadie did attempt to bite her husband..but she said that the day she called saying sadie killed the puppy. IF that was true...why wasn't I informed earlier? She also said Sadie was destrying the couch & leather furniture, again, I have a difficult time believing this, because she stayed in our house with us, we never had an issue, and she also went for several car rides with us, with no problems whatsoever! She was an "older" female, about 4 or 5 years old, and intact, ,ex-breeder, she had raised several healthy litters before coming to us..and never before has their been a problem. She has also been around at least 5 children, between the ages of 2 and 7, also our friends' children who are 9, 14,& 17 were here daily!

Thanks for that link, I am really not sure about the fact that she hurt another dog..it says kills "someone" in that home, but I am guessing that pertains to humans???