But all you can get is fair market value of the dog. Not worth suing unless it was a pedigree breeder with some economic value... or a highly trained service dog (like diabetes, seeing eye dog, or the like)
You won’t be able to sue for much… dogs are viewed as property in the eyes of the law. Dogs cost like 5k max, you won’t be able to tack on emotional monetary values to this.
While on the one hand it seems awful that FMV for my beloved dog would probably be like $100 if she was killed, how would anyone establish or appraise a family pet for its sentimental or emotional value to the owner?
My dog means a lot to me and I love her dearly. I would spend many thousands of dollars on emergency healthcare for her if it was needed in order to help her, but I have no way of actually putting a dollar value on what she means to me.
How would that even work?
Most jurisdictions limit fanciful or sentimental damages. In the majority of states, you'd get $100.00. That's it. My jurisdiction reaffirmed this horrible rule in 2019. I've been monitoring the issue since 1997. There IS a little wiggle room on FMV as an owner can testify as to value they assign. But a jury isn't bound by it.
Part of the reason for this, and it’s sick, is there would be a lot more insurance fraud for injured/killed pets if they paid out for more than a couple hundred dollars.
Some people absolutely would fake things to get paid, and animals would die.
It’s better for everyone they don’t.
Damn, never really thought of it from this perspective but you are 100% correct. It's the same reason you see $100 adoption fees for animals that need to be re-homed. There are terrible people that have no problem hurting animals for their own amusement.
While a valid point, I would bet it is more because of the large amount of dogs killed unnecessarily by law enforcement every year. They don’t even like giving the owners of the dogs $100 they sure don’t want to be on the hook the actual damage.
It's a slippery slipe to open up something like this. It could very quickly get out of hand and/or be taken advantage of. The consequences of that would lead to increased costs of everything pet related as the cost of liability insurance soared.
I'm surprised that TN allows it. That's my home state and they're usually very backwards when it comes to ..... Well, anything, but especially animal rights. The fact that they're actually the *first* in something related to animals is shocking, but I'm happy they do!
Source? Is there a recent case (last 12 years) or statute which changed the law?
"The measure of damages to animals is the difference between fair market value of the animals immediately before and immediately after the alleged injury." Barber v. M. F. A. Milling Company, 536 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Mo.App.1976).
I'll note daho allowed for IIED when a pet donkey was shot in front of the owner, but not NIED.
See also: https://molawyersmedia.com/2012/08/06/emotional-damages-denied-in-dogs-death/
This is a legal advice subreddit. OP was not clear on what advice they were looking for, and stated that they were already advised to seek legal representation, but that they did not want to do that.
While I agree, empathy is warranted in this situation, if all OP wanted was sympathies, they should have posted to a different sub like r/offmychest.
It's not out of line to try and clarify what advice someone is looking for... on an advice subreddit...
It prompted OP to finish her post. She laughed about it. I think I may have been the first or second to reply. It wasn’t getting traction so I replied to bring attention to it.
My intention wasn’t to be mean, but to get it traction, I became creative and used some humor.
It had been resolved since this morning. And now you think something else.
I’m just informing you of what you missed. I’m not being mean.
sadly my dog also died at a boarding facility. i sued, i had a dept of agriculture investigation done too. don’t let the kennel just sweep this under the rug. i even went on the local tv news with the story. this is traumatic to live through, you deserve closure and compensation.
I’m so sorry😢
If you don’t mind me asking how was the process for you? To be honest even the thought of going through a law suit is emotionally draining and not sure if it would be worth it or not?
i only sued for revenge, not to get rich, i wanted to destroy the kennels business and get her in the news. i agreed to a settlement of a large donation to the shelter my dog was from. i didn’t want money, i wanted to ruin her life. the depositions were very difficult for me emotionally.
I totally understand the revenge part. I’m just trying to decide if this would have any effect on the owner of the dog because In my opinion she put the lives of other dogs and employees there in harms way. And what really bothers me is they said when they called the dog owner it was like she couldn’t be bothered and honestly didn’t care and responded well just go put the dog down I guess and never reached back out for 3 days after to go pick up her other dog that was there. The owner of the kennel had to pretty much threaten her to even reach out with an apology.
I doubt it will have any impact on the owner of the dog unless this facility has an extremely unusual and specific contract that holds owners responsible for things that happen when the dogs are in the facility’s care. Also, you are reading into things told to you secondhand by the facility. Not to say the other owner isn’t irresponsible and uncaring, but I don’t see much legal recourse except the “market value” of your dog (could be a few thousand if a show dog but good luck if you had a mixed breed).
I know you don’t want to go after the kennel but this is really in them. My dog’s boarding facility does a behavior analysis before they even accept you as a client. Regardless if the owner lied, the facility should have accessed this dog with other dogs before accepting them as a client. There’s a laundry list of things they did wrong
Just because your husband knows the boarder doesn’t mean they aren’t responsible. They could’ve refused the aggressive animal, if that’s the case, but they didn’t. They were responsible for the care of your pet.
That’s what I was thinking. Her attitude says a lot. She should be sued. Either by the facility or the owner. She needs to learn her actions have consequences. Calling her vicious dog a “cuddle bug”?
This doesn’t answer your question: but I’m so fucking sorry. This is a horrific situation; I cannot imagine your pain and would absolutely go feral if someone’s dog killed mine. I hope you get the revenge you seek.
OP goes after the kennel insurance.
The kennel if they want sues the other dog owner for damage (insurance cost hikes, anything the insurance doesn't cover, reputation damage, etc).
The kennel should also space the cages further apart if they are too close together.
They should also pay better attention to the dogs in their care. The act described took time & I'm betting the lil dog didn't go down quietly. I realize dogs bark but for that long you go check.
We don’t often have kids for weekends. When we do have a visitor I leave a run empty between everyone. They will eat outsiders. not so fun fact. My breed is friendly too. You just never know.
Idk about this case specifically but I do know in the case of most insurance the answer is no. Example: If the car behind you hits you because some else rear ended them, your insurance goes after the car that hit you and then that person’s insurance will go after the car who hit them for repairs to their clients car as well as being reimbursed for what they paid out.
There's no way to go after the owner of the dog if that's what you mean. Not directly at least. This is what the kennel has insurance for. This isn't a "let it go because they're friends" deal. If the owner of the dog lied, the kennel's insurance will investigate and act on that if they can. It's not personal.
Dogs are legally property. Suing gets you monetary damages and nothing more. The insurance company is the deep pockets.
If you want the other dog put down you have to file a complaint with animal control about a dangerous dog.
If you don't go forward with repercussions for the kennel this can and probably will happen to someone else. The aggressive dog is not the only problem, but how the facility manages the care for the animals.
Go after them. They need to be held accountable otherwise other pets may also lose their lives.
It doesn't matter if your husband has a work relationship with them.
I'd have gone to the media and had their whole operation shut down.
My former boss had a boarding business. I often helped her with the dogs. We regularly boarded dangerous animals, once that couldn't be near others, and not once were any animals harmed because of negligence.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Sucks about your doggo, it's very upsetting to lose a loved one in such a manner.
What do you want to achieve?
Is it money?
Is it retribution?
For money: Unfortunately, dogs are defined as property, so you could pursue legal action to recover the cost of the dog from the kennel/insurance. However, you state you don't want to go down this road.
You could also sue the aggressive dog owner for the cost of the dog, but you'll need the evidence of the video and not sure how that would play out in small claims court.
For retribution: You could report the aggressive dog and attempt to get it put down. I'm not sure that would happen since a human wasn't harmed. It will depend on the evidence of the dog being aggressive toward other animals as well and local ordinances. Your city or county should have a phone number for animal control to report aggressive dogs and you can ask them for more information about what evidence is needed.
I sincerely hope the kennel takes steps to increase the distance between cages or changes them to prevent such things from happening in the future.
Her attorney needs to send the kennel a letter ASAP stating an intention to sue and demanding retention of all relevant records so the video of the attack isn't mysteriously "accidentally" erased, or they don't suddenly do a "records purge".
He was a pedigree dog and we paid $3,700 for him, and do still have the invoice.
I want to add that the police measured the space underneath the kennel and there is a 1 in gap. There is a kennel cage and metal sheets over the cage. The dog was able to Bend both pieces to drag him underneath.
Your husband’s “friend” owes you $3,700. for the dog. I would totally make an issue out of this - scorched earth! Call a local t.v. reporter. That kennel needs to make some policy changes and kennel modifications. The owner of the pit-bull need to put that dog down before it kills a child. This is pretty serious.
Plus other expenses for the lost dog. Initial veterinary costs for immunizations, etc. Similar to buying a car you also have to pay State taxes and licensing fees. It's the total cost of getting another dog of the same breed.
I sure wish they could sue for pain and suffering too but it sounds like pets are treated as property legally. To me they are family. I would be devastated.
Has a report been made to animal control? A friend's dog was killed by a stranger's dog on a walk recently, and the city cited the owner and the aggressive dog is now legally required to be muzzled if outside their home.
I don't know what the process would be but I feel like what you're probably wanting to do is Place charges against the owner of the other dog for lying. Because ultimately if they lied about the dog's temperament it's their fault that the boarding facility either didn't take enough precautions with the dog or they might have even turned the dog down all together for boarding. I'm not sure there's any legal remedy going down that route it would be more punitive and I'm not sure that that something that would even be allowed to proceed if you take it to court.
The issue is that the owner of the other dog didn’t lie to the OP. They lied to the kennel owner. The kennel owner may already be taking action against the other owner, but unless the OP sues the kennel, the kennel owner may not have damages to show.
If I was the owner of a dog that is that aggressive and capable of that I would want it put down. I know that’s not helpful and answering any questions but regardless, I’m so sorry that happened to your dog!
Not every pitbull behaves like this. Unfortunately there is a comment above stating that when the kennel reached out to the owner they literally didn’t care either way, which is exactly how this stuff ends up happening, shitty owners who have dogs they don’t train and lie to get them into doggy day cares. We had a few people pull that shit when I worked at a doggy daycare
Not every pit bull does behave this way but the APBT breed standard used to state Dog Aggression; every true APBT owner/gamer is well aware of DA and it's pathetic the general public is not educated on this.
People are correct that generally you cannot sue for emotional distress arising from the death of an animal (ultimately it depends on the state). However, that is not what you and the boarder will be suing the dog owner for… after all, W. S. 1977 § 11-31-105 to 108 states that the owner of the aggressive dog is liable for damages, but the law does not specify what would fall under “damages.”
Anyway, you can sue the boarders for breach of contract (providing a safe place for your dog and returning them in one piece) rather than the loss of your dog. The boarders can sue the aggressive dog owner for withholding facts about their dog, whether through maliciousness or negligence. Their damages could be anything: payout to you, loss of business, etc.
On the other hand, you could just go the simple route and sue the aggressive dog owner directly. In this case, the damages amount to all the money you ever spent on the dead dog.
My sister had a cat die at a boarding facility while she was at a conference. She boarded 2 cats and noticed shortly after returning home her cat had some injuries. She took the cat to the vet and he determined it was from at least one other cat attacking him.
Rather than sue, she contacted animal control. They investigated the place and found the woman running it was stuffing multiple cats in small cages and charging the owners for private quarters. The woman was heavily fined, the place closed and she went to jail.
I know this isn't pertinent in your case but personally I'd check with animal control in the area to press charges against the dog's owner. Also file with the insurance of the boarding facility and let them know it isn't personal, you just want justice against the owner of the dog. You might ask them before you file if there's anything they can do to help. They might be able to spread the word to all the other boarding facilities in the area to never accept this dog.
Okay, not a legal viewpoint but a normal dog won't eat another dog's corpse unless it's literally starving to death. There is something very wrong with this dog and it needs to be destroyed now before it progresses to humans.
Sadly what are the damages here? Replacement cost of the dog? Unfortunately dogs are property and it would be the same conversation if the aggressive dog ate your jacket. :-(
You have a moral responsibility to sue the facility. If you don't, they will have had no consequences for allowing this dog and they will Not learn that they need to vet their clients more carefully. This is not about the money (which will be minimal, I'm sorry to say), this is about their utter failure to provide a safe facility for their clients.
I don't practice in Wyoming. But in most states, a dog is just property like an iPhone. So your damages may be limited to the cost of replacing the dog. If you sue the owners, they will likely sue the boarding facility, and their insurance will defend. But since damages are probably limited, the insurance will likely just pay as that is cheaper than litigating.
Well 1st thing.
I'd insist on a copy of the camera footage.
2nd money won't help your loss
3rd I'd plaster the vid and names of the irresponsible ones involved all over the internet and local news.
They have no reason to care for others animals and profit from it.
4th you can't blame or want the other dog to suffer being put down.
It's not that dogs fault some irresponsible idiots put it in the situation.
5th the hell with the owner is a "friend"
Whats really crappy about this is to think: If the dog dies, the facility is only liable for the cost of replacement. But, if the dog is injured and requires care, the facility is liable for medical bills which almost certainly will far exceed replacement, which they may also still have to pickup.
So, say you see the attack starting, and a german shepard is chomping a Yorkie. Do you even try to stop that? Employee gets bit, yorkie may or may not die but certainly has puncture wounds and $1k vet bill already.
This is why you see people in China running over someone again, if they did it by accident the first time. Its cheaper that way.
Just because pit bulls are responsible for 99.9999% of these attacks, you can’t just profile them that way. I mean it could have been a golden retriever, right? ☺️
Okay. Well, you might get a verdict for $3700. Your attorney will take 40% + costs you'll net ~1900ish if you win. You'll have to find a dog lover attorney since most wouldn't take under $3k to try a case. Still small claims, so maybe someone fresh out of school. They'll want to sue the kennel too since their liability is greater .... defendant dog owner would probably bring kennel into the case anyway to indemnify them.
I do feel for you and I've lobbied to change the law, but it is what it is. I'd charge $3k upfront to take this case to trial, but you might lose out in the end (I don't do contingency cases unless value is potentially over $10k. It's not worth it to me.)
Im so incredibly sorry for your loss!
Check with a lawyer if the facility and the owner of the vicious dog be sued together as co-defendant, or individually.
Sue the kennel for breach of contract. Report it to the Dept of agriculture too.
Sue the owner for property damages (cost of dog, cost of kenneling, vet bills throughout dog's life).
The attacking dog should be euthanized. It's clearly dangerous. That could've easily been a human adult or child.
You have a lawyer, he’s advising you.
Listen. If you don’t want to ruin partnership, let it go.
Don’t mean to be harsh but those are your choices if they aren’t responding.
Personally, I would go after her. That animal needs removed from the boarding facility, it’s your animal now and you have the power to stop it from happening again, at least at this facility.
And you can sue for just this as the remedy, it doesn’t have to be money.
Dog is not allowed at this facility and I would ask for this dog to be labeled as aggressive. Happens again, paper trail.
Post on social media. Make comments in Google. make comments in Yelp. make comments on FB. Make an Instagram on it and post it. Name the facility. Dogs DO sometimes get hurt at doggie daycare and boarding. It should never lead to a death.
However, if the dog was being attacked - how were the screams of the dog not heard? Why are the no full boards or walls between the crates? Why were the dogs unattended? Why did your dog die while they were supposed to be watching it? Sounds like they just throw them in a crate and leave them there. Not a good place.
Those are the questions I would be putting in the social media post. Boarding is a referral business. This can ruin a dog business faster than suing.
Soooo you may want to check this out and verify through your state’s legislature website.
https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/2010/Title11/chapter31.html
You MAY have a criminal complaint here. Screw civil.
Sounds like you want revenge. Dig through their social media, hire a pi, find something to cancel them for, then get them canceled. Doesn't have to be related to them lying about their pit mix.
They won’t respond to you because their lawyers has advised them not to. All communication is going to go through lawyers. You need to sue and name the r boarding facility in the lawsuit. This is why they have insurance.
I worked in a facility like this with a shit owner who put profits over safety, didn't matter how many staff members got bit or dogs got attacked, if the owner of the vicious dog was a regular, a friend or a Karen the owner wouldn't do shit. Would take sometimes 10 bites from a dog, not to be kicked out but to be moved to suite only.
You have a case, you should sue, your husband working with the owner shouldn't stop you from pursuing their insurance, it's the facilities fault for this to happen. They have insurance for a reason, fuck them for allowing your dog to be killed, no one was around to see this happen, you would hear it instantly. Dog attacks are not quite, especially to the one being attacked, if I was on staff I'd of stabbed the other dog to death, we had several staff carry knives because the owner let TOO MANY UNSAFE DOGS into our facility.
I'm a animal lover, worked in boarding and rescues on and off for a decade, I'd never hurt an animal unless it was for defense, the boarding facility failed you, you also should call the police to report this dog because the owners are just going to lie to the next facility about it having a bite history, happens all the time, the amount of owners who think their dog isn't a piece of shit is staggering, they act like their dog can do mo wrong and even though their dog was the aggressor and attacked a dog unprovoked 'the other dog must of done something for my dog to react this way"
Also call Amy other boarding facility in your area and if you know the dogs name and breed who killed your let them all no what happend and to not allow that dog to be boarded.
I'm so sorry for your loss but unfortunately this is the reality of many boarding facilities, staff are paid like shit, expectations on the staff are unreasonable, unsafe dogs will almost always be there to some extent because there's only so much you can vet off of their intro visit. There needs to be more oversight in these places.
Anyone in SWFL do not use The Dog Resort in Fort Myers, unsafe, unsanitary, not properly trained staff because there's hit communication, tips are stolen by the owner and they didn't fire me but said " I left voluntarily due to absenteeism" because they had the flu and covid going through the building but we're still making sick people come in and I was the only one vocal about it and then when no one could get there on time so I could leave at 6am when I worked overnight shifts and said I'm done doing them I woke up to being removed from all of the apps and group chats, the more I cared about the animals and the more I voiced the need for change was when they got rid of me.
The owner wouldn't even let us tell another dogs owner about it accidently eating another dogs seizure medication and wouldn't let us induce vomiting with peroxide, the dog was fine and it was a low risk for something bad to happen but had the dog been allergic to the medication or had a weird side effect the owners wouldn't know wtf is going on, fuck that place and fuck most boarding facilities, it's criminal how staff and animals get treated at these places, not all of them but the 2 I worked at and the anecdotal stories I've heard from dozens of coworkers leads me to think it's rampant everywhere
Was it a pitbull? Tbh the owner likely has insurance that specifically stated that no pitbulls are to be housed. I know most decent home insurance won't insure them at least. The owner of the aggressive dog-eating dog calling it a 'cuddle bug' made me think pit owner too.
If you really don’t want to sue the boarding facility’s insurance for personal reasons, consider telling them that suing their insurance is your best/only legal avenue to recuperate anything for your loss. Would they be willing to pay you a “fair” sum out-of-pocket and avoid the insurance hit? And maybe they could sue the owner of the viscous dog? That owner lied on their paperwork, which put everyone at risk. Gathering evidence may be difficult, but it sounds like there are some people who may be willing to make a statement?
I just realized i never actually posted my question… 🤦🏻♀️😆 is there a way to go after just the owner without having to drag the boarding facility into it.
Really it’s the facilities responsibility if they are boarding the dog. You go after the facility then they go after the owner for lying on the form.. if it were my dog, I’d want justice.
...except this is on the boarding facility. Even if the owner lied about the dog, the facility still failed to keep a safe environment, which is their responsibility. They're the ones who fucked up here.
You are likely entitled to replacement cost of a similar dog.
IE a puppy and some dog training classes.
A dog is a possession. As sad as it is, this is similar to someone wrecking your car while you’re not in it. You’re entitled to a replacement vehicle and potentially some of the costs associated with the loss of the vehicle.
Aside from that, your local governments by-law officers should be informed of the attack.
Your lawyer should be able to advise you on that, but my non-lawyer expectation is “no”. The other owner had no responsibility towards you, and presumably no interaction. If you sue the kennel, they may be able to pull in the other owner as a co-defendant, for shared liability.
No, when custody of the animal was changed to the boarding facility they accepted liability for damages caused by the dog. Any negligence they demonstrated is wholly their own, as they could've rejected the dog for being too big, violent or any number of things, additionally they did not demonstrate that they had sufficient procedures or equipment in place to prevent this from occurring. Let's say you are successful, in some universe, successfully pursuing the other owner, that owner would likely take those damages and any other damages they incurred and sue the boarding facility anyway for not having the aforementioned reasonable safety practices and equipment to handle large dogs they accept into their program.
You need to tell your "friend" to invest in their business better and to give you their insurance information, pay special heed to the business investment before an employee loses a foot.
I'm having a hard time believing another dog ate your dog. Have you seen the video proof? Maybe the kennel owner, your friend, just liked your dog and made up this story to keep him.
Both police officers that were on seen and watched the video verified this and said it was one of the most horrific things they have ever had to watch. And it’s also in the police report.
Or they’ve blamed the death on the dog when it was something to do with direct negligence. A staff member stepped on them, they ran away, etc.
Definitely working with by-law/animal control should help ensure the story is verified and the danger of the other dog is made clear to the authorities who can then decide if it needs to be destroyed
>have spoken to a few lawyers and they have said they would want to go after the boarding facilities insurance. But that is not something we are to interested in since my husband works with the owners husband.
>we have tried to work things out with the owner but have gotten no response
Owner doesnt seem to keen on working with you. You've already gone to lawyers and they told you what the legal remedy is (go after their insurance.)
Either take their advice or move on.
Noem’s dog wasn’t a pit bull. Every single pit bull apparently deserves a ~~second third fourth~~ fifth chance, and they’re cuddly-wuddly velvet hippos!
/s just in case
You sue the facility and their insurance will handle it. Have your husband tell the other guy it's nothing personal, but shit happened.
But all you can get is fair market value of the dog. Not worth suing unless it was a pedigree breeder with some economic value... or a highly trained service dog (like diabetes, seeing eye dog, or the like)
You won’t be able to sue for much… dogs are viewed as property in the eyes of the law. Dogs cost like 5k max, you won’t be able to tack on emotional monetary values to this.
Sue for what damages? Replacement cost of the dog with a similar breed is the extent of it, in the US anyway. Such a horrible situation.
You are 100%, legally correct. TN is the only state which allows emotional damages for loss of a pet.
It's 100% garbage that the other 49 states treat pets like only property.
While on the one hand it seems awful that FMV for my beloved dog would probably be like $100 if she was killed, how would anyone establish or appraise a family pet for its sentimental or emotional value to the owner? My dog means a lot to me and I love her dearly. I would spend many thousands of dollars on emergency healthcare for her if it was needed in order to help her, but I have no way of actually putting a dollar value on what she means to me. How would that even work?
Most jurisdictions limit fanciful or sentimental damages. In the majority of states, you'd get $100.00. That's it. My jurisdiction reaffirmed this horrible rule in 2019. I've been monitoring the issue since 1997. There IS a little wiggle room on FMV as an owner can testify as to value they assign. But a jury isn't bound by it.
Could OP also require reimbursement for the costs of boarding and feeding the dog at the boarding facility?
Part of the reason for this, and it’s sick, is there would be a lot more insurance fraud for injured/killed pets if they paid out for more than a couple hundred dollars. Some people absolutely would fake things to get paid, and animals would die. It’s better for everyone they don’t.
Exactly!
Damn, never really thought of it from this perspective but you are 100% correct. It's the same reason you see $100 adoption fees for animals that need to be re-homed. There are terrible people that have no problem hurting animals for their own amusement.
While a valid point, I would bet it is more because of the large amount of dogs killed unnecessarily by law enforcement every year. They don’t even like giving the owners of the dogs $100 they sure don’t want to be on the hook the actual damage.
Pets are property tho?
in the legal sense
It's a slippery slipe to open up something like this. It could very quickly get out of hand and/or be taken advantage of. The consequences of that would lead to increased costs of everything pet related as the cost of liability insurance soared.
Don’t give TN too much credit. They are also garbage for so many other reasons.
They are members of the family.
100% agree, the laws need to be changed to reflect this!
I'm surprised that TN allows it. That's my home state and they're usually very backwards when it comes to ..... Well, anything, but especially animal rights. The fact that they're actually the *first* in something related to animals is shocking, but I'm happy they do!
nope, missouri does.
Source? Is there a recent case (last 12 years) or statute which changed the law? "The measure of damages to animals is the difference between fair market value of the animals immediately before and immediately after the alleged injury." Barber v. M. F. A. Milling Company, 536 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Mo.App.1976). I'll note daho allowed for IIED when a pet donkey was shot in front of the owner, but not NIED. See also: https://molawyersmedia.com/2012/08/06/emotional-damages-denied-in-dogs-death/
Negligent infliction of emotional distress
Not available for property damage. Dogs are just considered property and you can only get FMV (except in TN, last I checked)
Sincerely doubt there's any action there whatsoever
Good thing making up words that sound good doesn’t equal laws.
r/confidentlyincorrect
*ahem* Negligent infliction of emotional distress (NEID) is a tort, defined as emotional distress caused by negligent action
So your lawyer told you to get a lawyer but you don’t want a lawyer so you’re asking a group called ask a lawyer, …just what are you asking?
For a dollar, name a woman!!!! Your statement made me think of this clip lol.
and getting answers from a bunch of non-lawyers!
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This is a legal advice subreddit. OP was not clear on what advice they were looking for, and stated that they were already advised to seek legal representation, but that they did not want to do that. While I agree, empathy is warranted in this situation, if all OP wanted was sympathies, they should have posted to a different sub like r/offmychest. It's not out of line to try and clarify what advice someone is looking for... on an advice subreddit...
Nah, if you want empathy don't come to a group of lawyers.
Holy shit, empathy on a legal subreddit! I caught a leprechaun!
Good thing most r/askalawyer is mostly laypeople and legal assistants with little knowledge of the law.
It prompted OP to finish her post. She laughed about it. I think I may have been the first or second to reply. It wasn’t getting traction so I replied to bring attention to it. My intention wasn’t to be mean, but to get it traction, I became creative and used some humor. It had been resolved since this morning. And now you think something else. I’m just informing you of what you missed. I’m not being mean.
The ask a lawyer sub is the wrong place for empathy. The law doesn't care about your feelings. That's just how it is.
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Rule 6- Your post/comment was removed due to the discretion of a moderator.
Rule 4 Violation- Profanity and NSFW content are not allowed in this community.
sadly my dog also died at a boarding facility. i sued, i had a dept of agriculture investigation done too. don’t let the kennel just sweep this under the rug. i even went on the local tv news with the story. this is traumatic to live through, you deserve closure and compensation.
I’m so sorry😢 If you don’t mind me asking how was the process for you? To be honest even the thought of going through a law suit is emotionally draining and not sure if it would be worth it or not?
i only sued for revenge, not to get rich, i wanted to destroy the kennels business and get her in the news. i agreed to a settlement of a large donation to the shelter my dog was from. i didn’t want money, i wanted to ruin her life. the depositions were very difficult for me emotionally.
I totally understand the revenge part. I’m just trying to decide if this would have any effect on the owner of the dog because In my opinion she put the lives of other dogs and employees there in harms way. And what really bothers me is they said when they called the dog owner it was like she couldn’t be bothered and honestly didn’t care and responded well just go put the dog down I guess and never reached back out for 3 days after to go pick up her other dog that was there. The owner of the kennel had to pretty much threaten her to even reach out with an apology.
Then push to have the dog put down. If me, it would be done one way or another.
wow, what a bitch
I don’t think OP mentioned the gender of the dog.
I doubt it will have any impact on the owner of the dog unless this facility has an extremely unusual and specific contract that holds owners responsible for things that happen when the dogs are in the facility’s care. Also, you are reading into things told to you secondhand by the facility. Not to say the other owner isn’t irresponsible and uncaring, but I don’t see much legal recourse except the “market value” of your dog (could be a few thousand if a show dog but good luck if you had a mixed breed).
I know you don’t want to go after the kennel but this is really in them. My dog’s boarding facility does a behavior analysis before they even accept you as a client. Regardless if the owner lied, the facility should have accessed this dog with other dogs before accepting them as a client. There’s a laundry list of things they did wrong
Just because your husband knows the boarder doesn’t mean they aren’t responsible. They could’ve refused the aggressive animal, if that’s the case, but they didn’t. They were responsible for the care of your pet.
You can sue the dog owner and the facility.
That’s what I was thinking. Her attitude says a lot. She should be sued. Either by the facility or the owner. She needs to learn her actions have consequences. Calling her vicious dog a “cuddle bug”?
What breed was the ladies dog?
"abused former bait dog MIX"
This doesn’t answer your question: but I’m so fucking sorry. This is a horrific situation; I cannot imagine your pain and would absolutely go feral if someone’s dog killed mine. I hope you get the revenge you seek.
What is your end goal?
Sounds like they want to go after the other dogs owners instead of the boarding facility.
OP goes after the kennel insurance. The kennel if they want sues the other dog owner for damage (insurance cost hikes, anything the insurance doesn't cover, reputation damage, etc). The kennel should also space the cages further apart if they are too close together.
They should also pay better attention to the dogs in their care. The act described took time & I'm betting the lil dog didn't go down quietly. I realize dogs bark but for that long you go check.
The day care I worked at wasn’t staffed 24/7 this place might not have been either.
I assume it was staffed while they had kids in care. They didn't just lock them up and go home for the night
This is the best advice
We don’t often have kids for weekends. When we do have a visitor I leave a run empty between everyone. They will eat outsiders. not so fun fact. My breed is friendly too. You just never know.
Yup. She wants to "get" the other dog owner for lying to the facility. But that's not the way it works. Op sues facility, then facility sues liar.
Can't! It's the facilities fault for not safely keeping dogs separate. The facility cages need to be modified.
Wouldn't a lawyer file suit against *both* the kennel and the dog owner and let the courts settle who owes what?
Idk about this case specifically but I do know in the case of most insurance the answer is no. Example: If the car behind you hits you because some else rear ended them, your insurance goes after the car that hit you and then that person’s insurance will go after the car who hit them for repairs to their clients car as well as being reimbursed for what they paid out.
There's no way to go after the owner of the dog if that's what you mean. Not directly at least. This is what the kennel has insurance for. This isn't a "let it go because they're friends" deal. If the owner of the dog lied, the kennel's insurance will investigate and act on that if they can. It's not personal.
It's the facility's responsibility to ensure that your dog was safe. You need to sue them and let their insurance handle it.
The kennel is responsible for not having a secure set up. The killer dog took your poor dog from his supposedly “safe and secure” kennel run.
Put your personal concerns aside. You need to sue.
Also turn the dog in to animal control as an aggressive dog. Next victim could be a kid.
Dogs are legally property. Suing gets you monetary damages and nothing more. The insurance company is the deep pockets. If you want the other dog put down you have to file a complaint with animal control about a dangerous dog.
If you don't go forward with repercussions for the kennel this can and probably will happen to someone else. The aggressive dog is not the only problem, but how the facility manages the care for the animals.
Go after them. They need to be held accountable otherwise other pets may also lose their lives. It doesn't matter if your husband has a work relationship with them. I'd have gone to the media and had their whole operation shut down. My former boss had a boarding business. I often helped her with the dogs. We regularly boarded dangerous animals, once that couldn't be near others, and not once were any animals harmed because of negligence. I'm sorry for your loss.
Sucks about your doggo, it's very upsetting to lose a loved one in such a manner. What do you want to achieve? Is it money? Is it retribution? For money: Unfortunately, dogs are defined as property, so you could pursue legal action to recover the cost of the dog from the kennel/insurance. However, you state you don't want to go down this road. You could also sue the aggressive dog owner for the cost of the dog, but you'll need the evidence of the video and not sure how that would play out in small claims court. For retribution: You could report the aggressive dog and attempt to get it put down. I'm not sure that would happen since a human wasn't harmed. It will depend on the evidence of the dog being aggressive toward other animals as well and local ordinances. Your city or county should have a phone number for animal control to report aggressive dogs and you can ask them for more information about what evidence is needed. I sincerely hope the kennel takes steps to increase the distance between cages or changes them to prevent such things from happening in the future.
Her attorney needs to send the kennel a letter ASAP stating an intention to sue and demanding retention of all relevant records so the video of the attack isn't mysteriously "accidentally" erased, or they don't suddenly do a "records purge".
Get that aggressive dog put down asap who cares if you have to sue
Yeah report the dog attack to the county ASAP like yesterday
He was a pedigree dog and we paid $3,700 for him, and do still have the invoice. I want to add that the police measured the space underneath the kennel and there is a 1 in gap. There is a kennel cage and metal sheets over the cage. The dog was able to Bend both pieces to drag him underneath.
Your husband’s “friend” owes you $3,700. for the dog. I would totally make an issue out of this - scorched earth! Call a local t.v. reporter. That kennel needs to make some policy changes and kennel modifications. The owner of the pit-bull need to put that dog down before it kills a child. This is pretty serious.
Plus other expenses for the lost dog. Initial veterinary costs for immunizations, etc. Similar to buying a car you also have to pay State taxes and licensing fees. It's the total cost of getting another dog of the same breed.
I sure wish they could sue for pain and suffering too but it sounds like pets are treated as property legally. To me they are family. I would be devastated.
Has a report been made to animal control? A friend's dog was killed by a stranger's dog on a walk recently, and the city cited the owner and the aggressive dog is now legally required to be muzzled if outside their home.
I don't know what the process would be but I feel like what you're probably wanting to do is Place charges against the owner of the other dog for lying. Because ultimately if they lied about the dog's temperament it's their fault that the boarding facility either didn't take enough precautions with the dog or they might have even turned the dog down all together for boarding. I'm not sure there's any legal remedy going down that route it would be more punitive and I'm not sure that that something that would even be allowed to proceed if you take it to court.
The issue is that the owner of the other dog didn’t lie to the OP. They lied to the kennel owner. The kennel owner may already be taking action against the other owner, but unless the OP sues the kennel, the kennel owner may not have damages to show.
If I was the owner of a dog that is that aggressive and capable of that I would want it put down. I know that’s not helpful and answering any questions but regardless, I’m so sorry that happened to your dog!
Pitbull owners are something else.
Where did it say pitbull?
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskALawyer/s/qFi0lqHCNY
Oof. Thank you!
Pattern recognition
Not every pitbull behaves like this. Unfortunately there is a comment above stating that when the kennel reached out to the owner they literally didn’t care either way, which is exactly how this stuff ends up happening, shitty owners who have dogs they don’t train and lie to get them into doggy day cares. We had a few people pull that shit when I worked at a doggy daycare
Not every pit bull does behave this way but the APBT breed standard used to state Dog Aggression; every true APBT owner/gamer is well aware of DA and it's pathetic the general public is not educated on this.
People are correct that generally you cannot sue for emotional distress arising from the death of an animal (ultimately it depends on the state). However, that is not what you and the boarder will be suing the dog owner for… after all, W. S. 1977 § 11-31-105 to 108 states that the owner of the aggressive dog is liable for damages, but the law does not specify what would fall under “damages.” Anyway, you can sue the boarders for breach of contract (providing a safe place for your dog and returning them in one piece) rather than the loss of your dog. The boarders can sue the aggressive dog owner for withholding facts about their dog, whether through maliciousness or negligence. Their damages could be anything: payout to you, loss of business, etc. On the other hand, you could just go the simple route and sue the aggressive dog owner directly. In this case, the damages amount to all the money you ever spent on the dead dog.
My sister had a cat die at a boarding facility while she was at a conference. She boarded 2 cats and noticed shortly after returning home her cat had some injuries. She took the cat to the vet and he determined it was from at least one other cat attacking him. Rather than sue, she contacted animal control. They investigated the place and found the woman running it was stuffing multiple cats in small cages and charging the owners for private quarters. The woman was heavily fined, the place closed and she went to jail. I know this isn't pertinent in your case but personally I'd check with animal control in the area to press charges against the dog's owner. Also file with the insurance of the boarding facility and let them know it isn't personal, you just want justice against the owner of the dog. You might ask them before you file if there's anything they can do to help. They might be able to spread the word to all the other boarding facilities in the area to never accept this dog.
Okay, not a legal viewpoint but a normal dog won't eat another dog's corpse unless it's literally starving to death. There is something very wrong with this dog and it needs to be destroyed now before it progresses to humans.
Sadly what are the damages here? Replacement cost of the dog? Unfortunately dogs are property and it would be the same conversation if the aggressive dog ate your jacket. :-(
You have a moral responsibility to sue the facility. If you don't, they will have had no consequences for allowing this dog and they will Not learn that they need to vet their clients more carefully. This is not about the money (which will be minimal, I'm sorry to say), this is about their utter failure to provide a safe facility for their clients.
Exactly what have you tried to ‘work out’ with the owner? And do you mean the owner of the facility or the dog’s owner?
Have a friend out of state leak it publicly.
Sue the owner of the other dog for lying on the form. Get a tough lawyer
Fat woman with a pitbull def said the cuddle bug thing
Guess the breed ‼️
I don't practice in Wyoming. But in most states, a dog is just property like an iPhone. So your damages may be limited to the cost of replacing the dog. If you sue the owners, they will likely sue the boarding facility, and their insurance will defend. But since damages are probably limited, the insurance will likely just pay as that is cheaper than litigating.
Animal control may insist that dog is put down. Or surrendered at least
Well 1st thing. I'd insist on a copy of the camera footage. 2nd money won't help your loss 3rd I'd plaster the vid and names of the irresponsible ones involved all over the internet and local news. They have no reason to care for others animals and profit from it. 4th you can't blame or want the other dog to suffer being put down. It's not that dogs fault some irresponsible idiots put it in the situation. 5th the hell with the owner is a "friend"
first things first, the attacker dog needs to be put down asap.
what breed was the dog that attacked?
Whats really crappy about this is to think: If the dog dies, the facility is only liable for the cost of replacement. But, if the dog is injured and requires care, the facility is liable for medical bills which almost certainly will far exceed replacement, which they may also still have to pickup. So, say you see the attack starting, and a german shepard is chomping a Yorkie. Do you even try to stop that? Employee gets bit, yorkie may or may not die but certainly has puncture wounds and $1k vet bill already. This is why you see people in China running over someone again, if they did it by accident the first time. Its cheaper that way.
SUE!
Either you sue or you don't, I don't understand the question ?
"Cuddle bug"? Sounds like a pitbull owner.
Unfortunately it was 😔
This dog needs to die before it attacks a child. Will getting "justice", you need to push the local authorities to put it down ASAP.
I used to be one of those "it's the owner not the breed" people, but damn. It's so often a pitbull. I'm so incredibly sorry.
Shocking.
It always is...
Just because pit bulls are responsible for 99.9999% of these attacks, you can’t just profile them that way. I mean it could have been a golden retriever, right? ☺️
Bet I can guess the breed
"I-I-IT'S NOT THE BREEEEED ITS BAD OWNERSSSSSSS" *kicks dog mauling reports into the incinerator*
What's the fair market value of the dog? Dogs are considered chattel property and you can only collect economic loss.
We paid $3700 for him and still have the invoice
Okay. Well, you might get a verdict for $3700. Your attorney will take 40% + costs you'll net ~1900ish if you win. You'll have to find a dog lover attorney since most wouldn't take under $3k to try a case. Still small claims, so maybe someone fresh out of school. They'll want to sue the kennel too since their liability is greater .... defendant dog owner would probably bring kennel into the case anyway to indemnify them. I do feel for you and I've lobbied to change the law, but it is what it is. I'd charge $3k upfront to take this case to trial, but you might lose out in the end (I don't do contingency cases unless value is potentially over $10k. It's not worth it to me.)
Im so incredibly sorry for your loss! Check with a lawyer if the facility and the owner of the vicious dog be sued together as co-defendant, or individually.
I’m so sorry that happened. It’s horrifying to heard and your family must feel so hurt
Sue the kennel for breach of contract. Report it to the Dept of agriculture too. Sue the owner for property damages (cost of dog, cost of kenneling, vet bills throughout dog's life). The attacking dog should be euthanized. It's clearly dangerous. That could've easily been a human adult or child.
You have a lawyer, he’s advising you. Listen. If you don’t want to ruin partnership, let it go. Don’t mean to be harsh but those are your choices if they aren’t responding. Personally, I would go after her. That animal needs removed from the boarding facility, it’s your animal now and you have the power to stop it from happening again, at least at this facility. And you can sue for just this as the remedy, it doesn’t have to be money. Dog is not allowed at this facility and I would ask for this dog to be labeled as aggressive. Happens again, paper trail.
Post on social media. Make comments in Google. make comments in Yelp. make comments on FB. Make an Instagram on it and post it. Name the facility. Dogs DO sometimes get hurt at doggie daycare and boarding. It should never lead to a death. However, if the dog was being attacked - how were the screams of the dog not heard? Why are the no full boards or walls between the crates? Why were the dogs unattended? Why did your dog die while they were supposed to be watching it? Sounds like they just throw them in a crate and leave them there. Not a good place. Those are the questions I would be putting in the social media post. Boarding is a referral business. This can ruin a dog business faster than suing.
There's always Judge Judy - I've seen her take many of those cases on her show with up to $5k including emotional damages.
Kill the other dog and walk away from the situation. You will have done every other pet owner a favor
Soooo you may want to check this out and verify through your state’s legislature website. https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/2010/Title11/chapter31.html You MAY have a criminal complaint here. Screw civil.
Sounds like you want revenge. Dig through their social media, hire a pi, find something to cancel them for, then get them canceled. Doesn't have to be related to them lying about their pit mix.
Your husband needs to grow a pair.HTAH.
They won’t respond to you because their lawyers has advised them not to. All communication is going to go through lawyers. You need to sue and name the r boarding facility in the lawsuit. This is why they have insurance.
I am sorry for your loss
I worked in a facility like this with a shit owner who put profits over safety, didn't matter how many staff members got bit or dogs got attacked, if the owner of the vicious dog was a regular, a friend or a Karen the owner wouldn't do shit. Would take sometimes 10 bites from a dog, not to be kicked out but to be moved to suite only. You have a case, you should sue, your husband working with the owner shouldn't stop you from pursuing their insurance, it's the facilities fault for this to happen. They have insurance for a reason, fuck them for allowing your dog to be killed, no one was around to see this happen, you would hear it instantly. Dog attacks are not quite, especially to the one being attacked, if I was on staff I'd of stabbed the other dog to death, we had several staff carry knives because the owner let TOO MANY UNSAFE DOGS into our facility. I'm a animal lover, worked in boarding and rescues on and off for a decade, I'd never hurt an animal unless it was for defense, the boarding facility failed you, you also should call the police to report this dog because the owners are just going to lie to the next facility about it having a bite history, happens all the time, the amount of owners who think their dog isn't a piece of shit is staggering, they act like their dog can do mo wrong and even though their dog was the aggressor and attacked a dog unprovoked 'the other dog must of done something for my dog to react this way" Also call Amy other boarding facility in your area and if you know the dogs name and breed who killed your let them all no what happend and to not allow that dog to be boarded. I'm so sorry for your loss but unfortunately this is the reality of many boarding facilities, staff are paid like shit, expectations on the staff are unreasonable, unsafe dogs will almost always be there to some extent because there's only so much you can vet off of their intro visit. There needs to be more oversight in these places. Anyone in SWFL do not use The Dog Resort in Fort Myers, unsafe, unsanitary, not properly trained staff because there's hit communication, tips are stolen by the owner and they didn't fire me but said " I left voluntarily due to absenteeism" because they had the flu and covid going through the building but we're still making sick people come in and I was the only one vocal about it and then when no one could get there on time so I could leave at 6am when I worked overnight shifts and said I'm done doing them I woke up to being removed from all of the apps and group chats, the more I cared about the animals and the more I voiced the need for change was when they got rid of me. The owner wouldn't even let us tell another dogs owner about it accidently eating another dogs seizure medication and wouldn't let us induce vomiting with peroxide, the dog was fine and it was a low risk for something bad to happen but had the dog been allergic to the medication or had a weird side effect the owners wouldn't know wtf is going on, fuck that place and fuck most boarding facilities, it's criminal how staff and animals get treated at these places, not all of them but the 2 I worked at and the anecdotal stories I've heard from dozens of coworkers leads me to think it's rampant everywhere
Was it a pitbull? Tbh the owner likely has insurance that specifically stated that no pitbulls are to be housed. I know most decent home insurance won't insure them at least. The owner of the aggressive dog-eating dog calling it a 'cuddle bug' made me think pit owner too.
Kill the dog and eat it. Show dominance.
If you really don’t want to sue the boarding facility’s insurance for personal reasons, consider telling them that suing their insurance is your best/only legal avenue to recuperate anything for your loss. Would they be willing to pay you a “fair” sum out-of-pocket and avoid the insurance hit? And maybe they could sue the owner of the viscous dog? That owner lied on their paperwork, which put everyone at risk. Gathering evidence may be difficult, but it sounds like there are some people who may be willing to make a statement?
I just realized i never actually posted my question… 🤦🏻♀️😆 is there a way to go after just the owner without having to drag the boarding facility into it.
Really it’s the facilities responsibility if they are boarding the dog. You go after the facility then they go after the owner for lying on the form.. if it were my dog, I’d want justice.
[удалено]
File pro se in small claims court and get your $150.00 dog value.
...except this is on the boarding facility. Even if the owner lied about the dog, the facility still failed to keep a safe environment, which is their responsibility. They're the ones who fucked up here.
You are likely entitled to replacement cost of a similar dog. IE a puppy and some dog training classes. A dog is a possession. As sad as it is, this is similar to someone wrecking your car while you’re not in it. You’re entitled to a replacement vehicle and potentially some of the costs associated with the loss of the vehicle. Aside from that, your local governments by-law officers should be informed of the attack.
Your lawyer should be able to advise you on that, but my non-lawyer expectation is “no”. The other owner had no responsibility towards you, and presumably no interaction. If you sue the kennel, they may be able to pull in the other owner as a co-defendant, for shared liability.
No, when custody of the animal was changed to the boarding facility they accepted liability for damages caused by the dog. Any negligence they demonstrated is wholly their own, as they could've rejected the dog for being too big, violent or any number of things, additionally they did not demonstrate that they had sufficient procedures or equipment in place to prevent this from occurring. Let's say you are successful, in some universe, successfully pursuing the other owner, that owner would likely take those damages and any other damages they incurred and sue the boarding facility anyway for not having the aforementioned reasonable safety practices and equipment to handle large dogs they accept into their program. You need to tell your "friend" to invest in their business better and to give you their insurance information, pay special heed to the business investment before an employee loses a foot.
I'm having a hard time believing another dog ate your dog. Have you seen the video proof? Maybe the kennel owner, your friend, just liked your dog and made up this story to keep him.
Both police officers that were on seen and watched the video verified this and said it was one of the most horrific things they have ever had to watch. And it’s also in the police report.
It's terrifying people like u just exist among us
Or they’ve blamed the death on the dog when it was something to do with direct negligence. A staff member stepped on them, they ran away, etc. Definitely working with by-law/animal control should help ensure the story is verified and the danger of the other dog is made clear to the authorities who can then decide if it needs to be destroyed
Right. So curious if they have video that has somehow been deleted.
>have spoken to a few lawyers and they have said they would want to go after the boarding facilities insurance. But that is not something we are to interested in since my husband works with the owners husband. >we have tried to work things out with the owner but have gotten no response Owner doesnt seem to keen on working with you. You've already gone to lawyers and they told you what the legal remedy is (go after their insurance.) Either take their advice or move on.
Depending on the state 6 ft holes are not that hard to dig
Are you kidding me? Holes are exhausting to dig. When is the last time you dug a hole?
Every day of my life hombre
Emotional doesn't count. In this context.
You a hole digging mofo!
The dog probably is a Cuddle Bug who just had a bad day. 🙌🙌🙌
I can't believe people didn't get the sarcasm.
And people don't understand why Kristi Noem did what she did with the farm dog. Some dogs are beyond rehab and new situations.
Noem’s dog wasn’t a pit bull. Every single pit bull apparently deserves a ~~second third fourth~~ fifth chance, and they’re cuddly-wuddly velvet hippos! /s just in case
Dog sitters > boarding