Dog Attack

Vladpills

Hi all, ill try explain the story as short as I can, and ask a few questions.

My cousin (16) was walking my Weim girl, (3) who is pregnant. We usually walk her on that route without a lead attached, as she's very well behaved and doesnt leave our side.
This time, when someone was walking by with a king charles, she attacked him after he parked at her.
Maybe for 2 or 3 seconds, bit him once, not even puncturing his skin in 2 places, but causing abit of bleeding.

The owner caused alarm, walked my cousin back to the house, where my mother offered to drive him to the vet. The local vet examined the wounds, said that theyre not anyhow life threatening, and wont need stitching. My mother paid for the examination.
He said this had happened 2 years ago, and his dog had internal organ damage.
The vet said theres nothing serious, and offered to do an x-ray, and further examine the wounds if he wished.
He refused and said he's bringing the dog to UCD as his dogs life was saved there the last time. During our entire time of contact he underlined how his dog was in critical condition "fighting for its life" when in the end, both of the vets said, the skin was not even broken.
Basically he's over dramatising it.

He wants us to pay for all the vet bills which amount to 600 euro, while he also admitted to the local vet that he's got pet insurance. He paid for the bills, and now wants cash from us.

Now the questions -

Who's fault is it from your opinion. I think it is our fault, but would be gutted if I was wrong in the end. A grown man of about 30, should of had abit more cop on, when he seen a 16 yr old kid, with a big dog, especially after such an accident occurred previously. My dog is pregnant, and it is visible from a mile away. Should he have atleast thought that this situation couldve occured? (dont get me wrong, i know same meassures could have been taken from out side, but our dog never gave the excuse to even think such an opportunity would arise)
He refused the emergency help at the local vets that we offered, and instead delayed his dog getting looked after for about 4 hours, though he constantly says "life threatening".
Also, should I pay for any of this if he has insurance?
If i do pay, should i contact his pet insurance company incase he decides to claim the vet bills for himself from them, aswell as keep the money we pay?
Should I contact my solicitor?

Id usually have no problem dealing with this kind of situation, but this guy just happens to be particularly dislikeful and unpleasant if i put it softly. All in all, pretty nasty.
Ive been to the gardai station about this, and they said to do nothing, two dogs got into a fight, its not a big deal, its not criminal and theres nothing they can do, but they didnt say much more.

Please have a read, share an opinion, maybe some advice.
All comments irrelevant of opinion will be much appreciated, as I genuinely dont know where I stand in this situation.
Thanks in advance!

freelancerTax

Vladpills wrote: »

Hi all, ill try explain the story as short as I can, and ask a few questions.

My cousin (16) was walking my Weim girl, (3) who is pregnant. We usually walk her on that route without a lead attached, as she's very well behaved and doesnt leave our side.
This time, when someone was walking by with a king charles, she attacked him after he parked at her.
Maybe for 2 or 3 seconds, bit him once, not even puncturing his skin in 2 places, but causing abit of bleeding.

The owner caused alarm, walked my cousin back to the house, where my mother offered to drive him to the vet. The local vet examined the wounds, said that theyre not anyhow life threatening, and wont need stitching. My mother paid for the examination.
He said this had happened 2 years ago, and his dog had internal organ damage.
The vet said theres nothing serious, and offered to do an x-ray, and further examine the wounds if he wished.
He refused and said he's bringing the dog to UCD as his dogs life was saved there the last time. During our entire time of contact he underlined how his dog was in critical condition "fighting for its life" when in the end, both of the vets said, the skin was not even broken.
Basically he's over dramatising it.

He wants us to pay for all the vet bills which amount to 600 euro, while he also admitted to the local vet that he's got pet insurance. He paid for the bills, and now wants cash from us.

Now the questions -

Who's fault is it from your opinion. I think it is our fault, but would be gutted if I was wrong in the end. A grown man of about 30, should of had abit more cop on, when he seen a 16 yr old kid, with a big dog, especially after such an accident occurred previously. My dog is pregnant, and it is visible from a mile away. Should he have atleast thought that this situation couldve occured? (dont get me wrong, i know same meassures could have been taken from out side, but our dog never gave the excuse to even think such an opportunity would arise)
He refused the emergency help at the local vets that we offered, and instead delayed his dog getting looked after for about 4 hours, though he constantly says "life threatening".
Also, should I pay for any of this if he has insurance?
If i do pay, should i contact his pet insurance company incase he decides to claim the vet bills for himself from them, aswell as keep the money we pay?
Should I contact my solicitor?

Id usually have no problem dealing with this kind of situation, but this guy just happens to be particularly dislikeful and unpleasant if i put it softly. All in all, pretty nasty.
Ive been to the gardai station about this, and they said to do nothing, two dogs got into a fight, its not a big deal, its not criminal and theres nothing they can do, but they didnt say much more.

Please have a read, share an opinion, maybe some advice.
All comments irrelevant of opinion will be much appreciated, as I genuinely dont know where I stand in this situation.
Thanks in advance!

you are in the wrong your dog should have been on a lead, it doesn't matter how well behaved you think your dog is. you are the one who needs more cop on not the person who's dog was attacked by your unrestrained uncontrolled dog.

jam_mac_jam

It's entirely your fault, if the dog cannot be controlled by the 16 year old then she should be on a lead. 600 euro sounds very high though, I would ask to speak to the vet or some sort of proof. I would be very dubious if your own vet said there was very little wrong.

Vladpills

Thanks for the opinion guys, much appreciated. I was inclining to being in the wrong in this situation, just wanted to make sure.

Well, thats that regarding who was in the wrong, I have no problem paying, but just to do it correctly, how would I go about it?

I will ofcourse want proof, every medical bill from all of the vets, and a breakdown of what was done.
Should I contact the both of the vets just to be sure and confirm?
Should I contact his pets insurance company and explain the situation?
Aslo, should I have him agree in some written consent that he will not be looking for any further fees for the dog?
By the last line being said, I mean him coming knocking on my door a year later saying "the dog has post traumatic stress" or something.....I know, this all may sound quite shallow of me, but like I said, this guy made a huge fuss about 2 scrapes on his dogs skin, so god knows Id prefer to be on the safe side.

Again, your opinion is appreciated!

jopax

Hi op,

Obviously you know you were in the wrong regarding having your dog off the lead.

Beyond that I think your reaction was perfect, the dog was taken to the vet and you paid for it.

The dog was fine, what else does he expect from you, he sounds like a bit of a chancer to me.
I know he dog was bitten but he wasn't savaged if your dog wanted to do him serious damage she would have.
It sounds to me like she was just warning him off.
I hope you stand your ground with the owner as he sounds like he loves a drama.
Best of luck op.

the beer revolu

Don't pay another penny.
Your family did the decent thing and brought the dog to the vet and paid for it. The dog is fine.
He is trying it on and attempting to extort money from your family.
Tell him to take you to court if he wants anything else.
No judge would give him a penny.

Penny Tration

the beer revolu wrote: »

Don't pay another penny.
Your family did the decent thing and brought the dog to the vet and paid for it. The dog is fine.
He is trying it on and attempting to extort money from your family.
Tell him to take you to court if he wants anything else.
No judge would give him a penny.

Extort money? Would you stop.

He's hardly extorting money for financial gain - he paid the vet bills and wants them reimbursed!

Op, you're totally in the wrong. Pay up and keep your dog on a lead.

the beer revolu

Jenny Thalia wrote: »

Extort money? Would you stop.

He's hardly extorting money for financial gain - he paid the vet bills and wants them reimbursed!

Op, you're totally in the wrong. Pay up and keep your dog on a lead.

They brought the dog to the vet. The vet said that there was nothing wrong with the dog.
Situation should have ended there.

Yes, they were in the wrong but they dealt with the situation in a fair and reasonable way.

There is now something fishy going on.
I would tell him to swing for his unreasonable request. How do you know he's actually paid for the vet bill? He could also be claiming it on insurance.

OP, this person has nothing over you.
Don't pay another penny.

The_Pretender

The man shouldn't have to claim off his insurance, had his dog not been attacked then the dog would not have needed treatment at a vet.

Your dog wasn't kept under control and attacked another dog, so you are responsible. I'd definitely request a breakdown of where that €600 is coming from though, sounds crazy high.

Vladpills

Hi guys, thanks again for the answers.

Im getting some mixed responses here, so ill try elaborate a little.

We live in the same estate, and like I said, this guy is particularly unpleasant. I wouldnt want to find some rat poison chucked over my back garden fence for my dog to find, so would prefer to keep everything as civilized as possible.

Thats my mothers concern aswell the beet revolu, but I can also understand where he is coming from. Since a similar story happened to him previously, and he got help in UCD, I understand why he would still want to go back there for the examination, though after the opinion of a vet, who is just as qualified, it did seem quite stupid.

I will ofcourse request all of the bill breakdowns, and call the vet, just to confirm that none of them bill are phoney.
I have also decided to contact his insurance company, just incase, like I stated before, I dont want him trying to get money out of this situation. It wouldnt be hard for him, to ask for another copy of the bill from the vet clinic, and to claim.

Again, I completely understand that MY dog wasnt under control, and will ofcourse try and prevent anything like this from happening again.
Though my dog does not fall into category of vicious dogs, ive already invested in a muzzle.
Better safe then sorry, right?

Thanks again for the responses guys,
and please keep the opinions and advice coming.

Much appriciated!

the beer revolu

The_Pretender wrote: »

The man shouldn't have to claim off his insurance, had his dog not been attacked then the dog would not have needed treatment at a vet.

Your dog wasn't kept under control and attacked another dog, so you are responsible. I'd definitely request a breakdown of where that €600 is coming from though, sounds crazy high.

The dog was examined by a vet. This was paid for by the op's family. The dog was unharmed.
End of story.
They were at fault, took responsibility and dealt with the situation.

If yer man decided to bring his dog to a therapist in the US, should the op's family pay too? Where does it stop?
The dog got professional veterinary care. If they owner wasn't happy with that care, let him pay for further treatment.

I'm convinced that there is something fishy about all this.
Not a penny more.

db

Your dog was off a lead and attacked another dog. Count yourself lucky it wasn't worse and pay the bills. Just the same as if it was a car accident the other dog owner is entitled to bring his dog to his choice of vet to be examined. I'm sure if it was your dog that was attacked you would want the best possible care.

You were in the wrong. You have paid immediate expenses. I hope you got receipts from Vet. If there are further expenses associated with your dogs bad behaviour, you pay but ONLY on receipt of Invoices and you pay VET and NOT dog owner. Never, ever walk a dog, no matter how quiet without having it under control, ie on a suitable lead for its breed.

aaakev

the beer revolu wrote: »

The dog was examined by a vet. This was paid for by the op's family. The dog was unharmed.
End of story.
They were at fault, took responsibility and dealt with the situation.

If yer man decided to bring his dog to a therapist in the US, should the op's family pay too? Where does it stop?
The dog got professional veterinary care. If they owner wasn't happy with that care, let him pay for further treatment.

I'm convinced that there is something fishy about all this.
Not a penny more.

i couldn't agree more, OP did everything right and now this guy is chancing his arm imo

Vladpills

I agree regarding where the man wanted to bring his dog,

A certain incident happened to my dog twice. First time, we were in Monaghan, and brought the dog to the local vet there. Second time, we were in Dublin, but brought the dog to Monaghan since we knew it would help, and didnt want to chance it.
Like db said, its like bringing your car to your own mechanic....still quite weary why he denied first aid to his dog there, if HE though it was life threatening.
Ill repeat, neither of the vets said there was anything serious with the dog, nothing that wouldnt heal naturally.

The beer rovolu has a very important point, where does it stop?
I mean, we brought the dog to the vet, then he brought her to his own vet....I dont want to get a knock on my door 2 months later saying the dog required a "200 euro an hour acupuncture treatment in Japan as it had some delayed stress" if you get me?
Thus im asking regarding some sort of written confirmation, that after I pay for these bills, he will not be looking for any other sums of money off of me or my family.
If anybody has any idea how I should go about that, some sort of layout, or what should be said on it, please let me know.


Thanks for your responses, much appreciated!!

jopax

Hi op,

Basically you need to know where you stand legally with this individual. I can understand why with this behaviour.
I have to say this was blown way out of proportion, I have seen dogs been attacked before and if your dog wanted to savage that little dog she would have done so.
I'm not saying its right obviously but it doesn't warrant this reaction.
You were very unlucky that it happened with this individual, as I think most people would be reasonable enough about it..

1577

How on earth was the other dog's skin not broken if he was bleeding??

daUbiq

This guy is obviously a chancer. Don't pay him another penny and consider reporting him to the gardai for harassment if he keeps calling to your door.

Pat_custard

Sorry OP did you say the original attack happened on his dog 2 years ago?

Vladpills

My concern exactly jopax,

I was very surprised from the way he acted, and exaggerated the whole situation. I called him the night he brought the dog to UCD, and he constantly mentioned how his dog is "fighting for its life on the operating table" when in reality, there was nothing major.
Our local vet (not my personal vet, just a local one), offered to do further examination IF THE OWNER WOULD LIKE, but said that it is not necessary.
The local vet offered to put a stitch on the wound, but only for the peace of mind of the owner, as again, IT WAS WAS NECESSARY from the point of the vet.
When I asked the owner why he didnt want to get the dog examined by the local vet if it was "in his opinion a life threatening emergency" he said he does not trust the local vet with his dog, BUT, the next day I called, and he said that he left the dog with the local vet to be minded post surgery....abit contradicting isnt it?

Now ill mention a few more facts why this entire situation makes me quite weary. After my mother brought him to the local vet, he asked her to bring him to UCD as he hasn't got a car. My mam refused, and he said he'll go to the gardai. My mother stopped outside the gardai and said "lets find out what to do", and he refused to go.
She then offered to pay for his taxi to UCD, and he refused, stating that he is going to go home, and drive up in his own car?

I understand, he might of been in a state of shock, and panic, but his behaviour is making me very confused about this whole situation.

Yous opened up my eyes on the situation a little.
Im going to give my solicitor a call, just incase.

1577, imagine a scrape on your skin, like a cut that did not go through the skin.
The word I should have used was not "broke" but punctured.
The skin was broken, but was no punctured.

Any advice is still welcome!

ForstalDave

Vladpills wrote: »

My concern exactly jopax,

I was very surprised from the way he acted, and exaggerated the whole situation. I called him the night he brought the dog to UCD, and he constantly mentioned how his dog is "fighting for its life on the operating table" when in reality, there was nothing major.
Our local vet (not my personal vet, just a local one), offered to do further examination IF THE OWNER WOULD LIKE, but said that it is not necessary.
The local vet offered to put a stitch on the wound, but only for the peace of mind of the owner, as again, IT WAS WAS NECESSARY from the point of the vet.
When I asked the owner why he didnt want to get the dog examined by the local vet if it was "in his opinion a life threatening emergency" he said he does not trust the local vet with his dog, BUT, the next day I called, and he said that he left the dog with the local vet to be minded post surgery....abit contradicting isnt it?

Now ill mention a few more facts why this entire situation makes me quite weary. After my mother brought him to the local vet, he asked her to bring him to UCD as he hasn't got a car. My mam refused, and he said he'll go to the gardai. My mother stopped outside the gardai and said "lets find out what to do", and he refused to go.
She then offered to pay for his taxi to UCD, and he refused, stating that he is going to go home, and drive up in his own car?

I understand, he might of been in a state of shock, and panic, but his behaviour is making me very confused about this whole situation.

Yous opened up my eyes on the situation a little.
Im going to give my solicitor a call, just incase.

1577, imagine a scrape on your skin, like a cut that did not go through the skin.
The word I should have used was not "broke" but punctured.
The skin was broken, but was no punctured.

Any advice is still welcome!

Id consider that you paid for the vet, If he wanted UCD he should have said before you brought him to the local vet, I would also ask for the name of the vet he dealth with in UCD so you could confirm the details with him/her

beyondbelief67

1577 wrote: »

How on earth was the other dog's skin not broken if he was bleeding??

Could be from a graze not punctured by teeth or fur had come out.
Op you did everything right, I would ask his vet and insurance, then if he did legitimately pay out the money only then pay it, but surely the other vet Bill would of been same as the one you paid if the vet was of the same opinion ?
But once you have established everything is paid maybe get written confirmation of this from both vets that in there opinion the dog receives no further treatment and send those along with a solicitor letter saying that as far as your concerned this is the end of the matter.

Vladpills

Pat, a SIMILAR attack happened on his dog two years ago.
He said a husky got a hold of his dog, and has a go at it for 30-45 seconds from what he says.
In that case, his dog did in fact suffer internal damages.
In this case, neither of the vets found anything life threatening happening to the dog.

From what I understood, after the incident 2 years ago, his local vet said to bring the dog up to DCU, and as the owner states "it saved its life"
But in this case, the vet specifically said theres nothing major.
He asked the vet multiple times "if the dog is okay to be brought to UCD" and the vet said the dog is fine, just maybe shocked, nothing more.

Vladpills

"Id consider that you paid for the vet, If he wanted UCD he should have said before you brought him to the local vet, I would also ask for the name of the vet he dealth with in UCD so you could confirm the details with him/her"

Thats a very good point, as he only decided to bring the dog to UCD after the basic examination performed by the local vet.

"but surely the other vet Bill would of been same as the one you paid if the vet was of the same opinion ?"
BeyondBelief.
Thing was, he delayed bringing his dog to UCD, and brought her in during emergency hours.
They performed a surgery on her to "ensure no internal organs were damaged", upon his request as far as I understand (will get in touch with the vet in UCD to confirm this). So the anesthetics, overnight stay, and the general operative fees, all added up quite nicely into 600 euro.

jopax

Whatever happened to the dog before you don't really know the full facts if you only have his word to go on.
Despite this anyway, it has nothing to do with you and he seems to be punishing you for this and venting it all at you.
I hope you can find a way to put an end to this without too much hassle on you.
If you are too accommodating to him he might feel more justified and keep pushing.

tk123

Vladpills wrote: »

He wants us to pay for all the vet bills which amount to 600 euro, while he also admitted to the local vet that he's got pet insurance. He paid for the bills, and now wants cash from us.

Well I'm glad I read your post again - first time I skimmed through I thought it said he didn't have it!

Let him go and claim the fees back from his insurance - that's what it's for? If they reject the claim you want a copy of the letter to see why.

Ask for itemized bills and discharge notes from the local vet and UCD too to compare them.

I can see where they're coming from wanting to go to their preferred vet but if he has insurance so that should be the end of it - it would be for me!

beyondbelief67

I really can't believe a vet would put a dog under anaesthetic to do exploratory surgery which could of been done with xray/ scan ? I definitely would contact his vets to check if this really was done.
As I'm certain he is trying it on big time.

Pat_custard

Yea, OP this kinda sounds a bit fishy tbh.

Why is he contacting you and not the owner of the Husky? Since the vet says your attack caused no damage yet the husky did cause internal damage?

the beer revolu

beyondbelief67 wrote: »

I really can't believe a vet would put a dog under anaesthetic to do exploratory surgery which could of been done with xray/ scan ? I definitely would contact his vets to check if this really was done.
As I'm certain he is trying it on big time.

This.
Would a vet really open up a seemingly healthy dog because an owner insisted?
I don't think any responsible vet would risk a dog's life unnecessarily like that.

Do not give any money to him. Deal directly with a named Vet as other posters have said.

beyondbelief67

From someone else I know who took there dog there you can only do self referrals during the day at a kind of clinic ? But they prefer the dogs own vet to refer them ? So if he self refered at night as he says how did he do it ? As that clinic is only open during the day ! This really is getting more and more suspicious !