Yes. Home owner’s insurance for the attacking dog’s owner. As an ER vet, I’very had it with owners who avoid their legal responsibility for the damage their dog has done. I have had to euthanize too many for financial reasons.
I don’t have a breed which is typically cause for concern. I have an extra umbrella policy on my home so that I am adequately insured if someone got loose and caused a car accident.
[QUOTE=cloudyandcallie;8903981]
Sue her. People who own vicious dogs must pay up.
As others said, go for her homeowner’s insurance.
And report her to everyone so there is a record of the attack. Once someone has a dog which attacks, the insurance will go up or the dog will go.
When I was in college, the dogs down the road attacked my Manchester Terrier and disemboweled him and emasculated him. He survived, but of course his lifespan was shortened by the attack so he died a few years later.
My sweet nice mother, who beat the dogs off of my dog with a broom, called the owners of both dogs. One paid the full amount while the other did not pay a cent.
Those 2 dogs had attacked animals before that and did so afterwards. When we finally got a lease law in Chatham County, I had those dogs locked up thru the help of my county commission as animal control said dogs in nice neighborhoods weren’t going to be required to be kept fenced in.:mad:
No, no you call her homeowner’s insurance. She is responsible. I did that in Atlanta when a dog of mine on lease was attacked by a neighbor’s dog off lease.
You have to demand to know the homeowner’s ins company and raise hell. You cannot be nice or they will treat you badly. Trust me, as I learned the hard way not to be nice to people who just don’t give a damn and let their vicious dogs run loose.[/QUOTE]
I dont know if I would call it a vicious attack did you read the whole story? The original poster fully admits that her dogs attacked the other dog first. It my mind the large dog appropriately responded based on the clues that the OP dogs gave it. There is a shared responsibility. I’d call up your neighbor and ask if it is possible to share the costs of the emergency bill.
Victim dog barked/postured but didn’t harm the much larger dog
[QUOTE=cloudyandcallie;8903985]
no no the woman’s homeowner’s ins, not the OP’s ins.
In GA. BTDT.[/QUOTE]
Appreciate the correction and to know for myself if ever in the event.
My 30lb mutt had an FHO just before I got her and recovered beautifully. She is extremely athletic; her right back just isn’t quite as stable as the other legs so it will (very occasionally) buckle a bit.
Thanks for the replies. C&C, I have no intention of suing her. When we went to the emergency vet clinic, I refused to identify the dog, just because of a reaction like you had.
The dog is a nice dog. When I go to my neighbor’s barn the dog comes running out, tail wagging, smile on her face.
Had the event happened off my property, and even though my dogs are full of hot air and would be too scared to ever actually attack, I would have said that my dogs started it and got what they deserved. Other dogs around my farm quietly trot away when attacked by my vicious Yorkies, and my dogs consider saving their farm to have been a job well done. 
The only difference here was that my neighbor’s dog came over and the attack happened on my farm.
[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8904603]
When we went to the emergency vet clinic, I refused to identify the dog, just because of a reaction like you had.[/QUOTE]
I get that you don’t like conflict, but your dog was attacked and suffered very serious injuries. Not reporting it to animal control is why things like this keep happening.
I see where you’re coming from, Lord Helpus. And, I think you’re right. Stuff happens, accidents happen. This wasn’t a case where the owner of the dog was careless all the time, it was a one time incident that ended badly. To put it a little more rudely “sh*t happens.” People complain about our litigious society all the time, yet, often, these same people are the ones telling everyone to sue, at the drop of a hat. If you can work it out between yourselves, why go to all the stress of trying to sue? You’re the one that is going to have to live around this neighbor for a long time. Get it resolved peacefully, if you can. If not, then consider what further actions you are willing to take.
Your neighbor was trying to help in an emergency, then a series of events caused by the emergency led to a terrible outcome. I’m so sorry your little one was gravely injured. As you’ve read, FHO is a great way to go!
[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8904603]
Other dogs around my farm quietly trot away when attacked by my vicious Yorkies, and my dogs consider saving their farm to have been a job well done. :)[/QUOTE]
I mean this kindly with NO intent of ‘kicking you when you’re down.’ I speak as someone who owned a terrier and a tiny, rabbit-looking dog-
For the safety of your pups in the future, it would be prudent to curtail their antagonistic behavior. If your dogs were the size of your neighbor’s, their behavior wouldn’t be tolerantly shrugged off. Take the responsibility of guarding the farm off their mighty mite shoulders and counter condition them to understand that other dogs = the heavens rain chicken :yes:.
I would never trust the neighbor’s dog around your dogs again. Both sides will feel tense and be easily triggered.
How is your little warrior this morning?
[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8904603]
Thanks for the replies. C&C, I have no intention of suing her. When we went to the emergency vet clinic, I refused to identify the dog, just because of a reaction like you had.
The dog is a nice dog. When I go to my neighbor’s barn the dog comes running out, tail wagging, smile on her face.
Had the event happened off my property, and even though my dogs are full of hot air and would be too scared to ever actually attack, I would have said that my dogs started it and got what they deserved. Other dogs around my farm quietly trot away when attacked by my vicious Yorkies, and my dogs consider saving their farm to have been a job well done.
The only difference here was that my neighbor’s dog came over and the attack happened on my farm.[/QUOTE]
So sorry for your little dog. But wanted to say thank you so much for being reasonable instead of sue happy. It’s a bad situation all the way around, but sounds like an honest “mistake”. I have an 8 lb toy poodle who thinks he’s a mastiff. I can see something like this happening with him.
I do think the owner of the dog should at least contribute to the vet bill, without you having to ask though.
[QUOTE=Justmyluck;8904148]
I dont know if I would call it a vicious attack did you read the whole story? The original poster fully admits that her dogs attacked the other dog first. It my mind the large dog appropriately responded based on the clues that the OP dogs gave it. There is a shared responsibility. I’d call up your neighbor and ask if it is possible to share the costs of the emergency bill.[/QUOTE]
The responsibility is shared to be sure, but ripping out the intestines, and destroying the leg of an 8 lb dog seems a bit beyond an “appropriate response” to me.
[QUOTE=red mares;8907595]
The responsibility is shared to be sure, but ripping out the intestines, and destroying the leg of an 8 lb dog seems a bit beyond an “appropriate response” to me.[/QUOTE]
Well, OP said the intestines were in the hernia; so unless I’m mistaken and misread, the intestines were still within the body, just not where they were supposed to be. So not necessarily “ripping out the intestines”. When a dog is that small, I think even a small altercation with a larger dog could seriously hurt the small pup without it necessarily being a case of the larger dog being out to kill the smaller one.
I hope your dog is doing okay today, OP. No advice. It’s certainly tough. I am not sure I would personally expect another Dog Owner to pay the vet fees when my dog was the one being aggressive/territorial; offering would certainly be appreciated but I wouldn’t expect someone to front the bill. Kind of like in the horse world: wouldn’t you be floored if I demanded you pay for the surgery on my horse because your horse kicked mine through the fence after my horse pinned his ears and postured along the fence? Sh*t happens - just sucks it had to happen to you and what appears to be a nice neighbor.
You’re right, I misread the first post. I still think to say the reaction of the other dog was reasonable is extremely charitable.
Sh!t does happen; the incident should still be reported to Animal Control. If this really was an anomaly on the part of the neighbor’s dogs then very little will come of it. If it’s not, the next victim will appreciate the history.
The funniest thing about this is that the wannabe-killer pit bull’s owner knows that this is her fault, and the OP seems to be struggling with the fact. WKPBO has gone incommunicado, indicating either guilt or fear of being handed a bill, while the OP is inexplicably seeking to distract herself from the basic issue of having been violently and financially wronged (and attempting to avoid having to confront anyone) by deciding what’s really important here is the state of neighborhood peace and whether WKPO can really afford a huge vet bill. These are not your actual problems, OP. This is pretty simple - your neighbor’s dog attacked and nearly killed your dog, on your property, for barking. This is like your neigbor’s teenaged son attacking and nearly killing your daughter because she called him a doofus. The ‘provocation’ was so slight as to be laughable (and I’ve met nasty Yorkies and have all due respect for them, but OP said hers barked, not that they bit) The normal reaction of a large dog to a barky small dog is bafflement and retreat, not mauling.
Not intended as an attack on OP - nice people have nice reactions, and sometimes that’s a horrible mistake. I had a very similar reaction when my dog was mauled - oh, yeah, neighbor lady with giant pit/velociraptor, your smiley pitty is soooo pretty, just a bad situation, I get it, things happen, no worries. I then spent three months chasing that bitch’s ass for the damn rabies vaccination proof, and she spent three months ignoring my calls. Never underestimate the ability of a pit bull owner to be morally vacant.
Anytime a very very small dog (as a yorkie is) gets into any sort of scuffle (even in play) with a MUCH larger dog… the odds are good that the small dog will be seriously injured. This is a PURSE SIZED dog. A dog that can be instantly crushed/killed if a person accidentally steps on it. A dog that can be paralyzed if a larger dog in play accidentally knocks it and steps on it. I don’t think it’s fair to conclude anything about the nature of the attack from the fact that a very very small dog suffered serious injuries. Something a 30 lb dog would have walked away from can kill an 8 lb dog. For all we know, the attacking dog could have pushed the yorkie to the ground ONCE trying to get it to back off and the yorkie could have sustained all the injuries described and worse. The bigger dog could have just been trying to pin/stop the yorkie rather than trying to inflict damage. We just don’t know. OP hasn’t said. So I don’t think it’s fair to assume that the attacking dog was hell bent on killing the yorkie. Any tussle with a dog that small and one much larger can end in terrible injuries for the small dog no matter how the tussle happened. I don’t think it’s fair to conclude that the attacking dog was out to kill the yorkie simply from the fact that the yorkie was badly injured.
[QUOTE=vacation1;8908478]
The funniest thing about this is that the wannabe-killer pit bull’s owner knows that this is her fault, and the OP seems to be struggling with the fact. WKPBO has gone incommunicado, indicating either guilt or fear of being handed a bill, while the OP is inexplicably seeking to distract herself from the basic issue of having been violently and financially wronged (and attempting to avoid having to confront anyone) by deciding what’s really important here is the state of neighborhood peace and whether WKPO can really afford a huge vet bill. These are not your actual problems, OP. This is pretty simple - your neighbor’s dog attacked and nearly killed your dog, on your property, for barking. This is like your neigbor’s teenaged son attacking and nearly killing your daughter because she called him a doofus. The ‘provocation’ was so slight as to be laughable (and I’ve met nasty Yorkies and have all due respect for them, but OP said hers barked, not that they bit) The normal reaction of a large dog to a barky small dog is bafflement and retreat, not mauling.
Not intended as an attack on OP - nice people have nice reactions, and sometimes that’s a horrible mistake. I had a very similar reaction when my dog was mauled - oh, yeah, neighbor lady with giant pit/velociraptor, your smiley pitty is soooo pretty, just a bad situation, I get it, things happen, no worries. I then spent three months chasing that bitch’s ass for the damn rabies vaccination proof, and she spent three months ignoring my calls. Never underestimate the ability of a pit bull owner to be morally vacant.[/QUOTE]
Careful there, your hatred of pit-types is coloring your perspective too much. Nice little plug at the end that really reveals your disdain for PB owners. Cute. This dog is part-Lab, would you say the same thing if it was something besides 1/2 PB? Probably not.
OP said her dogs attacked the bigger dog. Barking and jumping up and down. Those are aggressive behaviors. Total Act Of War. Regardless of dog breed.
You are reading into a situation where the wording was left vague and inputting your own scenario. Here’s what the OP wrote:
Being Terriers, my dogs ‘attacked’ her dog (much barking and jumping up and down) to protect their farm, which caused the big dog to attack.
Other dogs around my farm quietly trot away when attacked by my vicious Yorkies, and my dogs consider saving their farm to have been a job well done.
Her quotes around ‘attack’ could mean anything, but she then says they bark and jump up and down - that is antagonistic and aggressive behavior.
It really sucks for the OP and I am not pointing a finger at her or her dog; I just don’t think in this situation it’s entirely reasonable to expect the other party to pay up when the fight was started/antagonized by the OP’s dogs. If the fight was unprovoked and the yorkie was not being aggressive then yes, the onus should fall on the owner to foot the bill - but in a case by case basis, the dog (and dog owner) that instigates the fight is the one that should pay the bill.
From the nature of the injuries and the fact the dog was called off without too much bloodshed (OP doesn’t mention blood at all, just the hernia), I wouldn’t say the dog was trying to kill the Yorkie. They’re so tiny and fragile that even a defensive shove from the defending dog could break them.
I also feel like a small dog shouldn’t be nearly killed on their own property. The Pitbull owner was aware the fence was down.
This is actually kind of similar to my sister’s dog landing on the pug. The dog jumped a six foot fence, and unfortunately landed square on the pug. Who was badly damaged. My sister (well, her DH, it’s his dog) ABSOLUTELY PAID THE MONSTROUS VET BILL. Because he’s a good person. And he didn’t want his dog taken away as a vicious animal. The damage to this pug was vomit inducing. Of course it had surgical complications. They aren’t exactly bred for hardiness. BIL paid it all. And so he should have.
Our dog caused damage to a car, when he was killed by it. We felt responsible, as he had gotten out and gone quite far. We still feel responsible, it is our fault he was killed. We went through our liability insurance, and they determined that we were not liable for the damage to the car. It was the responsibility of the driver, BUT the insurance adjuster indicated this was due to our location. She said something about how in a subdivision or city, having an off leash dog would make you liable.
I despise the attitude that small dogs “deserve it.” This was completely avoidable
If I’m reading this correctly, the fight started because the other dog entered the OPs property uninvited. That’s a problem.
OP had the neighbor over and feels this is why the dog came over. Dog previously obeyed electric fence, and the very reason the neighbor was over was to fix generator. Sucky situation all around.
As long as dog doesn’t escape twice and do it again, it should be fine.
[QUOTE=beowulf;8908859]
Careful there, your hatred of pit-types is coloring your perspective too much. Nice little plug at the end that really reveals your disdain for PB owners. Cute. This dog is part-Lab, would you say the same thing if it was something besides 1/2 PB? Probably not. OP said her dogs attacked the bigger dog. Barking and jumping up and down. Those are aggressive behaviors. Total Act Of War. Regardless of dog breed. Her quotes around ‘attack’ could mean anything, but she then says they bark and jump up and down - that is antagonistic and aggressive behavior… I wouldn’t say the dog was trying to kill the Yorkie. They’re so tiny and fragile that even a defensive shove from the defending dog could break them.[/QUOTE]
So non-contact physical and verbal posturing constitute Total War and are understood by dogs as an attack, but physically biting and mauling isn’t an attack and is not intended to harm. And it was really the small dog’s fault for being small and Total Warring the pit bull. Thank you for explaining that! Because my ‘hatred of pit types’ must have been what prevented me from seeing the situation in quite that light.
You haven’t helped me conquer my ‘disdain’ for pit bull owners at all. Bad pit bull therapist.
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