Readers, dog owners, can I ask you a question? Or, actually, a few related questions:
If you had to put a dollar figure on it, what would your dog’s life be worth to you? How would you justify that figure?
And, for those of you who have actually HAD TO put a dollar figure on your dog’s life in a lawsuit, or who received compensation after your dog’s life was taken by another – whether through negligence or cruelty or whatever: How much compensation were you able to receive?
Another dog lost his life unnecessarily
I’m asking these questions as I ponder the story of a friend’s pup, who was killed as he lay, on leash, at a public park, by two off-leash dogs, in front of my friend, his nine-year-old daughter, her friend, and other children and parents. I just can’t fully fathom the emotional damage done to my friend and especially his daughter, who had just completed a “puppy kindergarten” training class with her beloved dog. My friend’s daughter, an active, athletic girl, has told her dad she doesn’t want to play at the park anymore, it hurts too much. Is there a price you can put on this pain?
The owner of the attacking dog had released his dogs to run off-leash, in violation of the local leash laws. In my mind, that makes him liable for a bit more in damages, should a suit find him responsible for the loss of my friend’s pup and damages for the bites my friend sustained as he tried to save his pup from the aggressors. But the owner of those dogs stayed at the scene and took responsibility for the dogs, and, in fact, surrendered the dog most responsible for the puppy’s death to the responding animal control officer and requested that the dog be euthanized. Should that act reduce his legal liability?
What does the law say about this?
It’s my understanding that, in this country, dogs are legal property, and their loss is not treated or compensated-for as the loss of a human family member would be. But, as I sit here looking at photos my friend sent me of his happy daughter and her puppy at Christmas, and of the slain puppy and his attackers at the park a few weeks later, waiting for an animal control officer to arrive, I just can’t square the price of a puppy’s purchase with the loss my friend’s family has suffered.
I don’t even know if my friend will pursue a lawsuit or settlement, and of course there is no way of knowing how a judge might rule on such a case, or whether the marauding dogs’ owner feels any responsibility or has a homeowner’s insurance policy or some other way to attempt to compensate my friend for his family’s loss and suffering. I’m just so sad, thinking about it. What is a dog’s life actually worth today?
*A note from Nancy Kerns
In response to the many comments left by our readers, I wanted to state the following:
This is a really upsetting story, I know; I had not yet even met my friend’s puppy, but had seen pictures of his daughter and the pup together, and yet, as I have been discussing the tragedy with my friend and thinking about it – imagining it – I have been in tears several times a day. Awful!
However, I really am hoping to get more answers to the questions at the outset of the post. If you *could* name the price that you would accept for the loss of your dog, how would you set a value on his life? And, more reality-based, if you or someone you know had a dog who was killed through no fault of your own, and if you sought or received compensation for your loss, how was that compensation determined?
Also, I would like it to be known that the attacking dogs were not pit bulls – and their breed is beside the point. I have removed a post or two that was targeting pit bulls, as the breed was in no way relevant in this case. These dogs had been let off leash in a public park that has a leash law, near a children’s playground – that is the point here.
The sole cause of this tragedy was the owner. First of all, he disobeyed the law. Second, his dog or dogs were likely not properly socialized , what training did theses dogs ever receive? Again a likely poor judgement call on the part of the owner. It seems unlikely that this was a first offense by the dog or dogs.
The city or county ought to have a training program which is required mandatory attendance which educates these owners as a consequence of their offense . Perhaps Animal Control could specialize in this training.
This training should include education on dog behavior in packs (2 or more) , the value of professional obedience training , on leash training and recalls. Finally your responsibilities as a dog owner, why off leash is a no-no in all public , the dangers of an off leash dog.
It is not as simple as putting a price on your dogs life, anymore than you can a human life.
If I understand the article, they weren’t even at a dog park but at a public park with leash laws.
I would NEVER take my dog to a dog park. She’s a tiny 9 pound Shichon. I’m afraid to let her loose at my house off leash, in the case there is another loose dog roaming the neighborhood who could attack her. Just the thought of her being at a park with many off leash dogs makes me shiver. I see these types of cases on judge shows almost everyday, which deepens my fear. If the dog survives the attack, the owner is usually compensated for vet bills only. People are awarded an amount as well if the dog does not survive. People who own large dogs and let them off leash should be sued, period. Negligence at the highest!
Angela…just an FYI…I have a 77 lb working line, Black German Shepherd. We were at a public park (and in our State and County there are leash laws) one day for a walk when a Papillon mix OFF LEASH came barreling at my dog. Being a well trained dog, mine sat, at my side without budging. Even after I yelled at the owner to “GET YOUR DOG” she nonchalantly walked toward us. I reiterated “YOU BETTER GET YOUR DOG” and then I stood between my dog and the path her’s was taking and firmly shouted “NO!” The little dog stopped dead in its tracks, but my point is little dogs can be just as aggressive as big dogs and having had large black dogs my whole life, it’s always the Shepherd or Lab or Pit’s fault. I would expect ANY dog to defend itself if being attacked. ANYone who lets ANY dog (little breeds included) off leash in a public area should be held accountable. Its NOT the dog’s fault and size shouldn’t matter.
I absolutely agree. I too have a large dog on leash where the owner let their “little” dog off leash and it came barreling after my dog. I am a very responsible pet owner and my dogs are always trained. I cringe seeing dogs off leash by unsuspecting and non-responsible owners. The ones whose dog charges after mine are given an earful of their stupidity and lack of responsibility. 😣
Deb, Wonderfully expressed 100% valid point: Letting any dog off leash in on-leash areas where the assumption is that no dogs will be running up to one’s dog or person is reckless due to the potential consequence for all involved, including that of the small off-leash dog. As well, you are correct about the undue blame and consequence falling on a larger, leashed dog defending itself. All around, the scenario reminds me of the dynamic of a parent blithely letting a small child run freely in an area with traveling cars with the rationale that a child may not put much of a dent in a car were he/she to run in front of one. Just doesn’t make sense.
Many years ago, when walking a friend’s pregnant Rottweiler and their other dog on their private community beach which allowed leashed dogs, a fellow member let her big dog and small dog run up to us saying “They’re friendly!” She ignored my exclamation “She is NOT!” As I write this three decades later, I still shake at the memory of the Rottie biting into that poor little dog while I focused on her larger dog. Not knowing what to do, I ended up repeatedly kicking the beloved Rottie whom I devotedly cared for and was walking responsibly.
The injured little dog lived and the woman took us to court. After weeks of intense worry and the woman missing the first court date, our hearing lasted about a minute: once the judge asked which dogs were on leash and which were not, the case was dismissed. Thankfully the woman was honest about the leashing. Legal proceedings aside, all involved suffered due to the woman’s reckless decision.
That such reckless endangerment of dogs big and small continues to this day is mind-boggling to me.
(PS The Rottie was impregnated by an off-leash hormone driven male who had fixated on the house during the Rottie’s heat and broke in through a cellar window (And yes if the were Rottie were mine, she would have been spayed!))
Lily, Talk about wonderfully expressed! I really appreciate your reply. You strike me as an honest, educated lady with a truck load of common sense. Thank you again, that was very interesting. Sorry you had your day ruined because some idiot thought since my dogs are friendly I do not have to obey the leash laws. And I’m sorry you had to go through the stress and aggravation of court. But I’m glad you went before a Judge that also had good common sense.
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I agree 100%. My 6 yo female is medium sized (45 lbs) and is aggressive to other dogs because she got attacked as a 2yo. I’ve worked with her non-stop to tone down the aggression. She’s better and I never take her off leash unless in our home or in our fenced yard. However, I can’t count the number of times I’ve gone to a public park and I’ve gone the opposite way of an off-leash dog and had that dog run towards mine. I’ve politely asked the owners to ‘please restrain your dog’ to no avail. My dog is pretty agile and quick and when she’s been attacked (since that initial encounter at 2) she’s usually had the attacking dog on the ground in 15 seconds. I’ve stepped in and separated them (got bit once) and no dogs have actually been hurt, but I imagine if she killed another dog who was off leash in a leash required area who attacked my dog, I would be sued. Too many irresponsible dog owners I say!!
Deb, I agree completely with your comment that the dogs size should not matter. When people talk about size of the dog, too often they are using that to make their decision about the dog’s behavior rather than the dog’s actual behavior.
The other thing people forget about is that mixing on-leash and off-leash dogs can most often create an aggressive situation in the fact that the leashed dog feels at a disadvantage to even greet in the same way let alone defend itself. There are leash laws for a reason. Not all people feel comfortable around strange dogs and some dogs feel that way too. These laws are for everyone’s safety. We have a lot of trouble on hiking trails that have leash laws. Our dog likes other dogs, but does not like to be surprised by an off-leash dog coming around a corner out of nowhere, so he barks and then we get accused of having an aggressive dog. He is a herding dog and is doing his job to alert us. Most of the time he would roll over or walk away, but if the dog gets pushy he will snarl. Not to mention that he is always on leash and is not the one breaking the law. Sorry for the rant. That is horrible what happened to your friend and his family. I don’t know if I could put a price on my dog. I know the courts wouldn’t understand how much my dog means to me in order to properly compensate for the loss and trauma, especially if I had to witness his death.
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I think I’ve said this before, but it’s very pertinent here. This has been years ago and the dogs involved are no longer with us. My husband took two of our Danes out for a walk around the neighborhood. All of the sudden, a very small mix-breed dog rushed out of his unfenced yard, ran across the street, and attacked our male Dane. My husband tried to pull the dog off and the dog turned and bit my husband. That is when our male Dane picked the little dog up and then dropped him. Needless to say, the little dog was severely hurt (and later died). We felt just awful, even though this was not our nor our dogs’ fault. The little dogs’ owner was not at home and we took both our male Dane and the little dog to the vet (where the little dog died). My husband had to go to the emergency room for his bite. It was a mess. Then the little dog’s owner tried to sue us and have our dogs taken away saying that they were “dangerous dogs”. Fortunately, two neighbors were out and saw exactly what happened and he decided not to sue. Animal control paid a visit, spoke to the eye witnesses and our dogs were deemed not dangerous and animal control cited the man for breaking the leash laws. BTW, we paid for the little dog’s vet bill. I do not believe our Dane meant to harm the little dog, but he certainly wasn’t going to let the little dog attack him and my husband without doing anything. I think our Dane was well within his right to get the little dog to break off his attack. I think it was just a terrible situation of very huge dog tells very little dog that what very little dog is doing is totally unacceptable. We did have a very small dog at home at that time, and she and our male Dane were best buds–he never tried to harm her in any way (and she could do just about anything–steal his food, steal his toy, and he’d let her). Upshot: don’t let your dog run loose, you can be attacked just walking down the street (our dogs were on a leash, by the way), and socialize your dogs to other dogs. If you have a large dog, be sure to socialize them to small dogs. If you have small dogs, be certain you socialized them to large dogs. In rescue, we have issues all the time with little dogs that aren’t socialized to large dogs that then become aggressive toward the larger dogs. We’ve not had another incident where a little dog was hurt, but if you fail to socialize your small dog to larger ones, be prepared for problems if you happen to see a large dog out on a walk, in a pet supply store, at the vet’s office, etc. If your little dog displays aggression and the larger dog says “stop it”, your little dog may be hurt badly.
another fear with a small dog is being snatched up by hawks and eagles -it happens. As for dog parks – NEVER, EVER, EVER is there a reason to take your dog to a dog park. I realize this happened in a public park and the big dogs’ owner was negligent but having his aggressive dog put down does not begin to cover the loss this family suffered. Unfortunately in most places dogs are simply property, as would be a bicycle, wagon, etc. Courts will award the purchase price and MAYBE any vet expenses/medical bills from the attack but that’s all. Sort of keeping with courts for humans……the aggressor is treated with kid gloves while the victim gets nothing but harassment.
Angela, I have had German Shepherds for over 20 years, six were permanent residents in my home and over 50 were foster dogs who were also German Shepherds. The ONE TIME I was bitten by a dog was when I was attempting to help a stray Chihuahua. I was badly bitten on both hands. The size of the dog isn’t as relevant as the temperament of the dog, and whether or not the dog is being adequately supervised by an attentive, responsible person.
And, extend care in your yard as those big hawks do love to catch the tiny dogs, cats, rabbits, etc.
Appears this did not occur at a dog park, but a public park. That said, it becomes less about about the compensation for the dog who was killed and more about psychological damage to those who witnessed it and risked/incurred injury as a result of the incident. Our dogs are priceless emotionally but everything has a value, esp in the legal world and I’m sure a reputable personal injury attorney would not hesitate to get hold of this case.
That experience (especially for the young girl) was taumatizing to say the least. I am not a lawyer, but anyone can sue for anything, and I believe that emotional distress is soemthing to be considered. In 1997, I lost a 4 year old AKC Obedience titled dog, therapy dog and beloved companion to a botched neutering by an incompetent veterinarian. He was healthy, with no underlying problems prior to surgery. That vet was very quick to hand over cash in the hopes that I would not sue. Since I was pregnant at the time, I chose not to sue but in honor of my lost dog, I told everyone I knew to stay away from that vet hospital! That was pre-social media, it would have been a much more effective tactic today! More recently, one of my dogs needed surgery in both knees for fully torn ligaments-it was very expensive ($12,000), so I suppose I did put a dollar amount on his life. Consider, age, health status, and ability to pay as decision making. I hope o have at least another 6 years with him!
Oh man. I can’t put a number on my dogs’ lives, just can’t. I mean, I did pay their shelter adoption fees, and maybe that’d be the legal worth, but no… Dogs are part of your life in ways that can’t be paid for in money. My sincere condolences to your friend and his daughter and all the other children who were there. I am relieved that the other dogs’ owner took responsibility and didn’t try to blame the puppy or your friend. That seems like such a low bar, but so many stories are of aggressive dogs and their irresponsible owners.
I can’t even think of an amount I could accept as compensation for either of my dogs. That said I would make the criminal (yes I said criminal) owner of the responsible dog pay as much as legally allowed and then donate it to a responsible pet agency.
I agree, I don’t go to dog parks, not worth taking a chance. My dog is priceless to me and no amount of money would ever be sufficient. She is a therapy dog and priceless to many others as well. Thankfully, the owner took responsibility but he/she was reckless in letting the dogs loose in the first place.
I can’t see where to comment at top blog, but agree with being cautious about one’s dog. I don’t walk mine or take to any park. Let them play in back yard and inside house instead. I am not sure what I’d do if were in apartment setting? Have seen few cases on tv news where dogs were attacked on leash walking with family member by off leash or loose lost dogs on walks. I do wish they could interact with other dogs, but area I love in doesn’t have that without added risks. I feel our dogs are far worth more than any adoption fees or money spent on them too. We are also careful to always supervise outdoor yard breaks, so as to avoid pet theft. Pet theft has grown even in US, but become epidemic in certain parts of world. I even went so far as to have dogs DNA test done in case I ever need to prove they’re mine in case of being lost and not returned, as microchips are not always helpful. They are family and no money in work paid back from any incident could ever compensate for loss of our loved pet family member. We love our dog so much, and they make us smile every day, I never take chances on their safety.
Yes! We are going to move to a situation where we will not have a back yard. We will have a patio area and the rest of the grounds are common area. So walking on a leash will be my dogs’ only serious exercise. Which is fine. But I am hyper vigilant about other dogs and quickly move to the opposite side of the street if approached by people and large dogs. Mine are small Boston terriers. I find that even nice people can be quite stupid about allowing their dogs and/or small children to approach without asking. I love my dogs with all my heart. They are not replaceable at any price.
I believe the owner should be held liable. First, the animals should not have been allowed off leash if they were in the least bit aggressive. Possibly not be allowed at the park at all without proper training.
Second, not only did your friend lose a cherished member of the family (yes, I count my dog as family), but those dogs will possibly/probably lose their lives due to his negligence. even worse, unless this person decides to take steps to ensure this never happens again, this will, quite possibly, happen again. 🙁
I just want to elaborate that whether they were “the least bit aggressive” or not ever aggressive, leash laws are supposed to be adhered to, yet too many people feel their dog is not “aggressive” and listens to them, etc. . . . truth is, dogs are pack animals and sometimes for no apparent reason, with no past history, can suddenly become aggressive to another animal (dog, human, etc.), and in packs, they often get into a frenzy. My point is that, dogs, unless they are in their own back yard with appropriate fencing, or somewhere they are allowed to be off leash, should be leashed and therefore their owner needs to be held accountable. A stop light and/or stop sign mean stop, it’s a way to protect our lives, would that person go through a stop sign, kill someone and think that simply by handing over their car keys, that is the end of it?
Laws need to be updated and changed to reflect the society we live in now.
Couldn’t agree with you more!
Agree 100%
I agree Christina. I have never faced this problem but thinking how I would put a value on my beloved Callie who I waited 30 years to have a pet dog. Having kept all her Vet records and statements over the years, that would be considered. In other words what has it taken to keep her healthy and well. I might even consider the expense of all the obedience, therapy, and Canine Good Citizen trainings that I paid for to help make her the companion she is today. Then of course the price paid for her. You see where I am going with this, her monetary value is going to be very high.
Any owner who breaks the law by unleashing his/her dogs that kills another dog is, in my book, liable for all damages. Period!
Agree. Responsible in every respect.
Very much agree with your well-presented reasoning.
You mean, people wear the leashes, because the dog walking them is the more responsible one of the two?
FIRST…this is the very reason I don’t go to dog parks. We have a membership at one, however they have 3 LARGE, fenced areas that are “Private” in that if you are signed in, ONLY you and your dog(s) are allowed in.
That said, I cannot even fathom the experience of what your friend witnessed! I would be distraught and inconsolable. I’ve been in the legal field for over 30 years, but I couldn’t begin to guess or put a number on what my dog is worth to me. She’s priceless. My soul would be so damaged. I’ll be interested to see what others have to say.
OOPS…I missed that this happened in a public park and not a dog park. Apologies.
But your comment is very valid for dog parks. I never take my dogs to dog parks (and I have Great Danes and Irish Wolfhounds–who are likely larger than any of the other dogs there).