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.
Hi! First and foremost, please give my and my doggie’s (Merle’s) condolences to the family involved in this horror show.
Second, if this happened in an off leash dog park it would still be horrible; BUT it happened in a public park which required all dogs to be on leash (am I correct here?).
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A CRIMINAL CASE FOR SOME TYPE OF ENDANGERMENT AGAINST THE OWNER OF THE OFF LEASH DOG. NOT ONLY DID THIS SELFISH IDIOT ENDANGER DOGS, SOME OF WHOM COULD TRY TO DEFEND THEMSELVES, S/HE ENDANGERED HUMANS, INCLUDING LITTLE CHILDREN WHO WOULD HAVE NO IDEA IN THIS WORLD HOW TO DEFEND THEMSELVES.
We all need stricter laws to protect us from the selfish, self centered idiots who think their dogs are perfectly behaved and don’t understand that the most perfectly behaved dog is maybe 99% perfect. There is ALWAYS something that any dog could not resist and a prey instinct could kick in. If that 1% comes up in my or my doggie’s face, it becomes 100%!
However, laws only protect in damages after the fact, until they society realizes the laws exist. WHAT WE REALLY NEED IS MORE MONEY FOR ANIMAL CONTROL AND HAVE ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS PATROL THE DOG PARKS, THE PUBLIC PARKS AND DRIVE AROUND NEIGHBORHOODS. HMMMMMMMM. ……. . Lets siphon off some money from the Useless Border Wall fund, or how about contacting Bloomberg and/or Steyer, perhaps they can put together a foundation that would educate private Animal Control “Officers” who do report to the County and City Animal Control Departments….or, simply, the foundation could get in touch with Animal Control offices all over the country and give them grants for hiring, training and “deploying” the additional officers. There is money for this….we just have to get the people who have the money to see it is an issue worth their gettting into! Love to All, Jessica and Merle
I do not understand all the generalizations here about dog parks. (As others noted, this was a public park, not an off-leash play space). Dog parks can be wonderful, and an asset to a community, but they have to have regulations and conscientious oversight. And, they are not appropriate for all dogs. Dogs need socialization and play time. At our local dog park, many of us watch the dogs very closely and any owner whose dog shows signs of aggression is asked to take him away. (So far, in my experience, owners have been cooperative but, if one is not, I would report that individual to Animal Control.) This tragedy had nothing to do with a dog park, and is deeply heartbreaking. It shows how much people need to understand their own dogs and act accordingly. Even if off-leash recreation were allowed (it sounds like it was not legal in this situation), nobody should let their dog off-leash if the dog is not well socialized, to people and to other dogs. There is no money that can compensate the family for this trauma. But, if a punitive award serves as a lesson to the owners of the attacking dogs, who were not under control and were not reliably socialized, maybe it is worth pursuing.
I agree. We’ve been going to dog parks for more than 10 years. We watch closely. If there’s a dog who is not behaving appropriately, and the owner won’t leave, we leave. My dogs love going and it’s enriching for them.
I would hope that the person who owns the two dogs will pay for everything that he should and even more since you cannot take away the pain that the child went thru or any one who saw this. Poor child–poor dog. My dogs are every thing to me and I don’t know what I would do if this happened to me. Poor dog is all I can say.
I would plot to kill the attack dogs. Revenge, a dish best served cold.
This was the “attack dogs” owners fault not the dogs. Now there are 2 or 3 dead dogs because of this idiot. Control your dogs OR you should not be allowed to have dogs. Too late for the poor child and her dog so fine this idiot heavily and make him not be allowed to have ANY animals .
Absolutely horrible for anyone to go through, but I don’t like to hear so many people wanting the attacking dogs euthanized. I would blame their owner totally. He was responsible for letting the dogs off leash in an on-leash park, but even worse, had not bothered to train/socialize his dogs. If they attacked others more than once, maybe euthanasia was the only answer. If he didn’t care enough for his own dogs to train and love them, he should never be allowed to have dogs. I love my dog so much, I cannot imagine going through such trauma, and would want the owner’s punishment to outweigh all else. I live in an apartment and the only time my little guy is allowed to run is after our walk, (if there is no-one else in the hall), he runs to our door; occasionally I can visit a friend with an enclosed yard where he can run, but keeping him safe is of the utmost importance.
If I had my way, all dogs would be licensed. Dog adoption would require a 6 session beginning dog class. You’d have to pass the Canine Good Citizenship test before letting your dog off leash. So there!
In a huge majority of parishes, counties, and cities, dog registration is a legal requirement. Most ignore it. Our state has moved animal registratiions into the vet’s office, and when the dog receives its rabies vaccination, it is registered and the fee is paid at that time.
The moment the owner unsnapped the dogs’ leashes for them to run about unleashed, he violated the law that led to the death of this puppy and the physical and emotional damage to this family. It doesn’t matter if he knew he had aggressive or unsocialized animals or any other information about them. His violation of the law caused this tragedy. Unfortunately, this law is handled by an animal control officer and not a police officer. Meaning his violation of the law will be interpreted to be “softer.” Add to that the interpretation of a pet being an object and not a thing of value beyond its purchase price, and you will have a situation that will not get real justice. If there is anything to see positive in this situation, it is that the dogs killed the puppy and not a small child which realistically could have happened. It makes me shudder to write that… My golden is a service dog, and in my state my disability rights protect me from financial loss if he were to be intentionally irreversably injured or killed by someone. I will be purchasing a replacement puppy soon, and I get very anxious when I think of the training process that will put my puppy in situations with ignorant and stupid people that could very easily cause great harm or death to the pup and/or me. I’m so sorry this happened to this puppy and his family and friends. It will be something very traumatic that will be very difficult to recover.
It cost me $15000.00 when a Bull Mastiff got out of its collar turned after we (me and my Standard Poodles) passed by it and the owner and her dog pinned my male on the ground going for his neck, throat and ear on the right side. It was an on leash public walking park, out of panic I went in and tried to pull the dog off, it turned and bit me and then resumed the attack. Then I remembered what I had learned in a dog class – picked it up by its hind legs and raised the dog as high as I could – it let go and my dog took off – severe bleeding. Seven days at emergency and as I said $15000.00 – the owner did not have home insurance. For me I had to obtain counselling because all I could hear was my dog screaming…
So sorry for your friend and his family, especially the young children who witnessed the attack. Heartbreaking. I shudder to think what might have happened if the dogs had attacked any of the children present.
I won’t opine on the price of a life – legal minds can figure that out.
What I can comment on is the obvious: laws are there for a reason. Follow them. Period. Accidents happen, yes, but this was no accident. A law was broken with horrible consequences, and the whole thing was preventable had the owner simply abided by the posted ordinance.
You kidding! I would NEVER trust peoples instincts, let alone actual research, on the best care for a dog. DOG PARKS, no way. I learned a lot, over the years, about the proper care for my GSD and blessedly, almost twelve, and still with us. I took him once, early on, to a “dog park” and no thank you. People on cell phones and distracted and not connecting with dog body language. Simply puts me and my dog in jeopardy because I would jump in middle and we’d both get hurt. Goodness knows if dogs are all up to date on shots. . I pay for daycare where I know dogs are vetted and he is well cared for. We walk almost two miles every morning. I have learned a lot just reading Whole Dog Journal. I am now learning about acupuncture and probably effective (very expensive) and doing further research on moist heating pads and my learning to massage my dogs knees. Almost painful to love my dog so much. I work my day around him. Retired so I can do this. Jean
I experienced this exact thing at the age of 10. My toy poodle leashed a neighbor’s dog let off leash to run around the neighborhood with dog sitter The owners were on vacation. Black lab picked up the poodle and shook it until his little neck broke. I have never EVER taken a dog out in public since (except for school training)
And that was in 1970! No you don’t get over the sight and the child will have nightmares for years to come. I won’t walk my dogs either I run them in backyard. My dad sued and win the cost of replacing the dog.
That being said—in the public park scenario it is the owner’s negligence and he should have to pay for therapy for the children if necessary regardless of whether he put the dog down or not.