Dog bite/ attack

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

I'm trying to cover all my basis here today to make sure that I'm in the clear.

I was coming back from walking the dogs this morning. Standard route - 3 miles, same time. Nothing different. Turning the corner onto my street, the neighbor's English bulldog came out of house charging after my two dogs. I have a Labrador Retriever (80 lbs) and a Wheaton Terrier (45 pounds). Bull dog is about 60 pounds. My dogs are on leash.

I was struggling to keep the bull dog away from the wheaton who can be territorial at times. I always walk him with a gentle leader to maintain full control. I eventually tangled up in the leashes and fell. I drop leashes at this point. The lab went over to another neighbor who was walking towards us with her dog.

The dog owner's wife came out running to get their dog. She had a hold of him, but now she's between her dog and mine who was being charged. He nipped her to get at the dog, but broke no skin. The bull dog had a bite mark from mine.

Florida statute:

767.04. Dog owner's liability for damages to persons bitten



The owner of any dog that bites any person while such person is on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, is liable for damages suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owners' knowledge of such viciousness. However, any negligence on the part of the person bitten that is a proximate cause of the biting incident reduces the liability of the owner of the dog by the percentage that the bitten person's negligence contributed to the biting incident. A person is lawfully upon private property of such owner within the meaning of this act when the person is on such property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him or her by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or when the person is on such property upon invitation, expressed or implied, of the owner. However, the owner is not liable, except as to a person under the age of 6, or unless the damages are proximately caused by a negligent act or omission of the owner, if at the time of any such injury the owner had displayed in a prominent place on his or her premises a sign easily readable including the words "Bad Dog." The remedy provided by this section is in addition to and cumulative with any other remedy provided by statute or common law.

CREDIT(S)

Laws 1949, c. 25109, § 1; Laws 1993, c. 93-13, § 1. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 97-102, § 1155, eff. July 1, 1997.

Florida Dog Bite and Dangerous Dog Laws

I believe I'm in the clear here because we were charged.

This is NOT a first offense here:
1. this dog bit my daughter on the face about 2 years back. I let it go.
2. this dog, along with their catahula, came after the lab 2 months ago when being walked. My other half kicked the dogs to get them away.
3. I have another neighbor whose two dogs were attacked by this dog.

I do NOT feel liable for any damage to their dog. The neighbor was nipped, but skin was NOT broken when she was between the dogs.

Is there anything else I should be looking at? I'm going to go over their tonight to talk with them. This was a LOT of chaos at 7:15 this morning.

 

[LillianX]

Ultimately, if there are damages, you COULD be held partly responsible. I think it could go either way in your case. Any damages owed by you would be reduced by a percentage to be determined by a judge based on the negligence of the owner of the other dog surrounding the bulldog being loose.

Wait and see what happens with the other owner. Most people are reasonable, and don't tend to throw a fit about the occasional neighborhood dog scuffle. It's entirely possible that both her and her dog are just fine.


On a personal note, I'm going through litigation right now because my dog bit the crap out of a mail carrier who entered my home to drop off the mail a year ago. The previous tenants were elderly, and he is a nice guy who would come in and hand them their mail so they didn't have to walk to the mailbox. He didn't realize they had moved and there was now a big scary boxer here. Good luck!

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

I'm trying to figure out MY liability. I was walking down the street with leashed dogs when this dog came after us. Wendy admitted to having been stupid to get between two dogs like that. My dog is defending himself and protecting me. The lab is just a lover.

Hindsight, I would have called out to the other neighbor to call the lab over to her so that I only had one dog in all this. The only reason I dropped the leash was because **I** fell trying to get out from all the dogs at my feet. I was wrapped in leashes.

This is the 3rd dog charge by this dog in 3 months. THEY have an issue.

There was another lady with her lab behind me about 15 feet before we came to the intersection. The german shepherd who lives there at the corner was barking like mad because there were 3 dogs on the street. In all of this, our dogs made NO sound. The house where the dogs live - their catahula was outside barking like mad also. We figure that's why Cyrus wanted out so bad.

My dog was in self-defense mode at this point.

I AM going to find some Halt (pepper spray) to carry. I'm now sandwiched in between two houses with biting dogs.

 

[LillianX]

I don't think you were at fault. I DO think that if the other owner wants to push it to court, a judge MIGHT assign you a small portion of the liability. Was the bulldog badly injured, or was it basically just a little nip?

How is your relationship with the neighbor in question? If they are friendly with you, it's probably a good idea to go talk it out. If they're jerkfaces who scream about the height of your grass or the clothesline in your backyard, I'd probably be inclined to wait for them to contact me. Maybe send a card with an invitation for the dogs to get together for a playdate or somesuch, which would make it clear that you don't think this was a big deal, so she shouldn't either.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Minor nip ... tiny bit of blood.

I really don't have much to do with them ... different circles. We are friendly enough.

I really just want their dog to be contained in such a way that I don't have to be afraid to walk down my street. My point with them will be to ask what arrangements they are making so that Cyrus doesn't get out anymore. I understand about kids going in and out and someone didn't latch the door. Accidents happen; this was NOT intentional.

They feel bad because we were totally minding our own business. Heck, the whole friggin' neighborhood KNOWS we walk at that hour.

 

[justalayman]

You releasing the leashes is what would cause liability on your part. That means you did not have control of your animal and damages caused due to that are your liability.

Whether a court would accept whatever justification you claim as to the reason you dropped the leashes would be up to them. Personally, in my opinion, it would not excuse you from liability.

You must understand that just because you have a leash on your dog, it does not mean you have control of your animal. If a dog pulls their leash from your hand, that means you are not capable of controlling the dog and should not be walking the dog. In this case, you say you dropped the leashes. Whether it was intentional (a huge no-no) or merely the result of something else that caused you to release them inadvertantly, you still lost control of your animals.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

I dropped the leashes when I fell/ was knocked down by the dogs. I had 180 pounds of dog on all three sides of me. The lab left the scene of the action and was held onto by another neighbor. As soon as I could (15 seconds?) I grabbed the leash back and helped to separate the dogs. I was on the ground damaged i this.

 

[justalayman]

my opinion hasn't changed. A person walking a dog must be able to maintain control of their animal under expected situations. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should allow a dog to drag you around but if it is a choice between that and releasing the leash and you do release the leash, you have failed to control the animal and become liable for injuries sustained by others caused by your dog.

Maintaining control of your animal means exactly that and failing to do so brings liability upon the handler.

Obviously it is impossible to "see" the situation as you did and there may be some justification for relieving you of some or even all of the liability but as a basic point: failure to control brings liability upon the handler.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Got your point. Because I dropped the leashes because I'm on the ground hurt, I'm liable. I'll stick to more road rash next time but hang on for dear life. I guess I could have used the bags of poop I was carrying as missiles too

Personally, I don't think it'll go anywhere. I have two prior attacks by this dog under my belt; don't think that would look good in court. I can bring in another dog owner who also has been attacked by this dog. I had 3 witnesses who watched it come down.

I'm going down to the store and buy some pepper spray today. I'll be fully prepared for any mischief from either Cyrus, or the other biter on the other end of the block. Think I'll start carrying my phone too.

No party got very damaged in it ... Unfortunately, I went down on the same knee that I damaged 3 months ago on a sidewalk downtown. I beginning to think that walking is dangerous for my health.

There was another dog walker with her lab about 15 feet behind me. The german shepherd was barking like mad because there were the three of us. The catahula was doing the usual barking with us coming around the corner. The bulldog was just opportunistic. I'm sure he KNEW there were things happening since there were dogs barking. There are 3 folks in our neighborhood that I know who put an additional gate before you get to the front entrance to prevent dog escapes. Think these folks need to think about that.

 

[justalayman]

but the other dog isn't the one that bit somebody. Your dog is and your dog was not under your control when it happened.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

so when is a dog allowed to defend themselves?

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

BTW, I did find where the other dog bit mine in the scuffle.

 

[justalayman]

so when is a dog allowed to defend themselves?

when they are on a leash and another dog attacks them. Other than that, it is the handlers failure to control the animal.


ok, so your dog got bit. Then you released your dog and it went and bit a person. Two separate incidents.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

so, the other person whose dog ran out of the house has no liability?

If you note in the statute, part of the liability issue is:

However, any negligence on the part of the person bitten that is a proximate cause of the biting incident reduces the liability of the owner of the dog by the percentage that the bitten person's negligence contributed to the biting incident.

SHE got into the middle of it. From my angle, her leg was between the dogs. If she had grabbed her dog from behind, I would have been in the clear of the situation and never tangled up. We were trying to move away from it all.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

when they are on a leash and another dog attacks them. Other than that, it is the handlers failure to control the animal.


ok, so your dog got bit. Then you released your dog and it went and bit a person. Two separate incidents.

I cannot tell you WHEN the the dog got bit. I saw Cyrus lunge at my dog as I was trying to pull him behind me.

It was basically a very chaotic minute till everyone was separated.