My sister's 4 month old puppy gets attacked by pitbull. Is it right to go to court?

dalearyous

Senior member
Jan 8, 2006
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my sister who is 14 was walking her 4 month old peekapoo (very small fluffy dog) around the block when a pitbull got away, ran across the street and literally bit down on my sisters dog around the head and picked it up. my sister began punching the pitbull in the face until it dropped it. she ran home crying as the dog is bleeding all over the place and they rushed the dog to the vet. the dog came out ok, but has few broken bones in the face. my dad and sister filed a police report and the dog is going to be put down. here is my question...

we are not the type of people who sue other people at any possible moment. i feel like that has gotten way out of hand in this country. but anyway, is it right to pursue the owner of the pitbull to cover the costs of the vet? i won't know how much the bill will be until tomorrow but i feel like that is just. any thoughts?

edit/update* the vet bill is going to be around 500 dollars and maybe more for future check ups. some asked, neither dog was on its property. it happened on public sidewalk block away from each house.

the cops showed up to impound the dog and the owner refused to give it up. tomorrow the cops will have a warrant and the owner is going to get charged with extra fines for not cooperating. this leads me to believe they are punks.

just to clear things up, i think pitbulls are amazing dogs and just have bad reps. it also comes from the demographic of people who buy pitbulls, that doesn't help either. btw i also found out that this pitbull has already attacked another dog and a person and the judge let him off previous times.

yeah my sister got off lucky even though we were up for a break...considering my older sister was attacked by 3 dogs and got 12 staples in her head, tons of stitches, barely missed her jugular, and quite a few scars. yeah she got a ton of money.
 

notfred

Lifer
Feb 12, 2001
38,241
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Was the pitbull in the backyard of a large suburban house with a lexus out front, or a run down apartment complex in the ghetto? Your chances of actually collecting any money will be affected by this.
 

BKLounger

Golden Member
Mar 29, 2006
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This is a case when the owner of the pitbull should be paying all vet bills, the pitbull should be put down (it has already shown a violent streak) and the owner should be taken to court for mental suffering and time spent.
 

Savij

Diamond Member
Nov 12, 2001
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Before you take them to court would it make sense to just go over there and ask them to pay the vet bills?
 

RadiclDreamer

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2004
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They should cover the cost 100% if people are going to keep fierce strong animals around they need to be responsible for them. What if it had been the sister instead?
 

Baked

Lifer
Dec 28, 2004
36,052
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Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.
 

Wapp

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2003
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Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.

Blame the animal, not the breed.
 

ITJunkie

Platinum Member
Apr 17, 2003
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www.techange.com
Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Hell yes you shuold pursue the owner to cover the costs. And if they dont comply, sue their a$$es.
I totally agree. Talk to the owner first and if they are punks about it...sue 'em.
 

krunchykrome

Lifer
Dec 28, 2003
13,413
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Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.


I have some doubts as well. It seems like a stretch to say that she punched the pitbull in the face and it didnt attack her, which apparently it didnt. If the pitbull attacked her dog, it was probably trained that way or neglected which means that it would have not only attacked the little dog, but it should have attacked her as well if she in fact did punch it.

 

GuitarDaddy

Lifer
Nov 9, 2004
11,465
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Originally posted by: Savij
Before you take them to court would it make sense to just go over there and ask them to pay the vet bills?

:thumbsup:

Sounds like the best approach to me. The vet bill shouldn't be too high, and the cost to pursue it in court may be more than the bill.
 

NaOH

Diamond Member
Mar 2, 2006
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get them to cover the costs. It was their responsibility to have their beast tied up.
 

RGUN

Golden Member
Dec 11, 2005
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Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.


I have some doubts as well. It seems like a stretch to say that she punched the pitbull in the face and it didnt attack her, which apparently it didnt. If the pitbull attacked her dog, it was probably trained that way or neglected which means that it would have not only attacked the little dog, but it should have attacked her as well if she in fact did punch it.

What makes you think that? I know of two pitbull attacks and both times the owner kicked and stomped the pitbull and it didnt even slow it down from attacking the dog. Never went for the owner...

 

jadinolf

Lifer
Oct 12, 1999
20,952
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Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.

I've heard that story many times. Got the same story just before my Fred got attacked bya Pit Bull to the tune of a 400 dollar vet bill.

edit: I'm sorry. I knew you were kidding.
 

So

Lifer
Jul 2, 2001
25,923
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I'm no fan of pit bulls, but I'd say getting the pit bull put down is punishment enough for the dog owner. I'd ask them to pay medical fees, but I probably wouldn't pursue it in court.
 

torpid

Lifer
Sep 14, 2003
11,631
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How much was the vet bill? Sounds like it was a thousand bucks or so. If it were just a hundred bucks I'd just drop it.
 

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
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If your dog was leashed then you have every right to ask for the vet bills. As someone earlier said you should ask them for them before taking them to court. If your dog was unleashed then don't bother, pay your vet bills and learn to never walk your dog unleashed.
 

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
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Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy
Originally posted by: Savij
Before you take them to court would it make sense to just go over there and ask them to pay the vet bills?

:thumbsup:

Sounds like the best approach to me. The vet bill shouldn't be too high, and the cost to pursue it in court may be more than the bill.
What do you consider "too high" ? Surgeries start costing several hundred dollars and can easily break into the thousands.
 

rudder

Lifer
Nov 9, 2000
19,441
86
91
Originally posted by: krunchykrome
Originally posted by: Baked
Lies! Pitbulls are the sweetest dogs ever! And I don't believe your 14 year old sister punched a pitbull in the face and ran home crying. This is all shens to make the pitbull look bad.


I have some doubts as well. It seems like a stretch to say that she punched the pitbull in the face and it didnt attack her, which apparently it didnt. If the pitbull attacked her dog, it was probably trained that way or neglected which means that it would have not only attacked the little dog, but it should have attacked her as well if she in fact did punch it.

I am surpirsed the pit bull did not clamp down harder on the puppy when it was hit in the head. But really, the thing is an animal and you never know how it is going behave.
 

ubercaffeinated

Platinum Member
Dec 1, 2002
2,130
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This is why they eat dogs in Korea. Saves all the tears.

Anyways. Ask the owner first and thank Buddha your sister didn't get mauled.

I would have a family lawyer talk to the dog owner before taking anything to court. Settling out of court is probably the best solution, because the outcome might not outweight the cost of the battle.