Girlfriend's Neighbors Dog Killed Her Dog in Her yard.... (Howe: lease, HOA) - San Antonio - Texas (TX) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

badhornet · 12-03-2009, 11:20 AM

A dog is like a car, and unless its a decendant of Lassie or Benji, that 2500 dollar dog is a 300 dollar pooch the minute you leave with it

navi243 · 12-03-2009, 12:10 PM

The argument of the price of the dog is a valid point. The breeder it was purchased from and any registration has not been found. Like I said, her mother passed away and it was a gift from her and she had the documents, but no one can find them.

The breeder she spoke with said she would be more than happy to write a statement as to what the value of the particular dog would be based on photographs and size.

Unfortunatley teacup yorkies are more expensive the smaller they are. If anyone thinks a pure breed yorkie that weighs 2-3 pounds can be found within a couple of hours driving distance, I will tell you I have looked for her, and I have yet to see one under $2,000 with long hair and weighing 2-3 pounds.

How would I go about finding out whos side of the property line the fence is on?

mirjaja · 12-03-2009, 12:24 PM

She is going to have to take her neighbour to small claims court.

Just having one estimate from a breeder will not suffice. You need to have at least 3. Including photos of the dog she lost, so it shows that it was truly a tea-cup yorkie will also help. You will need a vet report. Courts may take into account the age of the dog too -- it is one thing if the dog was 3 yrs old, but if it were 15, the judge might find that it was near the end of it's natural lifespan - thus not eligible for full replacement value.

Regarding your request to have the neighbour fix their side of the fence. If it was brought to their attention, and they neglected to fix it - that is indicitave of their negligence. Also in your favour.

Get your witnesses to write out and notorize their statements while the memory is fresh, and don't let too much time pass before you file your small claims papers. Time is of the essence.

navi243 · 12-03-2009, 12:34 PM

I will work on getting a few more estimates from breeders and getting all the witnesses statements and having them notarized.

Does anyone know where I can find property lines in order to determine if the fence is on her side?

Also, she has a chain link fence halwayf through her backyard to keep the dogs on one side.

She stated that she knew the fence was weak, and she had kept the dogs on the other side of the fence to keep her dogs in her yard. She said one of her sons must have gone outside and let the dogs to the other side of the chain link fence. The other side being the one that is connected to my GFs privacy fence because she knew the dogs could possibly go into my GFs property.

catriona · 12-03-2009, 12:37 PM

If you have the deed documents to the house, there should be a survey in them that has the property lines annotated.

navi243 · 12-03-2009, 01:54 PM

I appreciate all the advice. She just wants to be put back as close to where she was. Of course her dog can never be replaced, but she would like another companion. And its not up for discussion for her to just simply go adopt a pet. She wants a dog just like the one she had. Like I said before she loves animals, and would love to adopt them all, but thats not the issue at hand. The issue is simply that the dog was killed and needs to be replaced with a dog just like it.

I did speak to one of the attorneys at my work just a few minutes ago, and she basically said the same thing everyone advised me to do on here.

cr1039 · 12-03-2009, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by navi243

I appreciate all the advice. She just wants to be put back as close to where she was. Of course her dog can never be replaced, but she would like another companion. And its not up for discussion for her to just simply go adopt a pet. She wants a dog just like the one she had. Like I said before she loves animals, and would love to adopt them all, but thats not the issue at hand. The issue is simply that the dog was killed and needs to be replaced with a dog just like it.

I did speak to one of the attorneys at my work just a few minutes ago, and she basically said the same thing everyone advised me to do on here.

Condolences.

A dog "just like the one she had" at 2-3lbs has many predators in a backyard. From owls and hawks that can carry a 3lb prey to wolves and coyotes. A dog of this size requires supervision while outside.

A story from the headlines; Jessica Simpsons matli-poo was recently snatched by hungry coyotes from her backyard.

A quick forum search showed me at least 3 threads indicating coyote attacks in various SA neighborhoods.

I am sorry for the dog and your GF's sadness, I can't imagine how she feels.

I too love animals and saw an opportunity to spread the word for yard dogs.

scuba steve · 12-03-2009, 10:50 PM

Notarized statements are of little value in small claims court. The person making them wasn't sworn in, and judges do like to ask people a lot of questions in these cases... You will need personal appearances from witnesses. Breeders wouldn't hurt either since they're your expert witnesses on the dog's value.

edit: pretty sure you can subpoena them in Texas if they're reluctant to show up - would probably require asking the court

dmarie123 · 12-04-2009, 08:05 AM

I might be wrong, but I believe since your GF new of the faulty fence on their property, she will be looked on unfavorably by the court. She or her dad left a helpless 3lb dog outside unattended, that could probably have been killed by a scorpion, tarantula, black widow, brown recluse, or tarantula. All of which are found in San Antonio back yards. Do they not have a fence of their own? How did the neighboor's dog get through your GFs fence? Shared fences are BOTH homeowner's responsibility in most communities. A hawk could have swooped up the dog, it's smaller than some rats. Any number of dangers are posed to that small and defensless of an animal. I think your GF's dad was neglectful in leaving it unattended. I hope that they don't leave the replacement animal unattended outside like that!

I'm 100% against buying dogs from breeders, no matter what. I know you said that's the only option, but they are often breed in horrible conditions, meanwhile other loving dogs are being euthanized. Yorkies aren't often found in shelters, but I bet they can be found on "pet finder . com" and one just like that can be adopted.

navi243 · 12-04-2009, 08:25 AM

Looks like this is going to small claims court.

Another factor to notice about the shared fence...

She has been making repairs to that fence for the past 10 years my GF has lived in that house. She has made 4-5 repairs throughout that time. When asked to repair it by my GFs father, she said sure no problem. She has obviously taken owernship and reasponsibility of the fence.

Im sure that can play a factor in court.