To sue or forgive? (homeowners insurance, how much, pit bulls)

[Ben 'n Jen]

If I were in your shoes, the dog wouldn't have survived the afternoon....

and I would have dared the owner to call the cops about it.

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by BT Lover

Getting an Attorney is only going to cost you something, time and money. If you have extra of both, go for it, but your child was not seriously injured and for all you know, the dog hasn't been properly socialized and was just playing with your kid. It is important to note that a dog isn't about the breed, it is about the owner, so for all those who judge pitbull breeds, you are sorely mistaken that they are all violent dogs. Most are not.

You're right most pits aren't bad, but the reason they get so much pub is because the bad ones can do so much damage. That's why it's so important for their owners to properly train and control their dogs. This kid is lucky it wasn't worse. Training may be an option but sorry to say this dog probably needs to be put down. We put our dog down when I was a kid after two similar incidents. It's just not worth risking the safety of neighborhood kids for a dangerous dog.

OP, I would definitely work with animal control on this. If it's the first time someone's been bit then maybe a second chance is warranted if the owner will make efforts to control the dog. Suing will probably just cost you time and money and may not result in any change in behavior from the dog or owner.

[BT Lover]

Originally Posted by FCNova

You're right most pits aren't bad, but the reason they get so much pub is because the bad ones can do so much damage. That's why it's so important for their owners to properly train and control their dogs. This kid is lucky it wasn't worse. Training may be an option but sorry to say this dog probably needs to be put down. We put our dog down when I was a kid after two similar incidents. It's just not worth risking the safety of neighborhood kids for a dangerous dog.

OP, I would definitely work with animal control on this. If it's the first time someone's been bit then maybe a second chance is warranted if the owner will make efforts to control the dog. Suing will probably just cost you time and money and may not result in any change in behavior from the dog or owner.

My point is that all dogs can be dangerous. In fact, there are statistics released annually about the breeds of dogs that are responsible for most claims. Oddly enough, the breeds we all figure would be on the list are far from the top. The top dog that causes injuries to children? A dachshund. Yep, a wiener dog with ridiculously short legs hurts more kids than any other breed. Every dog owner no matter what the size of the dog should get proper training for them. Pitbulls aren't any different from any other dog and owning one does not take any additional training. A dog is a dog. The fault is never the dog.

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by BT Lover

My point is that all dogs can be dangerous. In fact, there are statistics released annually about the breeds of dogs that are responsible for most claims. Oddly enough, the breeds we all figure would be on the list are far from the top. The top dog that causes injuries to children? A dachshund. Yep, a wiener dog with ridiculously short legs hurts more kids than any other breed. Every dog owner no matter what the size of the dog should get proper training for them. Pitbulls aren't any different from any other dog and owning one does not take any additional training. A dog is a dog. The fault is never the dog.

A weiner dog that goes bad will nip your hand. A pit bull(or other large super aggressive dog) can go for your kid's throat. If you look at dog fatalities you'll see its not weiner dogs. I have family members who own pit bulls and are super defensive about them. I know it's pointless to get into arguments about it. For some reason they seem unable to grasp the simple concept that their dog is more dangerous than most because of the damage it can inflict. An owner of a big dog like that needs to be extremely responsible with how they train and control it. Any dog owner should be responsible but the owner of a shi tzu isn't walking around with a potentially deadly weapon.

Again, pit bulls are not bad dogs. I'm not making a statement about your pit. However, they get the pub they do because when they go bad it can end very, very badly.

[CaliTerp07]

I am a huge dog lover, 10,000%. I am all about judging individual dogs, not the breeds. There are pitbulls I would absolutely allow to eat out of my child's hand, and there are golden retrievers I would not allow within 100 feet of a kid.

That said, I do not tolerate human aggression from a dog (especially a dog belonging to an owner that can't contain it)--that's dangerous to all involved. Something to think if you choose to continue this would be to see if the owner can be required to have a behavioral consult with a certified animal behaviorist (PM me if you need recommendations for good ones). The professional can determine with an unbiased opinion if it is even a possibility to rehabilitate the dog and contain it safely, or if it is for the best of everyone involved (including the dog) to have it humanely euthanized.

Unfortunately, dog has 2 strikes against it--ding dong owner and a bit record. One of the two, and I'd say there's a possibility to do something. Both, and unfortunately the dog has incredible odds stacked against it.

And no, I do not support rehoming human aggressive dogs. There are more than enough dogs without temperament issues out there.

[snowdenscold]

Originally Posted by FCNova

A weiner dog that goes bad will nip your hand. A pit bull(or other large super aggressive dog) can go for your kid's throat. If you look at dog fatalities you'll see its not weiner dogs. I have family members who own pit bulls and are super defensive about them. I know it's pointless to get into arguments about it. For some reason they seem unable to grasp the simple concept that their dog is more dangerous than most because of the damage it can inflict. An owner of a big dog like that needs to be extremely responsible with how they train and control it. Any dog owner should be responsible but the owner of a shi tzu isn't walking around with a potentially deadly weapon.

Again, pit bulls are not bad dogs. I'm not making a statement about your pit. However, they get the pub they do because when they go bad it can end very, very badly.

Exactly, "number of claims" is only part of the story. Average damage per claim and worst possible outcome are other critical components.

I'm sure every pit owner thinks they are a good owner, and most probably are - but I still don't buy the whole "they're no more dangerous than any other dog" type arguments, and I still think it's silly for people to own them just because of the potential max damage.

[Middlin]

We adopted a 2nd dog (male) and the two dogs got along well for about 10 months when the male dog decided to challenge the female dog for top dog status. He attacked her out of the blue and my husband got in the middle trying to break it up. He got bit by the male dog and went to the hospital where the bite was reported to the police. A cop showed up and took a written report. The police showed up on my doorstep on a Sunday morning and wanted to take the dog. Police said that the dog must be tested for rabies regardless of proof of vaccine. While I don't think the dog bit my husband intentionally we decided to take the dog back to the rescue organization where we got him from and the rescue organization had to contact the police.

Was your child treated for the bite? I live in Prince William County and the police officer told us that all bites must be reported.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by Middlin

We adopted a 2nd dog (male) and the two dogs got along well for about 10 months when the male dog decided to challenge the female dog for top dog status. He attacked her out of the blue and my husband got in the middle trying to break it up. He got bit by the male dog and went to the hospital where the bite was reported to the police. A cop showed up and took a written report. The police showed up on my doorstep on a Sunday morning and wanted to take the dog. Police said that the dog must be tested for rabies regardless of proof of vaccine. While I don't think the dog bit my husband intentionally we decided to take the dog back to the rescue organization where we got him from and the rescue organization had to contact the police.

Was your child treated for the bite? I live in Prince William County and the police officer told us that all bites must be reported.

When I was on vacation, my parents were watching my dog and a the same thing happened. My dad got in the middle and got his hand bit. My dad had to go to the ER for some stitches. They then had to report it to PWC animal control. Animal control came by to talk with us and nothing more came of it. But my dog does have a reported bite on her permanent record.

[CaliTerp07]

Those are very different situations, in my opinion, than a dog that chases down a child on a bike and lunges at them. One is dog aggression (pretty common in many breeds) where a hand got in the way and the dog redirected or accidentally bit the person. One is human aggression, where the dog attacked a person.

The dog on dog is manageable (keep it away from other dogs), the dog vs. people is much harder to maintain any sort of quality of life if you are going to keep your dog away from people.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

Those are very different situations, in my opinion, than a dog that chases down a child on a bike and lunges at them. One is dog aggression (pretty common in many breeds) where a hand got in the way and the dog redirected or accidentally bit the person. One is human aggression, where the dog attacked a person.

The dog on dog is manageable (keep it away from other dogs), the dog vs. people is much harder to maintain any sort of quality of life if you are going to keep your dog away from people.

I think the point of those stories was that we had to have the incidental bites reported to animal control--as this one should be.