[CharlieKva]

My 4yr old female has a litter of 4week old pups. My daughter was dropped off by another parent from a play date. The parent brought her shih tzu pup along. She took her pup out of the car and was playing and holding one of our pups. When she placed her dog on the ground our female attacked it and unfortunately killed it. I was not home at the time and my 14yr son had to deal with the female. Now she wants us to pay for her vet bill and thinks our female is dangerous. I'm not sure why she thought is was ok to bring her dog to a house with a mother dog and pups. Am I liable?

Thanks

 

[LRP]

I hate to say it but I believe you are liable for anything that happens on your property, by your dog. When we re-did our home owners insurance they did ask about dogs and what breed we owned.
Now, personally I would never put a small breed dog anywhere near a large breed dog, especially one that just had puppies because I know how defensive some mothers can be and it wouldn't be smart to just trust another dog either way.

I also wouldn't let anyone near my dog with her new puppies without me being there as the responsible dog owner. That is terrible your 14 year old son had to see and deal with that. I am so sorry that happened on both sides, I would defiantly try speaking to the parent and try to come to a middle ground on the issue since both of you seem to have failed a bit on this one but in the end I do believe it is your responsibility.

 

[Gwyllgi]

So sorry that has happened.

I would seek legal advice from a lawyer.

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Pytheis]

Definitely get a lawyer. I am not a lawyer and don't know the laws, especially where you are, but I would be inclined to think that on your property, private property, they can't force you to pay for vet bills. They assumed the risk by bringing the dog onto your property. It's not like you and your dog were at a public dog park.

That said, is it really worth a fight and losing the relationship with these people? I would probably offer to pay half, personally.

 

[LuvShepherds]

Unfortunately it’s too late to do anything about it now, but your children should not let anyone near the mother or puppies if you are not home. I would worry more about the puppies being exposed to something or to rough handling. That other mother is not an experienced dog owner or she would not have brought her dog in. Her reckless decision has now become your problem. What you do now is up to you, but be prepared for backlash. The word will get out that your dog is dangerous and it will not be censored at all. I would get a lawyer for liability but also to see if you can do damage control. It’s not unusual for a new mother to be stressed at strangers handling her puppies or a strange dog in the room. She was protecting her babies.

 

[cliffson1]

This was definitely human error on both parts. This does not constitute a dangerous dog, .....new dog, on mother dog’s property, no supervision or managing the situation prior, .....mother dog behaved as an animal might. I know many think dogs are people and should have people’s values and understanding to not be considered dangerous....but they’re not human.....and the mother dog reacted as many of her breed would in that situation.

 

[Jenny720]

The mother of the pups were put in a position that they should of never been in and so were the kids. A mother dog and her pups were left alone with young kids in the house with no clear instructions, no supervision. Even if the woman had no small dog - she should not have been allowed to see the mother and her pups unless you were there to supervise. Yes you should pay for the dog even it the owner of the small dog was careless. It sounds like both adult on each side were careless. I feel bad for the kids In this case as they had to see something so awful when it could of been avoided. Why make matters sounds like this could get real ugly- pay the bill for your own sake. You would not want this to go to court.

 

[wolfy dog]

Besides a lawyer, get a certified animal behaviorist on board to defend your dog. Your dog acted perfectly normal from the canine's world point of view. No other animal goes into a (wild) litter's den without being killed.