WickedWahine_01
Member
What is the name of your state? California. I'm in tears as I type this. Yesterday, the next-door neighbor's dog mauled our Siamese, Bonkers, and killed her.
These are new neighbors, who just moved here three weeks ago. Their dog is very large -- St. Bernard sized, but I'm not sure what type of dog it is. It looks somewhat like a Chow. The owners have been allowing their dog to run throughout the neighborhood, and there is a strict leash law in this county. This is a small, mountain town (3,000 population) which has Leash Law signs posted on almost every street, including ours, which also happens to be a cul-de-sac (so the dog's owners couldn't have missed all of the signs).
Here's what happened:
We decided to let Bonkers out for some fresh air as it was the first nice-weathered day this week. We put her in the penned area directly off of our family room. Mom was trimming the Christmas tree, when we heard a commotion. This beast of a dog had come onto our property (the houses are spaced pretty far apart up here), entered our animal pen, and mauled Bonkers. Mom saw the dog with Bonkers in it's mouth.
Mom went after the dog, and he dropped our cat. Mom run to our cat, who was laying in the dirt, motionless. She had several puncture wounds in her sides, and her neck was broken. Mom was trying to resusitate her, but then realized that Bonk's neck was broken, and that it was too late.
We called Animal Control, and had then come up and fill out a report. They went to the neighbor's house, and told them to either keep their dog fenced or chained.
Our entire family is completely devasted, and outraged. I don't have enough space here to tell of Bonkers' heroism and how she touched the heart of every member of our family. We've had several cats, and believe me when I tell you that there was no other cat alive like Bonkers. She was very special.
What are our legal recourses? I've heard of cases of pets being mauled by other people's animals, and the damaged party usually receives some form of compensation. Although in the case of a lost pet, as opposed to a lost family member, the judgement would not be much (rightly so). It's just that we never saw Bonkers as a "pet". She was just as much a beloved member of our family as our human relatives. She was also a very dear friend who didn't deserve to have her life cut short due to someone's else negligence.
I do wish to seek damages, but didn't know if I should only attempt this matter in Small Claims, or if I could possibly have this resolved through Municiple Court.
I wish to thank those in advance for their responses. This is going to be a very sad Christmas for us this year.
Crushed in California,
WickedWahine
These are new neighbors, who just moved here three weeks ago. Their dog is very large -- St. Bernard sized, but I'm not sure what type of dog it is. It looks somewhat like a Chow. The owners have been allowing their dog to run throughout the neighborhood, and there is a strict leash law in this county. This is a small, mountain town (3,000 population) which has Leash Law signs posted on almost every street, including ours, which also happens to be a cul-de-sac (so the dog's owners couldn't have missed all of the signs).
Here's what happened:
We decided to let Bonkers out for some fresh air as it was the first nice-weathered day this week. We put her in the penned area directly off of our family room. Mom was trimming the Christmas tree, when we heard a commotion. This beast of a dog had come onto our property (the houses are spaced pretty far apart up here), entered our animal pen, and mauled Bonkers. Mom saw the dog with Bonkers in it's mouth.
Mom went after the dog, and he dropped our cat. Mom run to our cat, who was laying in the dirt, motionless. She had several puncture wounds in her sides, and her neck was broken. Mom was trying to resusitate her, but then realized that Bonk's neck was broken, and that it was too late.
We called Animal Control, and had then come up and fill out a report. They went to the neighbor's house, and told them to either keep their dog fenced or chained.
Our entire family is completely devasted, and outraged. I don't have enough space here to tell of Bonkers' heroism and how she touched the heart of every member of our family. We've had several cats, and believe me when I tell you that there was no other cat alive like Bonkers. She was very special.
What are our legal recourses? I've heard of cases of pets being mauled by other people's animals, and the damaged party usually receives some form of compensation. Although in the case of a lost pet, as opposed to a lost family member, the judgement would not be much (rightly so). It's just that we never saw Bonkers as a "pet". She was just as much a beloved member of our family as our human relatives. She was also a very dear friend who didn't deserve to have her life cut short due to someone's else negligence.
I do wish to seek damages, but didn't know if I should only attempt this matter in Small Claims, or if I could possibly have this resolved through Municiple Court.
I wish to thank those in advance for their responses. This is going to be a very sad Christmas for us this year.
Crushed in California,
WickedWahine