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Can i sue dog boarding business for neglect?

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jamesey271975

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Utah

i have a few questions on a situation that id love advice on. i have three dogs that we left in a boarding facility for 3 weeks at xmas. my wife actually works there on Sundays each week. they had told her multiple times over the preceding 12 mths that because she was staff it would only cost $500 to leave them there. then 2 weeks before we are due to leave her boss says actually it'll cost $1400. this after she verbally agreed $500 numerous times. because of the short notice we couldn't find anywhere else t leave them. because of this we had to leave them there. we have paid $800 so far.

when we got home one of our dogs was dehydrated and hadn't eaten. he had lost 30% of his body weight and with him being a thin dog anyways he was on deaths door. we took him to the pet emergency room and the vet said he had about a 70% chance of dying. he put him in in the ICU for 36 hrs and he survived. the vet said this had obviously been something that took some time to get as bad as it was. the bill for the vet was $1200.

because of what happened my wife left the job. the owner then sent us a bill for the $600 remaining for leaving the dogs there. considering we paid a vets bill of $1200 because she neglected the dog to the point where he almost died i think this is outrageous. i dont want my wife to be sent to collections and have her credit ruined. is it possible for us to take legal action to recoup the vets bill we paid?
 


Mass_Shyster

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Utah

i have a few questions on a situation that id love advice on. i have three dogs that we left in a boarding facility for 3 weeks at xmas. my wife actually works there on Sundays each week. they had told her multiple times over the preceding 12 mths that because she was staff it would only cost $500 to leave them there. then 2 weeks before we are due to leave her boss says actually it'll cost $1400. this after she verbally agreed $500 numerous times. because of the short notice we couldn't find anywhere else t leave them. because of this we had to leave them there. we have paid $800 so far.

when we got home one of our dogs was dehydrated and hadn't eaten. he had lost 30% of his body weight and with him being a thin dog anyways he was on deaths door. we took him to the pet emergency room and the vet said he had about a 70% chance of dying. he put him in in the ICU for 36 hrs and he survived. the vet said this had obviously been something that took some time to get as bad as it was. the bill for the vet was $1200.

because of what happened my wife left the job. the owner then sent us a bill for the $600 remaining for leaving the dogs there. considering we paid a vets bill of $1200 because she neglected the dog to the point where he almost died i think this is outrageous. i dont want my wife to be sent to collections and have her credit ruined. is it possible for us to take legal action to recoup the vets bill we paid?
You may be able to recoup the vet bills, but only up to the fair market value of the dog. Sorry, but dogs are considered property, like an automobile. If somebody wrecks your $500, you can't spend $1500 fixing it and getting the negligent party to pay for it. The same laws apply to animals.

You may be able to get back what you paid for the service, as the services agreed to may not have been provided (breach of contract), and the costs incurred up to the value. Expect to provide proof of the value of the dog. I don't know if there is a blue book for dogs, but you'll need something.
 

jamesey271975

Junior Member
thanks so much for the quick response. He's a rescue mongrel so not worth a cent in monetary terms! :)

Do you think I at least have a case to not pay the remainder of the balance shes trying to collect based on us paying the vets bills?
 
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Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Steve's advice is wrong. You can recoup the vet bills.

I have to ask, though, if your wife was there every Sunday, why didn't she notice anything?
 

jamesey271975

Junior Member
Hi Zigner (thanks for responding)

My wife wasn't there for the three Sundays we left our three dogs there. she was with me in Ireland on vacation.

Could you help me in terms of what type of lawyer do i need to contact? I haven't a clue!
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Let's just say that it would have been better for the boarding facility if the dog had died in their care ;)
 

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