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Dog bites Dog

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H

hgmbfilip

Guest
A dog that was running in my MA neighborhood loose attacked my dog. My dog required stiches at a cost of $220. I called the police and the owner received a summons for the dog being loose. I am bringing the owners to small claims to pay for the vet. bill. Can I ask for more than the vet. bill since the owner never responded to my registered mail asking for the $220 payment.
 


I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

Senior Member
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, Verdana">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hgmbfilip:
A dog that was running in my MA neighborhood loose attacked my dog. My dog required stiches at a cost of $220. I called the police and the owner received a summons for the dog being loose. I am bringing the owners to small claims to pay for the vet. bill. Can I ask for more than the vet. bill since the owner never responded to my registered mail asking for the $220 payment. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My response:

No. Under current law, pets are considered "personal property" with no more rights than your television set (with the exception of Animal Cruelty statutes). That means you're entitled to damages to your property, but dogs, or any other pets, are not entitled to "pain and suffering" damages. Also, until a judge hammers his gavel, no one every has to voluntarily pay money damages to someone else's property.

Good luck, and I hope doggy is doing better.

IAAL

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[This message has been edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE (edited August 02, 2000).]
 

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