While out on a walk with our 3 1/2 year-old Lab, he broke his harness and attacked another dog. The dog's owner wants to sue us. What can we do now?

Question

Two weeks ago we adopted a 3 1/2 yr. Golden Labrador dog for free, from a reputable kennel.

    Before deciding on the dog, we asked:

- Is he well behaved around people, other animals? Since we have 2 children, 2 birds & a cat, the dog had to have an excellent temperament around other animals and children.
 - Knowledge of commands, what?
- Name, Address & Number of previous owner.
- Medical History, shots, neutered, dates shots were last administered.
- Exact breed lineage.
- Veterinarian, last address & number

    Those questions were answered as such; We were told that Chinook was a very well behaved dog. He had been in the Kennel for 7 weeks, after his owner dropped him off and requested he be placed with a good family. (The owner has gotten a traveling job, and couldn't keep this otherwise wonderfully obedient dog.)

    According to the kennel, he was quite well trained. The dog was known to behave well with the other kennel dogs and cats. He knew commands: sit, heal, no, hi 5, roll-over, go, stop, down. Food was no problem, he ate anything we gave him.

    The breed was Golden Lab. mixed with a larger breed. He weighed 110 lbs.

    Shots were up to date, but no papers were available at the time.

    We were wanting to know more about the dog's past in order to help with his transition into our family. So, I asked the kennel if they could contact the previous owner and get copies of the papers, owners/veterinarians name address & number, temperament history, anything in his past that we should know about to help us relate to him better, any other commands that he may have been taught. His likes/dislikes, his history as a puppy, where he lived and how he grew up. Plus all papers that are available for proper adoption of the dog and licensing purposes.

    The kennel assured us that they would contact the owner and relay all information.

    We brought the dog home. He was just so well behaved. Understood commands well and behaved fabulously with the children. Our concern began when he lunged at the cat. We called the kennel, they assured us that it was just that Chinook wasn't used to the cat and that they would be getting along well in no time.

    We let him out into the yard daily, where we leashed him onto a running course. He had the run of the yard, but could not jump the fence (low fence). We walked him for 1hr. daily.

    He had a wonderful 12x12 laundry room of his own during the night.

    He seemed happy and content. Choosing my younger son as his favorite, we were happy to see him bond with all of us in a wonderful way.

    Everything was wonderful... until last night.

    My 12yr son took him for his daily walk. A Retriever was being walked on the other side of the road. Chinook, with all his force pulled on his harness and BROKE the hook which connected the harness to the leash. Son got up, ran across street after dog, by which time Chinook clamped down on the dog and caused damage to his right shoulder. My son pounced on Chinook hitting his snout, and tore him away. The other dog in defense, attacked my son.

    (I should add that the other dog was on a long leash, and when the attack happened the owner did nothing to pull her dog closer to protect him. Might have been shock related).

    The other owner screamed at Son for his tel. number, and that she would sue. Son was bleeding and didn't have paper pencil which she demanded from him. Holding his hand, neighbors came to the rescue of Son and patched him up. While dog owner kept screaming at him, but refused to provide her info. to him.

    Now, the owner of the other dog is pressing charges says their dog is not expected to survive the bite. We are very concerned for their dog and wanted to contact the vet. but the owner has refused to give us any of their or the vet's information.

    My son's wound isn't bad, but a chunk of his skin was taken, expecting scaring on his palm. (The other owner has not asked about my son's condition, even though we have asked about her dog).

    Police and Animal Control came by and told us to return the dog back to the kennel tonight - we did.

    They also want the papers, which the kennel owners say they don't have. (How can you put a dog up for adoption without papers?)

    Animal control says we are being charged with "Not having control of a vicious pet" and "negligence: child under age 18 walking a dog " HUH!? I've never heard of such a charge, besides it was our CHILD that stopped the fight while the adult stood by screaming at the kid.

    As for vicious, we were not aware that the dog would be vicious, and asked about his temperament before adoption.

    Animal control says that we are liable for vet costs and replacement value if the other dog dies. Which they say may very likely happen.

    Our lawyer says that we have no worry, our home insurance will cover all costs.

    Police said that other owner and Animal control have exploded the scenario to larger proportions than is real.

    We would like to contact their vet to check on the status of the injured dog, but have no way of contacting the owner.

    Who should we contact?
What are our rights?
What recourse?
Why the attack after 2 weeks of honorable behavior?
 What should / can we do now?

Accepted Answer

You have made some serious mistakes here. I don’t know what your liability would be as a result of these mistakes. In fact I don’t know where to draw a line between a lack of education and stupidity. I don’t mean this in a mean- spirited way – I am just not sure where that line is.

Here is the short list on mistakes:

1- Using a harness to walk a dog – a harness is NOT a training tool.
2- Allowing a 12 year old to take responsibility for a mature adult dog.
3- Allowing a 12 year old to walk a dog in an area where there are other dogs.
4- Not verifying that the dog was indeed trained properly – which it was not or it would not have attacked the other dog.
5- Not doing an adequate job to verify that you have a safe dog before you exposed your neighbors and their pets to the dog.

Now can a lawyer offer a defense? Yes – that’s what lawyers do. If they can defend OJ Simpson they can certainly defend you. Will you lose you home owners insurance as a result of this? Probably.

What can you do now? Do a better job of learning how to live with and train a dog before you get another one. While you obviously think you acted responsibly I look at your email and only see “IRRESPONSIBLE.”

If you want to see what you should have done – read the article I wrote The GROUNDWORK to becoming a Pack Leader – introducing a new dog into your home.