Quote: Susan Collins

-dogs barking and fighting pack like. My dog was the largest and within sec's had the german short hair in a submissive position and I was able to leash him and my husband walked him away. I was concerned for the G short hair being that so many dogs got involved then scattered.

I might be wrong here but this indicates more than your dog were involved right? If so how can they prove your dog caused the damage? It may have been any of the other dogs in the fight!

Your dog, it would seem from what you say, was in the position of another dog trying to dominate it therefor was only doing what comes natural to it and defending itself. Tell her to take a hike.

On the other hand if my dog were responsible and I knew it was then I'd pay without question.

John

I know in NJ if one "loses control of their dog", meaning the dog is leashed and then let off leash, you are responsible for any consequences of that action. There are always mitigating circumstances which weigh the fiscal responsibility should the issue become a civil matter.

I am not sure about a dog park where all dogs are loose. Where I live if this were to happen, both partys would be ticketed because you are not allowd to have loose dogs..IOW, there is no such thing as a legal dog park.

If there has been no citation, then there is no criminal activity, and it becomes a purely civil matter. I have learned through my own experience..anyone can sue for anything. The good thing about it being a purely civil matter is your dog is not in danger from the authorities. Civil court cannot order harm to your dog at least in NJ.

I would think a multi dog incident would be quite a mitigater in terms of establishing fault.

Offering to assist in the bill...well that is up to you, but I would not pay a dime without a release of liability. If you offered I don't think it is an admission of guilt as much as it is the other person can claim that you agreed to finance the vet bill and now you refuse.

Susan, is that the dog beach at Huntington? We've walked along the bluff (dogs on leash) and I've seen some horrendous stuff going on down there. Dog parks are a bad idea. If people want to run around and bang into each other...fine, but they should leave their dogs at home.

Think of a car accident-get the authorities, never admit guilt. Good luck with this.

Thank you, everyone, for your responses and opinions. Until yesterday I didn't realize how far this could go. Believe it or not I am still concerned about the dogs and am filing a report today re the other's aggression. Mine, Prinz, has his vet appt. tomorrow ~ I will never use a Dog Park nor Dog Beach again, no matter how inviting, weather and exercise-wise, it is! In fact I will begin to adocate against the idea of off-leash parks where any dog and any person of any disposition can be! It is pretty stupid.
In giving over my number to that girl I wrongly assumed we would work together for the welfare of both her and my dogs ~ neither of us had any idea of what any of the other dogs might have had!
Enough of my explaining! I will go forward for the best of a sad situation. Thank you again for your comments.
I will post any outcomes.
Thank you
Susan
And I'd like to go to the new member area here and post a pic or 2 of Prinz ~with my tech skills that might take a while!

Hello Susan, I to have taken my dog to the same beach several times. Fortunately I have not had any problems. However, I keep my dog on leash while I am there and carry pepper spray. I know that may sound silly but my little Mutt loves the water and it the only place we can go. There are several spots on the beach that are not crowded that you and your dog can play in peace. Just don't go on weekends or holidays.

Hi Ruth, I've never been to the dog park beach up in Huntington, just here in Del Mar and the one in Ocean Beach, San Diego. Both of which I've been to a number of times with out any problem. But, like you, I have seen bad stuff happen to others and now given this incident - I will totally stay away from those areas! and hope you do too!
Susan

Dog parks/loose running dogs scare me. I have confidence in my handling skills and my dog's training. I guess what I don't trust are groups of off-leash dogs with people who may not be paying close attention in a situation where things can go bad fast.

Our dogs trained and worked off-lead in SAR, but for years I thought I was lacking in skill somehow, because no way was I ever taking one of my shepherds to run around a park, off-lead with a lot of other dogs. It seemed like asking for trouble. Then I found this site and was delighted to find it wasn't just me.

This thread reminded me of all the yahoos I run into that say things to me like:

"Why won't you let him loose? Dogs love playing with each other"

"Don't worry, he's not gonna go anywhere".

And my all time favorite:

I'm walking my dog w/my sister and her dog. We bump into two guys who both have a dog with them. The one guy has spoken to me before and brings his dog to a local dog park. He turns to the guy standing there who has never met me and tells him, "Yea she's got a thing with dog parks. She thinks there something wrong with them or something"! And he says it as if I'm the crazy one! I knew that was my cue to leave.