Just because you are off leash does not negate the owners respondsibilities. HER dog should not have been free if it was vicious.

Even if it was a freak "dogs will be dogs" moment each owner is respondsible for their dog. This lady most cretainly pay your vet bill. Take her to small claims court. She shouldn't be alloud to pass on her respondsibility to you.

What if it had been worse?

My dogs and I were attacked. It was on our own property and no one was hurt but I still called the police. I wanted the owners ticketed for loose dogs and I was bit so there was a record of that. I felt somewhat mean but the cop said this was the fith complaint on these dogs. I was just the first to know where they lived.

Your dog might not be this first dogs victim.

Gloria,

I completely understand the excessive cost of things in NYC. It does sound like your vet did more than maybe he needed to but, the bottom line is I'd look at this like a "lesson learned" moment. I live in Bergen County and even here it's very hard to find places to go with my dog that we can be left in peace to walk on trails or in a park. There are just too many people and not enough well-trained dogs .

I know you don't need to be told about the risks of dog parks but I will suggest that if you do continue to go to them during the early hours (read: it's very quiet), I'd just tell any owner within hearing distance to keep their dog away from mine. Period. That is assuming your dog responds to your verbal commands 100% of the time and will not initiate his own introduction to another dog he spots in the distance. I use the "leave it" command with my dog and it is probably one of the top three ueber important commands I utilize on a daily basis.

Two of my boy were in a realy butt kicking about a month and a half ago. Now I mean a fight that lasted between 5 to 10 minutes. Lots of puncher wounds I took them to the vet and he checked them out and gave him a round of antiboitics. Ok no anesthesia no stents I mean couldnt you wash the wound make sure it was draining on your own. I dont know the true extent of your dogs wound but I would have to say I have seen what a beagle can do and I dont think he has anything on our Rott. I would REFUSE PAYMENT and tell him why I would offer 200 dollars at most. I think we payed 50 but its cheap here.
As consumers we must take controll of the med bills we get if the vet had told me he needed to put the dog to sleep do something like that i would have laughed him out the room.

To let you know where I am comeing from I once told a ER doctor to get the blank out of my ER room because I wasnt going to pay for him just looking at me and saying the same thing I said comeing in the door.

Take her to Small Claims Court. Her dog caused the damage to yours and she is responsible for the actions of her dog and for the damage that the dog causes. Not sure what small claims filing fees are in NYC but they are only $150 in Florida. You can fill the paperwork out yourself (usually you can download the forms from the Internet) and you won't need to hire an attorney. If you have pictures of the wound and all of your vet bills that should set you up nicely to prevail. You might wish to fill out the small claims filing first, mail it to her and say that you're willing to take your out of pocket expenses in lieu of the suit because you will also add on the filing fee ($150 or so) to the claim which is your legal right. She may cut you the check for the $600 and be done with it.

I'm a lawyer (licensed in FL and DC, not in NY), but this is a very simple Small Claims case for actual damages.

Good luck.

I'm going to agree with others who have said the vet went overboard. When you go in to have the drain removed I'd ask some hard questions about why this procedure was done. You may more easily get a partial refund from the vet then getting anything out of the other owner.

Drains are placed when an abscess is already present, and usually not "just in case" one might develop.

Furthermore, cat-on-cat bites almost always cause abscesses, necessitating a drain. Dog bites *usually* do not. There are always exceptions, of course, but from your description here it sounds like this was a simple puncture.

IMO, and without seeing the wound, a cleaning and an antibiotic injection was probably the only thing that needed to be done.

Your dog was off leash, her dogs were off leash.
You say your dog was not being a jerk, but you never know what might set another dog off.
With no witnesses other than you and the other person, I think you'd have a hard time proving that her dog bit yours unprovoked.
It would all be I say/she says.
You let your dog interact with unknown dogs, and all of them were off-leash and (apparently) not controlled.
You're lucky all your dog got was one small puncture wound.
Keeping your dog safe is YOUR responsibility, NOT the other dog owner's responsibility.
I think your vet may have over charged you, but I doubt if you'd get any recourse from small claims court from the other person.


Edited by Janice Jarman (04/23/2008 12:05 PM)
Edit reason: grammar

You should have had your dog under control and not allowed it to be visiting.

I would say both owners are at fault for the scuffle.

Who's to say your dog didn't give a sneaky smirk to the others.

A puncture wound shouldn't cost $600, I don't care where you live. A bit of antibiotic ointment on it at home would have been fine. Keep it washed or let the dog lick it clean, it should not be a big deal.

Dogs are not so fragile that they need medical treatment for every little bump or wound, the same goes for people.

Surgery and drain is overkill, you need a new vet, or be more pro-active with the crook you have.

Just to give you an idea of the depths that some vets will go to:
http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=191910#top

Unfortunately, my experience with vets has been the same. The one's I've been to tack on a whole bunch of things, seemingly just to make some more moola. It's also not just a matter of money, but also that they very frequently recommend vaccinations or drugs that the dog does not need and could potentially cause harm.

We need a list of "good" vets in each state or major metro area.

As for you're $600 bill. I would probably agree that it was your fault for letting your dog off leash. However, I do think you would win in small claims court if you chose to go. The filing fee in my state is only $35, and I can add that to the damages so if I win, the defendent must cover it. Your problem is going to be collecting it, I've heard there really is no recourse in most states for small claims court judgements. However, in my state, I can transfer the case to District court after the judgement, and file a motion for discovery (financial). If they fail to respond, a warrant is issued for their arrest. If they lie about their financials, they can go to jail. And if they have anything I can take, I can file with the court to take it and sell to recover my damages. I own a rental property, and I routinely have to sue people that damage the property or fail to pay their rent.

Find a lawyer friend that can walk you through the process. It's easy, but all states are a little different.

I think the unreasonable $600 vet bill is the problem.
I don't think the other dog owner should have to pay that even if she was the only one at fault.
If there is a lawsuit it should be brought against the vet.

She'll have a much easier time recovering from the owner of the dog versus the vet that performed the service from a pure legal analysis. The vet was not negligent here. The owner of the dog that bit the victim's dog is the negligent party. Although I agree that the treatment amount seems extreme but Manhattan prices are very high and a $600 vet visit in Manhattan is not considered to be a whole lot of money. Shots and some routine tests for my cat a month ago cost me $450 in South Florida. Bottom line is if your dog damages someone else's property (in this case, the other dog), then you are liable - period. The victim should be able to recover her costs in Small Claims Court. It's a very easy process.