Hello,

I am new here and I am looking for some advice.

This morning whilst out walking my 6 month old Border Collie we cam across two other border collies.

Dillon, my dog, being himself ran over to the other dogs to say hello. One of the other dogs grabbed him, threw him to the floor and shook him about by the neck. Dillon yelped and the lady walking the two dogs shouted at hers. The other dog let go of Dillon and the woman grabbed the dog, pinned it to the floor in the submission position and said "Sorry, he's not dog friendly at all".

Dillon ran off and got back to playing with his ball so I thought nothing of it.

We returned home, he had his breakfast and then came to me for his morning affection. I noticed after stroking him under his chin that I had blood on my fingers so i gather him for a closer inspection.

He had a puncture wound to his cheek and a larger wound, more or less a hole, in his throat where the blood was coming from.

I took him to the vets as soon as they opened and he has had the wounds looked and it has been discovered, after shaving, that there are a total of 6 puncture wounds. The largest one, the one on his throat, is a matter of millimetres from his wind pipe. The vet stated that if the other dog and torn that with the same pressure that his flesh was torn then he would have been mortally wounded.

The total bill for this is £115.

What annoys me most is the fact that the lady walker knew her dog was dog aggressive yet did not have it muzzled or on a leash which has resulted in my sociable dog nearly losing his life.

Has anyone got any previous experience of anything like this and does anyone know what my rights are for claiming the vets fee back from the owner when I see her again (I have seen her twice but been far away from her both times)?

A bit of a poor introduction but there you go.

I would assume because all 3 dogs were off leads the rights to claiming money back off the owner are slim, and also its your word against hers im afraid. Hopefully one of the more experienced posters will come on and offer you some advice. Good luck, hope your pup is better soon and keep us informed Oh, Also... Welcome to the forums

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ahh poor thing, sorry but i cant advise as i have never had this happen but i think you should at least speak to the women and see if you get a good response , if she is a responsible dog owner she should surley want to put things right but if not then maybe you could report her and see if you can get somewhere that way

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Im sorry as plenty of people arent going to like my answer but thats the risk people take when they dont have control of their dogs.

You say the woman knew her dog was agressive and had it off the lead but the same aplies to you, you didnt know weather her dog was friendly or not and you still took the risk by allowing yours to run freely towards strange dogs

I think its a lesson learned on both parts.

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Lifes roads are for journeys, not destinations!

I agree bullbreeds nothing you have said there is offensive or wrong so im sure most will appreciate your opinion,hutch maybe she would help to pay for costs (some not all) as a good will but i wouldnt hold your breath.

My mums dog is aggressive towards other dogs but hes always on a lead, and if we see loose dogs we shout to their owners about the situation, Most call their dogs and put them on the lead whilst walking past, others just stand holding their dogs collar, but weve had a few situations where they shrug their shoulders as if to say "but ours isnt aggressive" so we pick my mums dog up instead.

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This is only my opinion; I am not a qualified lawyer. If you chose to take the matter further you will need to seek qualified legal advice and frankly due to the relatively small sums involved that may not be practical. That being said:

Theoretically you could claim for the tort of negligence and if successful recover damages (your vet’s bills).

If your dog is insured and you make a claim under your policy the insurance company may pursue the above claim but as previously mentioned this is unlikely due to the relatively small amounts of money involved.

To be honest legal remedies are hardly ever practical in situations were only relatively small amounts of money are involved.

Its very difficult with dogs. As a young dog you want them to socialise but the facts are it has to be a controlled environment or you need to know the other dog sufficiently to allow yours off the leash.

I sympathise with you Hutch (sorry I don't your name), my little chap at about the same age was attacked by three dogs all belonging to one owner they were off the leash, mine was on the leash. These dogs approached us.

I carry a pen and a bit of paper to take any details necessary. Its not a guarantee but hopefully the owner will sit up and take note that they have to be responsible for their dogs actions.

I would suggest until your dog will respond to recall with distractions keep him on a leash, only let him play with dogs you are familiar with or who you meet on your travels that you are happy they are friendly (be aware most people think their dogs are friendly and usually they may be but dogs are a bit like us they can take a dislike to each other).

Keep him safe and keep yourself safe too

Let us know how he is getting on and whether you get any joy from the other owner.

Sue

sorry your dog got attacked but its a risk ya take when letting them off the lead

Legal Court settlements can be more expensive to pursue than the claim itself.

If you do want to pursue a claim, I would suggest you seek free legal advice with a view to pursuing a claim through the small claim court.

You need to be aware that you may not succeed and you would end up paying court costs in addition to vet bills.

Sue

Sorry I'm going to disagree with you all it's the idiot who's dog was aggresive that should have had her dog leashed and muzzled not the OP whose dog is friendly.

Also, no indication was given that the dog has a poor recall. I allow my dogs to say hello to any dog we come across that is off lead that doesn't mean they have poor recall. I only put them on lead when other dogs are around on the lead.

In my opinion all aggresive dogs should be muzzled and on a lead. How irresponsible to have an aggresive dog off lead!