Money Moral Dilemma: She injured my dog - should she pay?

jonnysolar

this just makes me laugh to be honest.... I can't believe so many people are completely and utterly clueless on how to interact socially with other individuals - if you can't gauge how good a friend you are with someone, an thereby work out any sort of responsibility, maybe you shouldn't go out.

On a more serious note, this could just as easily happen if you were the one that got the squits, and slammed it on your own dog; it's an accident, get over it... as has been posted previously, if you can't afford a dog plus the bills, food etc that it entails, maybe you shouldn't actually have a dog......... the overriding feeling here is that the dog may well be in less than splendid accomodation/nutritional levels than could be expected, and therefore you are being unfair on the animal in the first place - if you can't afford, look to someway of making sure they are accomodated and happy without having to try and pry money from a friends' grip!

eurovision_fan

I think the "friend" should pay at least some part of the vet's bills not all of them as it's not entirely her fault the dog got hit but still caused enough for medical help, and since the dog owner is currently not in work and therefore can't really afford the trip it only backs up the case for the friend to pay a little.
The only other alternative was for the Dog owner to have used the internet to find the nearest PDSA clinic where since she's on benefit would have gotten the treatment at the cost of donation to the charity.

sportychick

Hannah_10 wrote: »

Lots of posters seem to be reckoning the OP can't pay the vet bill and condemning them for not having insurance, even though they might have insurance we don't know. We don't actually have enough information to decide the OP can't pay either. Maybe they had savings, maybe it went on the credit card, maybe the vet agreed repayment options, there's every possibility the bill was dealt with on the day. What we were asked was if the ill friend ought to be asked to pay, this could just as easily mean pay the OP back as pay the vet. I would have thought most people would have just stuck it on plastic or hit the savings account for it and therefore we should consider the possibility that the bill was paid initially by the OP too.

Also it just says they're out of work, it doesn't say why, the dog could be an assistance dog (guide dog, seizure response dog etc). I know people with them and for those people times of stress are exactly when the dog is most needed. So the people saying about keeping the dog "under control" are leaving out a huge area of possibilities there. Also surely everyone has the right to be in thier own home, even a dog? This is one of those things where if there were people running round my home I wouldn't expect to keep my dog shut in a pen, people/pets move around quickly in homes all the time and manage to miss each other. Looks to me like the incident didn't happen because the dog did something unexpected, it happened because the friend did, they slammed a door without due regard for anyone who might be in it. To me that makes the friend at fault not the dog.

I get that the friend was too ill to know what they were doing, but still if I'm too drunk to know what I'm doing and I cheat on someone it's hardly the person I cheated ons fault is it. If you hurt someone when you're not up to paying full attention it's still you causing that hurt.

So I think there's a lot of unfair OP and dog blaming going on because people are misreading what's asked. Back to the original question, should friend be asked to pay up?

I think yes because the OP had the good grace not to just chuck the mate out and to look after them so they definately shouldn't be left holding the bill for the careless damages (damages to a sentient creature at that- much worse than damages to an object). To look after a friend who is that ill you are going to a lot of trouble. To then end up out of pocket for thier careless damage is a step too far I think. But, how important is the mate though? Because if it's likely to come between you and you are sure they really didn't know they hurt the dog then it might be better just to write it off to experience and keep quiet.

It is unfortunate that your dog was injured and needed vet treatment which came with an expensive bill. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but as many people have said there is always an excess to pay with pet insurance claims, and some insurances are very clever at finding lots of clauses to show that accident was not covered by the insurance. U now know for future to use PDSA etc to get assistance with the bill.

The above quote is a bit harsh on the ill friend, the friend was hardly being careless when they were attempting to make sure what was coming out went somewhere suitable (toliet) than elsewhere (carpeted floor perhaps causing stains, smells etc) and yes the OP was looking after the ill friend in their house, but isn't that what friends are for?!
The OP has to look after the dog and attempt to keep it out of harms way, as well as doing a brill job and looking after their friend. :A
As a dog handler (Job) and dog owner i have had to do risk management on my own house, local environment etc for having my job dog at home, unfortunately this was an accident that could have been avoided by a few simple steps on both sides, but mainly by the OP with regard to the dog. As the above quote said the dog is a sentient creature, it won't realise it is actually getting in the way, even when trying to help, so it is up to the owner, the OP to make sure that they think for the dog.

Its a a really horrible situation for both parties, but i would tread carefully if approaching the subject of asking for money towards the bill, (maybe asking for a contribution towardes the costs) there are sometimes when an accident is exactly that and trying apportion blame and a claim can cause more harm than good. _pale_

I really hope that both your friend and dog are fully recovered and your friendship survives.:beer:

Ebenezer_Screwj

This is the kind of scenario that presumably goes with keeping a dog, "accidental" damage to furniture and carpets - and getting in the way of sick people who are trying to close doors. I'm afraid that you are stuck with one of the costs of keeping a dog, your friend has suffered enough for one day.

maryb

Does your friend know that your dog had to go to the vet? She probably wasn't paying attention at the time. If it was me and I found out that I had injured the dog that badly, accident or no, I would feel terrible and would offer to pay. Accidents happen, yes, but I would feel it was my accident not yours.

little_miss_spender

Hi hun
unfortunately probably not the answer you want to hear but, I think no u shouldnt make your friend pay. It was an accident afterall she didn't intentionaly hurt your dog she was probably dehydrated and disorientated at the time. Food poisoining in itself is bad enough.

Think yu should just sit back and count your blessings that your friend is okay and so is your dog, and be thankful it wasn't anything worse which it could quite easily have been.

My take on life is that sometimes it doesn't seem fair, but before you start blaming others, look at what you could have done yourself to prevent this dilemma ever occuring in the first place.

Its always a good way to resolve a problem if you reverse the situation and think what would your friend do?

If she is a good friend I would say she would do nothing and not even give it a second thought and once again just be glad that her friend and her doggy are okay.
Little miss spender x

A.Jones

The dog chose to sit / stand by the door, and the owner of the dog allowed the dog to sit / stand there. They are responsible for their dog.

This was the tenth time that the person had to run to the toilet, so the dog owner should have assessed the situation - another run to the toilet was likely given what has happened previously.

Any sensible owner would have kept the dog away from the door and the general path to the toilet if another run was imminent.

terryya

Would it be cheaper to put this dog to sleep and get a new one?

stressedclaire

I really do think that insurance should be compulsory for all dog owners. I would not dream of not having adequate cover for my beloved dog. So, sorry no, I don't think your friend should pay the vet's bills. Hope both your dog & your friend are all ok now.

npw32jnw

For those who compare this to a car accident, or knocking a vase over, I think you are barking up the wrong tree (!)

In those circumstances you should be fit to drive (e.g. if you are over the limit you are responsible for any incident occurring) and should always be in control of the vehicle so as to prevent an accident from being your fault. For the vase, it is a stationary object, and does not take any hard work to avoid, unless you are again at fault in some way (messing around). Here the friend is rushing for emergency purposes, and has no idea where the dog may end up - how can they be blamed for the injury to the dog.

Too many people seem to think that pure accidents deserve compensation, when in reality no-one is actually to blame for a lot of these incidents that occur.