Real life MMD: Our dog ruined the neighbour's curtains - should we pay?

wanchai_2

baazii wrote: »

My only thought on reading this was: what kind of dog has to be kept in a cage indoors??? Just as well the neighbours didn't leave their child nearby perhaps.

Same here. :eek::eek::eek:

_nate

If £1000 is a trivial amount of money for you, paying would be a nice thing to do. But otherwise, it does not take a genius to realise that a dog should be kept away from things it can damage. Your inexperienced neighbours should have been especially careful. They were looking after it with the expressed intention of trying out having a pet! They were not looking after the dog as a charity act. They should feel lucky it did not ruin their £5000 carpet, £10,000 sofa, £1,000,000 work of art, etc!

mummymoney7

As they offered to do it so they could trial your dog, I would say "Ok I'll pay you for the curtains, but you need to pay the trial price for my dog which is £1000, or shall we call it even?!"

:beer:

laurahughes

Presumably the curtains were full lenght (i.e. to the floor) if the dog was able to pull them into the cage? So I'm imagining only the bottom is ruined and the curtains could be taken up by a seamstress and either put a panel of block colour at the bottom to return them to full length - or can be altered to make shorter curtains for use in another room. Also were both curtains in the pair damaged? Again a talented seamstress can probably fix one with material from the other depending on the fabric and pattern.

I'd offer to take the curtains and get a quote for them for the various options with fixing them.

purpleweasel

baazii wrote: »

My only thought on reading this was: what kind of dog has to be kept in a cage indoors??? Just as well the neighbours didn't leave their child nearby perhaps.

it's quite common for a puppy to be kept in a cage at first, especially if there are other dogs in the house. It gives them a safe place of their own, with the benefit that if you have to go out you can contain them and save your fixtures and fittings from mischief/separation anxiety. Some dogs carry on using their cage as their own personal territory as they grow up (if it's a big enough cage and they are a fairly small dog!).

A friend of mine had a large and powerful dog who was terrified of fireworks. They had him as a rescue dog and the first year he managed to lever a radiator off the wall in his anxiety....needless to say they now stay in every night for a week around bonfire night, but even so he has to have that pheromone-calming thingy to help him chill

gerbiljo

What if they took the dog for a walk and it bit someone would u be responsible for that? it is an individual unless its in your control you cannot be held responsible, I'd find out the local kennel rates and double it for the time they had it and give it as a good will gesture. I have loads of pets, and no carpets and no curtains!! their home is obviously not going to be suitable for a dog unless they down grade their interiors or get a 'model' dog. Its silly to put a dog by a window anyway sun/drafts etc

rose_ginger

laurahughes wrote: »

Presumably the curtains were full lenght (i.e. to the floor) if the dog was able to pull them into the cage? So I'm imagining only the bottom is ruined and the curtains could be taken up by a seamstress and either put a panel of block colour at the bottom to return them to full length - or can be altered to make shorter curtains for use in another room. Also were both curtains in the pair damaged? Again a talented seamstress can probably fix one with material from the other depending on the fabric and pattern.

I'd offer to take the curtains and get a quote for them for the various options with fixing them.

I think this is excellent advice. Offer to get the curtains repaired as a compromise, a good will gesture, it might cost you a little more than it would have cost to put the dog in kennels for a week.

I think you would be more responsible if you were present when the dog did the damage. But as they had sole charge, it really is their responsibility.

After all, if I was looking after someone's child, and I wasn't watching them, and they knocked over an expensive vase I had left in reach, I certainly wouldn't expect the parents to pay, I would just kick myself for not being more careful!

Robisere

In common with most Forumites, I would query the cost. Offer to pay HALF the cost of the curtains, but ask if you can accompany them to the shop/website/source of these fabulous curtains, and check the cost for yourself. The friendship of your neighbours may be important enough for you to pay out such an exorbitant sum. If you do so, ask for the remnants of the damaged curtains, they may be repairable and you may recoup some of the money that way via Ebay.

These neighbours do seem to be fairly dim IMHO. Dogs and Firework Nights are known to be incompatible. That is a fact repeated annually in the media.

I do not think your neighbours will be getting a dog anytime soon. If I am wrong there, I have sympathy for any animal they bring home.

Talent

Pay up, it is your dog and your responsibility. However, new for old is not on. Ask for proof of cost and when, then negotiate a discount for age. Then you will want proof of purchase of replacements. Remember though that they can get a receipt for anything from a dodgy internet site. If you give £500 they will probably buy £500 curtains!! ;-))

charleem_2

You're legally responsible for your dog, doesn't your pet insurance have any liability insurance built into it, maybe that would cover it?

You should expect to pay for the damage your pet has done, the same way you would be expected to pay if it was a child of yours that had done the damage.