Incident in the dog daycare should they pay for the vet bills?

Question

Hi everybody,
I need help, I left my dog in a dog daycare for boarding for 10 days, very expensive place too. When I came back my dog was injured really bad it was a dog bite on his leg, they took $500 from me with no autorizathion and the next day I took my dog to his regular vet and I paid an additional $600 plus the boarding fee should I hire a lawyer, are they responsible for all the vet bills or like they said ACCIDENT IN THE DAYCARE HAPPEN? PLEASE HELP!

Answer 1

It would be considered small claims court. You do need to do something. You can consult with a lawyer for free.

Answer 2

Did you sign any agreements that clears them of accidents? Do they have a dog fight policy? No matter what happened you are going to have to pay for the boarding part of it. If they were decent and concerned boarding people they would offset the cost somewhat to keep your business and customer happiness. They took 500$ with out authorization? how? did you give them a credit card to charge for the fees? if you did that is all the authorization they need to collect the boarding fees. Also why didn't they take your dog to the vet themselves? If your dog was so severely injured they should have footed the money and taken the dog to the vet. In this aspect you could have cruelty charges brought against them IF you didn't sign a policy about the health care of your dog, that denied them the right to take the dog to a vet.
As a co-owner of a boarding facility we make all boarders sign a emergency vet plan. If there dog is injured or sick we are first to call owners and then by a verbal OK, we can take the dog to the vet, they specified with a signed plan agreement from the owner. You can dispute this with a lawyer but I will guarantee that it will cost more in court fees and lawyers than the settlement you will receive.

Answer 3

I work in a groomer/daycare/boarding kennel. I know that we would pay every last penny of the vet bill, and if you had to pay for boarding at all, it would be discounted. In fact we will pay for vet bills for anything that was not pre-existing, even stress induced diarrhea. The fact is, accidents DO happen, but since they were supposed to be watching the dog, they should step up and take responsibility. I don't know much about the law, but I know in the court shows, they say that you have to prove gross negligence in cases where you leave a possession to be cared for by another. And I don't know if you could actually prove gross negligence since it sounds like it would have happened during a community playtime, which makes it impossible to completely prevent fights. I would definately talk to a lawyer though.

I also wanted to add that proper supervision would NOT necessarily prevent this from happening. Dogs are animals. They do not consult with us when they make a decision about disliking another dog. Not all dogs will get along, aggressive or not. Community playtimes are not generally a good idea for this reason. Dogs are pack animals. Sticking them in with a bunch of dogs that are not in their pack can be downright dangerous. I will say, I do use community playtimes now and then for my younger Shepherd, who is afraid of other dogs for rehabilitation reasons, but I am at the kennel, I know the dogs she is playing with, and I know who is supervising the play yard.

Answer 4

Find a copy of your contract, and copies of the vet bill, medical records, and write down names, dates and times that you talked to people about the incident and what was said. Do not elaborate, and if you can't remember the exact works, it's ok to praphrase, just don't put words into anyone's mouth. Then call some lawayers that offer free half hour consults, see if it's the kind of case they would be interested in before wasting your time. If you think you might qualify, call your local legal aid office too.

The contract is very important, but even if in layman's terms it seems to say they aren't responsible, still have a lawyer look at it, the contract may not hold up well in court.

Answer 5

yes maam they should absoloutly pay the vet bill cause the dogs were not properly supervised . They did not use proper care where the dogs were concerned . They were most definately negligent in the care of your animal . and should you decide to take this matter to court I almost sure you would when and I would try to seek damages as well for your time and trouble . Also obtain a lawyer that has had expierience in this field . He can let you know what your options are . I would be livid . I am in a negligence case with an airline and i got an attorney who has expierience dealing with the airlines. I wish you luck and I hope you make them pay through the nose hairs :) ! good luck to you and your sweet baby.

Answer 6

Of course they are responsible! They are not supposed to let the dogs interact in a way that can be dangerous for them. At the place where I leave my dog, the dogs never get in touch but behind a fence. Unless you had agreed that he would be together with others to play, but still he shouldn't have been with any aggressive dogs. Unless again your dog started the fight and you had authorised his being around with other dogs, knowing that he was fighting, but I don't suppose so. And tell those guys that of course accidents happen everywhere, but the persons responsible pay for them. Sure it was an accident, it was not a deliberate assault, so you don't want them put in jail, but they have to pay for the accident that happened while the dog was under their supervision! It's among the risks of their profession and they should even be insured, if they are not, that's a risk they took and now they have to pay!

Answer 7

They should have insurance to cover the damages that the other dog did to your dog that's why they make people pay such high prices, they also should have known better if that dog that had bit your pooch got along with other dogs or not, I'd send them a bill if they do not pay for it then take them to small claims court keep everything you get from any vet bills and maybe even get some kind of statement from the keeper as to what they say happened .

Answer 8

It all depends if you signed a contract or agreement. They may have a clause stating that if your dog is injured it is not their responsibility.

The fact they took $500 however, can definately warrent a lawyer.

I suggest contacting a lawyer and seeing what they say. Don't forget to take pics of the wounds and such as evidence, as well as vet records, any answering machine messages, etc.

Answer 9

Did you sign any sort of a contract or agreement when you boarded your pet? If so, what does it say in the agreement?

Did they attempt to contact you while you were gone in order to let you know what had happened and what they were doing about it?

I know that grooming parlors will often have something that you sign that says that if the dog needs medical attention, you are giving consent for them to get the dog treated at a reasonable cost, but the cost will be charged to you.

Answer 10

The owner of the attacking dog is responsible for the entire amout of the Vet bill. Your daughter had her dog on a leash but was at her friends house. The attacking dog was off his property with out a leash (roaming the streets, so to speak), it attacked your dog, not the other way around. You, your daughter & your dog were within their rights, the violater was the attacking dog & his owner.

Answer 11

Well WHY would you leave your dog in a place with large groups of strange dogs running around together, often supervised by people who know little or nothing about dog behavior?

They 'should' have taken care of it as it is from their own incompetency, but many won't. Did you sign a waiver when you took your dog there?