What would you do-dog bite

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I don't remember exactly what was said except that his dog was out of sorts because he had just moved here the day before. He was not at all apologetic. He was also very cagey when giving me his information. He only provided his email until I insisted on getting his phone number too.

I'm sorry but I guess my husband and I are strange because had the situation been reversed we would have paid all the bills resulting from the bite, gotten our dog more training and put a muzzle on him in public. We would have been incredibly sorry that our dog caused harm to another dog. That is just us, I guess.

Dc is a city of lawyers or or nearly lawyers with way more legal knowledge than the average person. If you offer to pay all of someone's bill for a dog bite you are being really foolish from a legal standpoint. I understand it was upsetting, never act out of emotion in such a situation. If the guy had offered to pay for everything it would be an admission of liability. Who knows where that ends with some people in this town? They could try to sue you for everything you have if you admit fault. Dogs are by their nature as animals, unpredictable. That is how any court would see this case. lesson learned, don't let your dog sniff other dogs. Don't ever use a retractable leash...

[Anonymous]

OP, please, get yourself a plain old regular leash - stop assuming that every other pet and person is thrilled to have your very friendly dog on a retractable leash (that his owners never think to retract until it's too late) jumping all over them. You keep posting here about what a responsible dog owner you are and how you would pay every penny if your dog ever bit anyone - why don't you take responsibility for your dog BEFORE there is a bite involved. Keep your dog firmly leashed, do not allow him to approach any person or pet until/unless you have permission from the person or the pet owner, and you won't have a problem. Or you could just go ahead sue anyone who doesn't love your yappy jumpy puppy, which seems to be your preference.

[Anonymous]

OP, the fact that your puppy was bitten twice on 2 different occasions by 2 different strangers' dogs leads me to believe that you probably need to work on leash training. You also need to start considering that perhaps everyone else on the street does not really want your friendly dog invading their space.

I am not a dog owner, but I would think that if my young old dog loving child was bit separately by two different dogs while walking on the sidewalk in less than a years time, the problem is not the dog, but my lack of discipline, attention and boundaries. Just a thought.

[Anonymous]

6 feet is far too long a leash for relatively crowded sidewalks in denser District neighborhoods! You must trip people routinely!