Paying for vet bill

[Anonymous]

OP this is a good lesson for you and your husband to always get the insurance info at time of accident. I agree you will have to talk to neighbor in person to see if they are willing to pay and figure out next steps if they say no. You don’t need a lawyer for small claims court if you go that route but the police report would be helpful. Hopefully it won’t get to that.

[Anonymous]

Most lawyers won't take on a case this small--the payout would be too trivial to be worth their efforts.

A friend's leashed dog was mauled by a neighbor's off leash dog in fairfax county. She called the police, they went and did a rabies check, but there was no punishment/penalty. She wanted the vet bills paid, but the animal control officer said that wasn't anything he could enforce--she'd have to go through small claims if asking wasn't working out. (Friend threatened small claims and ended up getting paid).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long was the leash? Was it a short tight one or a longer extensible one?

That matters, esp with the woman saying she did stop and genuinely didn’t see your dog, and there were no injuries to the dog and the car came nowhere near hitting your husband. What if she had a dash cam? What would it show? Many people have them these days.

I think $1k under the circumstances is steep as well. Especially with very slow/low impact and no reason to think there were injuries (and none found). Especially with the majority of the bill being just because it was “an emergency”.

You don’t know if there are internal injuries- that’s why you need to be checked out ASAP.

[Anonymous]

This has been a very interesting thread. In the neighbors defense, it is possible that they do not have $1000. Even with insurance there is often a deductible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good grief, some of the "advice" on here is terrible. Im a lawyer and used to do some personal injrybwork, including car accidents. I did plaintiff and defense cases.

OP's husband and dog were in the crosswalk and the neighbor had a stop sign. She is liable for 100% of the bill. It was perfectly reasonable to take the dog to the vet to check for non-visibile injuries after being hit by a car. The vet bill is reasonable.

OP, knock on her door and ask for her car insurance info. If she won't give it to you, get her license plate, call the police, and ask them to run her plate and give you the insurance info. They will preparw an accident report, but will not arrest her or give her any ticket, because they didn't see what happened.

Call her insurance company and file a claim.

"Good grief, some of the "advice" on here is terrible". A lawyers advice is always spot on I suppose?

[Anonymous]

You can buy 2 new dogs for $1000 this country is ridiculous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has been a very interesting thread. In the neighbors defense, it is possible that they do not have $1000. Even with insurance there is often a deductible.

Yes, but they need to talk to op or file with their insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long was the leash? Was it a short tight one or a longer extensible one?

That matters, esp with the woman saying she did stop and genuinely didn’t see your dog, and there were no injuries to the dog and the car came nowhere near hitting your husband. What if she had a dash cam? What would it show? Many people have them these days.

I think $1k under the circumstances is steep as well. Especially with very slow/low impact and no reason to think there were injuries (and none found). Especially with the majority of the bill being just because it was “an emergency”.

You don’t know if there are internal injuries- that’s why you need to be checked out ASAP.

You're talking as if a person was hit by a car. First, by all reports it wasn't much of a hit. All of us have been impacted a bit by a slow moving large object at some point or another and didn't rush to the ER for a full body scan. If the dog was not appropriately secured and close to the owner, the owner is at least partially liable. You can't just let your dog run across traffic, even at a cross-walk.

Second, a dog is not a "you" or a person. It's property. And without there being reason to think there were internal injuries (e.g. serious visible external injuries, a high speed/impact crash, coughing blood, passed out, etc) then it doesn't warrant a preemptive full body scan just for a dog. Especially when the cost of the procedure/s exceeds the cost of the dog. No matter how much you love your dog, it's still just property in the eyes of the law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long was the leash? Was it a short tight one or a longer extensible one?

That matters, esp with the woman saying she did stop and genuinely didn’t see your dog, and there were no injuries to the dog and the car came nowhere near hitting your husband. What if she had a dash cam? What would it show? Many people have them these days.

I think $1k under the circumstances is steep as well. Especially with very slow/low impact and no reason to think there were injuries (and none found). Especially with the majority of the bill being just because it was “an emergency”.

You don’t know if there are internal injuries- that’s why you need to be checked out ASAP.

You're talking as if a person was hit by a car. First, by all reports it wasn't much of a hit. All of us have been impacted a bit by a slow moving large object at some point or another and didn't rush to the ER for a full body scan. If the dog was not appropriately secured and close to the owner, the owner is at least partially liable. You can't just let your dog run across traffic, even at a cross-walk.

Second, a dog is not a "you" or a person. It's property. And without there being reason to think there were internal injuries (e.g. serious visible external injuries, a high speed/impact crash, coughing blood, passed out, etc) then it doesn't warrant a preemptive full body scan just for a dog. Especially when the cost of the procedure/s exceeds the cost of the dog. No matter how much you love your dog, it's still just property in the eyes of the law.

Did I kiss where the dog was not on a leash?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long was the leash? Was it a short tight one or a longer extensible one?

That matters, esp with the woman saying she did stop and genuinely didn’t see your dog, and there were no injuries to the dog and the car came nowhere near hitting your husband. What if she had a dash cam? What would it show? Many people have them these days.

I think $1k under the circumstances is steep as well. Especially with very slow/low impact and no reason to think there were injuries (and none found). Especially with the majority of the bill being just because it was “an emergency”.

You don’t know if there are internal injuries- that’s why you need to be checked out ASAP.

You're talking as if a person was hit by a car. First, by all reports it wasn't much of a hit. All of us have been impacted a bit by a slow moving large object at some point or another and didn't rush to the ER for a full body scan. If the dog was not appropriately secured and close to the owner, the owner is at least partially liable. You can't just let your dog run across traffic, even at a cross-walk.

Second, a dog is not a "you" or a person. It's property. And without there being reason to think there were internal injuries (e.g. serious visible external injuries, a high speed/impact crash, coughing blood, passed out, etc) then it doesn't warrant a preemptive full body scan just for a dog. Especially when the cost of the procedure/s exceeds the cost of the dog. No matter how much you love your dog, it's still just property in the eyes of the law.

Did I kiss where the dog was not on a leash?

An extensible leash is often not considered leashed. The dog needs to be close to the owner and under full control, especially near the road. OP hasn't clarified yet how the dog got hit but her husband didn't.

[Anonymous]

I'm not understanding how a leashed dog under the owners control is hit by a car without the owner being hit as well. I walk my dogs several times a day. They are right beside me. You couldn't possibly hit them without hitting me as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not understanding how a leashed dog under the owners control is hit by a car without the owner being hit as well. I walk my dogs several times a day. They are right beside me. You couldn't possibly hit them without hitting me as well.

https://www.popville.com/2018/05/dog-struck-and-killed-by-car-while-on-evening-walk-on-leash-with-owner-hill-east-5-15/

Having had several near misses myself, with drivers purposefully being aggressive by revving or cutting close to me to show their displeasure that my being in the crosswalk delayed them for 10 seconds, I absolutely can see how a dog walking a few steps ahead or behind, even while on a short leash, could be struck by a car when the human is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people saying $1k is too high don't have dogs. If the dog had to be sedated and have x-rays or other scans it can add up. More so if they had to go to the emergency vet. And if it is a large dog.

But what was wrong with the dog that it had to go to the Vet? After the accident did the dog have to be carried home, was the dog bleeding? And the fact that nothing was found wrong with the dog is what makes me think the bill was high.

Are we in outer space here? This is the pet forum. If you don’t have a pet, don’t respond. Yes, I’m making the assumption that these “why did you go to the vet?” posters don’t have dogs.

I am so sorry this happened to you OP. It’s a tough one because you don’t want to go to war with a neighbor but this is obviously her responsibility and in a perfect world she should have been very proactive about paying bills, checking in etc. What does DH think about it? Do you have an HOA president whom you can trust? News of the accident will surely go around the neighborhood and people will talk... if and when neighbors find out she hasn’t offered to pay, she will be ostracized.

But it doesn't matter if the neighborhood isn't chummy. Like I live in a subdivision where I don't interact with my neighbors. Yes, we will wave and say hello but no one will go out of their way and hang out together. It's not Wisteria Lane. Personally, if I were the neighbor, I wouldn't pay unless I have to. Dog owners have a major sense of entitlement and this should teach them to pay more attention to their dogs. I'm done with dogs peeing on my front lawn or avoiding left-behind dog poop on my neighborhood walks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good grief, some of the "advice" on here is terrible. Im a lawyer and used to do some personal injrybwork, including car accidents. I did plaintiff and defense cases.

OP's husband and dog were in the crosswalk and the neighbor had a stop sign. She is liable for 100% of the bill. It was perfectly reasonable to take the dog to the vet to check for non-visibile injuries after being hit by a car. The vet bill is reasonable.

OP, knock on her door and ask for her car insurance info. If she won't give it to you, get her license plate, call the police, and ask them to run her plate and give you the insurance info. They will preparw an accident report, but will not arrest her or give her any ticket, because they didn't see what happened.

Call her insurance company and file a claim.

Unless there is video evidence, it's going to be 'she said, she said'.

[Anonymous]

Looks like OP was scammed by her vet.
No reason for the neighbor to pay for that mistake.