Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

I live in the country and my family had a farm dog. We kept him in a fenced yard most of the time. We would let him out when we were outside with him. One day, we had let him out and looked around, noticed he was not in our sight He was gone maybe two minutes when we heard gunshots. Our neighbor shot at him five times, hitting him with the final shot. He ran home but he had been hit in his vital organs and he died. We asked our neighbor why he had shot at him, and he said that Meeko had barked at him. Meeko had never been aggressive toward anyone and was a very friendly, loving dog though he did look intimidating because he was large. My question is, can I sue my neighbor for the cost of our dog since he was only 2 1/2 old and should have had a much longer life or do I not have a case since Meeko had wandered down to his property? I know for a fact that this was the first time our dog had ever been down at his house.

Asked on 1/21/10, 11:14 am

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Illinois law says potentially and known dangerous dogs must be leashed. There may be local or county ordinances in your area requiring ALL dogs to be on leashes when off your property. You don't identify the breed. 5 shots though? Yes you can sue but if it comes down to your word against your neighbor's as to whether the dog posed a danger, it becomes a factual issue. As to the damages, and only because we don't value animals the way we do humans (not saying which is better.....) it would typically be the cost of any medical treatment, disposal, and replacement. You may need to do some homework on local laws....and see if you have witnesses who will corroborate your statements about the dog, whether the neighbor otherwise was familiar with the dog, the 5 shots, etc. Sorry to hear of the loss; good luck.

Answered on 1/26/10, 12:45 pm

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