Legal Question in Personal Injury in Massachusetts

Another guy was walking his dog in the road, and my dog jumped over the fence and bit his dog. I did not witness where the bite took place, nor did I witness if he let his dog onto my property prior to my dog jumping the fence. I would guess that he DID allow his dog to come onto my property which caused my dog to jump the fence. Dogs walk past our house all the time, and many times they let their dogs pee on my yard, although my dog never has jumped the fence before. When I looked out the window, I saw the guy on my property along with my dog, and his dog. I ran outside, and he said my dog jumped the fence and bit his dog. His dog was unleashed, although he had a long leash in his hand (over 6 feet) which in my county does not count as a leash because it is too long. I looked at the dog, and I did not see any blood or evidence of a bite, but according to the bill that he sent me from the vet, he paid $700 for vet bills for a bite. Furthermore, I have a no trespassing sign on my property, so he was trespassing. I didn't think he would take us to small claims, but I got a letter in the mail today saying that he wants the money, or else he is taking us to small claims. I am tempted to put this on my insurance, but I feel I have a good case and would rather not pay the deductible.
I believe a good way to look at this case is that both dogs were unleashed, and my dog bit his dog either in the street or on my yard. The victim is claiming the the bite happened in the street, so I guess we have to go with that. However, My wife and I witnessed him, his dog, and my dog ALL on my property, which has a no trespassing sign. He now expects me to pay the bill and is threatening me with small claims court.

Asked on 9/21/11, 6:14 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Christopher Vaughn-Martel Charles River Law Partners, LLC

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The fact is that your dog bit another dog. My advice would be to offer to pay the majority of his dog's vet bill. You may have a good legal argument that the dog should have been leashed, but you would be wiser to learn from this incident and be glad it wasn't a child.

Answered on 9/21/11, 6:23 pm

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