Consider
 

You are in your house. Your mom lives with you. You are watching your neighbors dog. A big dog. Your mother's 10 year old poodle snarls and yipps at the big dog. The big dog rips open the throat of the little dog.

Who is responsible for paying the vet?

Which dog was out of its yard?

The bigger dog should pay the bill.

This is a test of the Reader's character...

a) the neighbor was not there, so Reader can make up any story they wish to make the neighbor pay

b) the mother was not there, so Reader can make up any story they wish to make the your mother pay

c) Reader can take responsibility or just be a nice person, and pay.

Let's have a poll... Losing side pays

You're on a roll today aren't you UT? lol

The bigger dog never has to pay the bill. That's the whole point of being the bigger dog.

Homeowners policy?

Did this happen to you, sky!?

I gotta say: I don't really give a shit who started it. If my dog hurt another dog I'd want to help towards the cost of the vet.

The owner of the little terrorist dog should have to pay for the big dog's PTSD therapy.

As in Dog-sitting or as in observing?

IF the former then you are responsible for the dog you are watching. The smaller yippy dog, being your mother's and housemates dog also falls under your care unless you have a specific arrangement with your mother to the contrary.

How high of a vet bill are we talking about?

I think the poodle was asking for it. Unless the poodle has a job, it's the poodle's owner's responsibility.

Little doggehs, take heed: DO NOT mess with the big dogs. Yeah, you're scrappy and cute, but the big doggehs will eat your head! :lol:

(thread drift: when I read this thread title all I can think of is Ulysses Everett McGill saying "Consider the lilies of the goddamn field or... hell! Take at look at Delmar here as your paradigm of hope.")

I don't know why, that's just how my brain works.

The big dog should get capital punishment. If the little dog doesn't have good health insurance, he can go back to whatever country he came from and get care there. I'll bet it's a illegal chihuahua.

Ha!

Which in turn reminds me of this:



[cultural note: 'Pimpsy' is an old schoolyard word for easy.]


@ Sundae: there ya go chika. a prime example of what we were talking about before, with catch phrases or odd lines from obscure shows that end up getting thrown into everyday speech much to the bemusement of those not familiar with the show.

"No, not "ahh", it's not an "ahh" situation"

I think J and my Bro are probably the only people I know who would recognise that one :p

The lil dog seems to have been the instigator. He started it and the big dog finished it.
I really don't see how you can blame the larger dog since you were "watching" the larger dog. Either way I think it goes back to you. I cannot see how the larger dog's owner would be responsible for something that happened while the dog was in your care.
No if this question is directed between you and your mom... split it.

Split it is the most sensible advice.

Dogs are dogs. Sometimes they do stupid shit. Both dogs were involved. Impossible to start laying 'blame'. Both owners should share the cost of the situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimhelm (Post 764641) Homeowners policy?

This happened at my sister's house. I suggested homeowners.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanaC (Post 764648) I gotta say: I don't really give a shit who started it. If my dog hurt another dog I'd want to help towards the cost of the vet.

This is my opinion, which has landed me into my first family feud ever.

Quote:

Originally Posted by footfootfoot (Post 764685) As in Dog-sitting or as in observing?

Dog sitting. I came to this conclusion too, however the details are murky about how exactly a 10 year old barnacled poodle launched the attack.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clodfobble (Post 764698) How high of a vet bill are we talking about?

It’s not very high. $260. This is more about who is right and who is wrong, legally and according to me, ethically. It is very wrong to be treating an elderly woman the way they are, and her little poodle. You know how old ladies are about their poodles.

The vet said it was very close to the jugler. The poodle got huge staples to close it shut.



The owner of the dog paid half and my sister paid half. My sister wants her half back from my mother and lays the blame on the little dog. She has some infinite monkey going on, I think.

I take the stance that, if I had a large dog, I would pay because it's the right thing to do. I never imagined that THAT little comment would draw a battle line.

Bottom line. My mother isn't paying for the vet bill. I told my sis it was the big dogs owners responsibility and if she didn't want to make him pay, she could look into homeowners insurance.

She insists that my mother's dog is the instigator and should pay.

There is an inconsistency about what happened after my mother's poodle 'viciously' attacked the husky. My sister either pulled the little dog off ( not sure how you would pull a little dog out of the mouth of a large dog) or the big dog flung the poodle away after biting down on her neck, which implies no action was taken. That makes her negligent and responsible too.

In the schoolyard we had a number of aphorisms regarding playing with the big dogs, or in those days we said "jumping bad" as in "You wanna jump bad with me motherfucker?" at which point there would be a beat-down or a back-down.

The other expression is something along the lines of if you want to run with the big dogs you've got to be able to piss in the tall grass (or if you don't want to run with the big dogs, stay on the porch)

Little dog is 100% at fault for being a knuckle head.

Oh fuck. Sounds you like you done walked into a minefield.

I have zero advice to offer on this one. Families are weird.

Do most large dogs act violently against little yappers?

My brother has a pitbull and my sister has her own large chocolate lab who get along fine with the little barnacle.

Is she taking anything for it?

So far it's big dog 2 to little dog 0.

Even if all of you said the little dog was responsible and my mother should pay, I don't think I would make her. I would just suck it up and pay it. If I were the one watching the animals. I would also feel horrible for my mother, regardless who was at fault. I can't change my feelings about the rightness and wrongness of it. Since I cannot, I have become the enemy. I am not taking sides, perse. I just would not question paying for it myself.

Weird is right. I am totally blown away.

She is in a very bad place phyisically. Yes.

Wait. What the fuck did I do?

Anyone?

You didn't do anything!!! It was your post. This is her, without the laughing. ( unfortunatley)

Right now I would trade you for my sister. They have in'jun blood too so you'd fit right in.

Ahhhh. Tongue in cheek, really.

(Yeah, I'm especially paranoid these days...pay me no never mind.)

I don't know either dog. I have seen small dogs go CWAZY around big dogs. I call it "short dog syndrome."

Hope it works out, regardless.

No problem. It will work out when my mom moves out. :) Thanks

Oh, the old "innocent bystander" routine. Tell it to the Undertoad.

I'm trying to imagine it from the sister's perspective...

If my mom were living with me as an "only because you're my relative and you're in need" standpoint, and I particularly resented the in-residence of her dog (as I would, not being a dog or cat person)... yeah, I think I could be a little ticked if, on top of it all, I had to pay a vet bill for her stupid dog's antics. But, clearly your sister is okay with dogs, since she was voluntarily watching the neighbor's dog as well.

But you're right, for a bill that relatively low, this is clearly a righteous stand she's making, and not about the money. I'd stay as far away from the whole thing as I could.

Nice summary clodfobble. It seems to be my take on it anyway.

I am laying low but the resentment is still there, even as far as me 'seemingly' taking sides, which I was careful not to over emphasize my opinion. I never realized the resentment would bloom into animosity.

Thanks for all of the input, everyone.

I kind of skimmed the thread, but I don't understand why the little dog went to the vet in the first place. Wasn't there a stapler somewhere in the house?

I didn't realise this situation was between a mother and daughter as the dog owners.

In my family, the person with the most money would pay just because you care about the grief of the situation for the little dog owner, and the guilt of the big dog owner...because those are the emotions people in families who love each other feel if something like this happens...isn't it?...

I think the big dog had eaten it and was trying to staple the little dog.

Yes

There's only one way to get this whole situation squared away ... let your mother bite your sister.

Snort

I know of a Korean restaurant that could make the whole problem go away.

Yea, Sex and Zen. It's what you can call a comprehensive team - very good

This for the win

That's WACIST. I know because I swung some dead cats around.

:lol:

haha :)

From the perspective of a no-patience-for-dogs-or-irresponsible-owners/sitters type, I think the sitter should foot the whole thing and take complete responsibility. Who pairs up a huskie and a barnacle style poodle and expects that to end well? They are animals, for pete's sake. It's not like the neighbor could control what the dog was doing while she/he was away. Isn't that part of the reason for hiring someone to watch the dog in the first place?

I'm inclined to agree that's where the ultimate responsibility lies, but whoever owns the dog that does the big damage would surely feel some responsibility and want to contribute ( as indeed was the case here).

My guess is that the situation is also wrapped up with the Mum staying at the house when it's not ideal thing. I love my mother dearly, but truly I think mothers and daughters don't live well together as adults. Short term yes, but tensions quickly start to simmer even with mums and daughters who are very close.

Well I didn't actually ask them to be animals, but I may have hinted.

And I agree with you about the responsibility. If you agree to pet sit. You take the responsibility of making sure the animals are comfortable.

My Mum and I lived together (with my two older boys) for about 3 years without any dramas at all really. We had the usual tiffs that any group of people sharing a house do, but mostly it was pretty good.

Mum and I got on ok for the most part, when I moved into her house after J and I split. But after 2 1/2 years it was starting to get on my tits and hers too I think :p

There weren't any major dramas as such.

I'm curious about the interaction between the dogs.
This was Poodle's home turf right?
Then this big-ass Husky moves in. Oh, so Alpha-twolegs is okay with it, did anyone ask Poodle?
It comes to an argument.
Lesson one. Don't bring a poodle to a husky fight.
Lesson two. Husky had it's teeth on Poodles throat ... and didn't kill. Not a "bad dog". Just winning the argument in the way dogs do.

Was it like this?

Zen - you forgot the part where she pulled Poodle out of other dogs mouth.

Oh, right. I got a bit confused by the narrative.

Maybe now I am confused. Here is what I was thinking....
Lesson two. Husky had it's teeth on Poodles throat - and didn't kill. Then she pulled Poodle out of other Husky's mouth.

Like a cat when it puts its claws on your hand and you pull away causing a worse scratch.

I would ask for clarification except that the topic was red hot and followed a lot of theatrics. Things are calming down now.

The sight of blood can do that to a family.

"It's too bad that whole families can be torn apart by something as simple as wild dogs."

--Jack Handey

:D

:)

:)

Oustanding.

So, then you must be responsible for the bill :D

Wait! These were ducks?

:D

ftfy