to not pay this bill?

[Doggymum]

I have name-changed for this, because, well, you guys can be scary! Sorry if it's a bit long, trying not to drip feed

So, the story is that a couple of Saturdays ago I went up to the local park with the dc and ddog. DC took their bikes, I took a ball to throw for ddog. We live in a small village and we were the only ones on the whole park.

Ddog, has a number of doggy friends and is generally friendly with other dogs; however on a few occasions he's growled and snapped at unfamiliar dogs we've come across on walks and so I always put him on the lead the second I see another dog approach.

We'd been there for a few minutes, when just as I'd thrown the ball for ddog, ds fell off his bike, grazing his hands and knees and I rushed over to him to mop up the blood! Just as this was going on, a woman and her dog arrived at the park and before I knew what was happening, ddog and the other dog were fighting. I rushed over, dragged ddog off, took him away and tied him up so I could go back and see how the other dog was doing. He seemed OK, but I apologised profusely and told her that although he seemed OK, if he did need to go to a vet, then to let me know. The woman was very understanding and nice about the whole thing - I felt awful, and cross with myself for being distracted at the wrong moment!

A couple of hours later she turned up on my door and told me that she had decided to go to the vet because the dog and been limping, that he'd had a couple of injections etc and would be going back the next week. I told her to let me know how much it cost, and she told me that she was insured and was happy to claim if the bill went above £75, which was the standard excess. I told her that I would of course pay the excess and we parted on good terms.

A few days ago she came round to see me again, with a bill for £145 and saying that actually, she didn't really want to claim on her insurance so would I please either claim on my insurance or pay the whole thing. Our excess for third party claims is £250, so no point in us claiming and I agreed that I would pay the £145.

DH, however, is not happy. He says that it's unreasonable for her not to claim on her insurance as a) that's what insurance is for b) that's what we'd initially agreed and c) there was nothing to stop her from claiming from her insurance in addition to us paying her the money.

So, who's being unreasonable, me or dh? What would other people do in the same situation?

Why should she be pushed into using her insurance for YOUR dog being out of control?

You admit that your dog has a history of being aggressive and fighting unknown dogs, so its your responsibility to keep him under control. You said you normally whip the lead on the moment another dog comes into view; well, as has been proved on this occasion, sometimes you'll be distracted or something will happen which prevents that. Therefore your dog should be on a lead when out in public.

I claimed on my pet insurance last year for a spinal injury for my almost 10 year old dog, and my premium this year has more than doubled, despite me never having claimed before. So I would be very reluctant to claim for something that is someone else's fault, sorry.

We have insurance in case our dog is ill, lost, injured in an accident or harms a person or another animal.

If your dog attacked mine I would expect you and your insurance to pay the vets bills, just as I would use my insurance to pay if my dog attacked yours.

Would your husband feel differently about the bill if your dog had attacked a pet not covered by insurance?

She hasn't paid for her insurance so that your dog can attack hers with no loss to you, just like if you have a car you don't pay your car insurance so you can tell another driver who is at fault and hits you that it's alright, you've got it covered.

I think you offered,you pay. You sound very reasonable & nice. I would ask her to get the vet to invoice you though.

I think your DH is unreasonable. It was your dog who was out of control and caused the injury. Therefore, you should pay her full bill. Also, in future you should make sure that your dog is always on the lead.

You are lucky that she has not reported the incident to the police.