Dog causes over €1000 fine

[Girlmom83]

My scary breed dog breed is confined to our relatively large space with secure gates. One of gates was left open and in that instant was triggered by a passing cyclist. Absolutely, my dog, my problem. This experienced older cyclist got a severe fright, bike and himself crashed to ground. He has 2 significant scrapes and bike had damage (in my own shock I did not examine it) I was totally owning the situation completely apologetic and helped this man with disinfectant etc. He threatened me with millions very quickly and I'd lose my house hence my extra shock. He reported me and the dog to the guards. I've been looking at re homing her.
Today I received a text that he is well but to pay 1000 for a new bike and 100 for antibiotic etc. I've no problem paying what is due, 1000 is not millions, but to me I also cant even afford 1000, what checks should I make first and would I be unreasonable as it was my dog and my gate?

I seriously don't know how you think that this is ok. A dog caused damage to a property of someone else and the cyclist themselves and you think that it is acceptable to just block them? that's not how the law works. I can see how insurance is mandatory for car drivers with attitudes like this!

Yep, ask for proof of receipt for the original damaged bike, that’s all you have to pay - not the price of a new bike in today’s prices. & also proof of medical costs. Then pay…

Indeed. If you own a notoriously reactive dog with known aggressive breed traits; a breed that understandably terrifies the liver out of people (especially when they go for them), then you roll with the consequences. 'Gentle Giants' my arse.

It's reacted once. 'I'm not rehoming it', says the OP. Wait until it reacts again, not infrequently against its own owner. It's already warned you once.

No one needs one of these things as a pet. Nor, if you lose control over it and it reacts to someone aggressively, are you going to receive one ounce of sympathy from me.

Be grateful the cyclist's reaction was so mild.

Your dog was out of control - I don't know about Ireland, but it's an offence in the UK. She was unrestrained, ran into the path of a cyclist and attacked the bike itself (if that's what you mean by she went for the pedals?) so he had good reason to fear a bite. It sounds pretty terrifying from his perspective and also a situation in which you're at fault not him. He shouldn't be out of pocket as a result of the incident. Take it through insurance, rather than taking his word though.

Also plenty of dogs can do no right and should be banned types as well.

So what are you going to compensate the cyclist for the loss of use of his bike? And what if he can no longer get a comparable bike for the same cost? I’d be taking you to the small claims court op, and asking that your dog be destroyed. Why on earth but an aggressive dog in the first place? What’s wrong with a spaniel?

Not a dog but:
Someone ran into the back of my DH on his bike
They didn't want to call the insurance but it was a £2000 bike and they offered him a few pounds to 'get a new wheel' so he insisted in insurance.
The insurance company paid for an independent evaluation of the bike (about £100)
It was written off. He got the £2000 less a bit as it wasn't a brand new bike. He got to keep the broken bike- stripped it off and sold it
As the frame was carbon fibre basically they couldn't see if it was damaged but was judged unsafe after having been in a accident (a bit like a car seat I assume)

So you need an independent evaluation before you pay anything out. His was done by a local bike repair shop.

What breed of dog? Could you sell the dog to pay the man?

A trip to minor injuries costs €75, and our local GPs are €60. I presume someone prescribed the antibiotics so it could well cost close to €100.

Definitely go through your insurance.

Go via insurance. That's what its for.

Ignore the nasty threats, and give him the benefit of the doubt that it was the shock speaking.
He will need to provide receipts etc as he should, just as you are taking responsibility for you dog.

I didn't see I was inside. I heard the yell
But my dog most definitely tried to take the pedals in her mouth either causing the bike to fall or causing the frightened man to swerve and fall.

Agree with going through your insurance company. Text him their info and go from there. Don't let your reactive dog in the front garden unsupervised and unsecured in the future. Absolutely sick to the back teeth of dog owners not taking responsibility for their dogs lack of training and supervision. I'm a horse rider and hiker and can't tell you the amount of times I've been charged at by off lead dogs either on walks or loose outside the house. I've had to physically fight off a loose collie attacking my horse before. If you can't control your dog you make sure it's on the lead and secure 100% of the time. I have a rescue with a strong prey drive for small animals like cats and rabbits so she's not allowed access to cats and rabbits-ever. We have a high fenced garden and she isn't off the lead.
I hope you can get this sorted out OP.

Your dog was out on control and you're lucky that there isn't more severe consequences for the dog.

Go through your pet insurance or home insurance and have him claim through that.

Pedals? Pedals include feet, how can you know your dog wasn't going for his feet?

Besides which, if she was going for any part of his bike that would make him very likely to fall off.

I’m a cyclist and have insurance for things like this. Ask for his insurance details and let the companies sort it out.

Thank you for this helpful and practical reply which also makes me feel somewhat justified in my questioning his money motives

What did the dog actually do? Sounds like nothing? Why would you rehome the dog? He didn’t open the gate & let himself out, just keep the gate shut.

Maybe the ask for the bike is more than it will cost him, but personally I would be glad at only having to pay €1100 (I would have expected him to want much more). The worry I would have however, is that handing over that amount of money, shows you are accepting liability (which imho you are liable) for the incident and he may then come back, asking for more.

The OP said the dog ran out, went for the pedals with his mouth and caused the rider to fall, how is that nothing?

She lives with 2 active young children. She doesn't go for feet but is reactive to bikes and always has been despite training. Hence the secure gates except in this unfortunate incident.

Op clearly doesn’t have insurance or she would have mentioned it the first 10 times it was asked.

And those saying report him to the Police, she (and her dog) are likely to come off much much worse that way.
I’d pay a lot of money to not have my dog investigated after a dog attack (and that’s what it was).

Ask him to send the receipts for the antibiotics, and negotiate the bike- ask how much he paid for it and how long ago, or ask for the make to find out how much it costs. Then work out a reasonable amount for the value of the bike now.

I had a copy of Richard's Bicycle Book, by Richard Ballantine, an American, and it was mostly full of very handy advice about choosing setting up your bike and looking after it, riding, repairs, etc. It had a chapter about dogs. I think I gathered that Ballantine had a thing about them. He reckoned that many dogs really hate cyclists and can't resist attacking them. He claimed to have heard of cyclists killed by dogs. He suggested various methods of dealing with a seriously dangerous large dog attack, including chucking your bike at it, and he said that if all else fails, and it comes for you with mouth open, get your pump and ram it down the beast's throat as hard as you can, and once it is in, work it around vigorously. He did say if you could not get at your pump, ball up your fist, and once your hand is well inside, claw and grab at what you can and twist. Should give the dog something to think about. Better your arm bitten than your throat, was the thinking. He wrote 'do not be overcome by fear, but radiate aggression and give out the impression that any dog who tackles this human will regret it for the rest of its life (which may not be long)' I did read that some the animal-cruelty people tried to get that part of the book removed in later editions. I can see that the consequences of not doing it right could be severe for the cyclist, but I do agree in principle. I'd try to kill a dog that was very seriously endangering my life or someone else's.

I have both dog and home insurance

You'll not get much of a bike with £1000. He's having you on.