Can I take legal action? Dog related trigger warning

[Ellythe]

My dog is my baby. I got her 3 years before my child died and she helped me through it all and she knew him.

I am currently in the USA, waiting for a plane home 8 days earlier than planned because I got a call from the woman looking after my dog saying that her Mastiff has mauled my dog and she has lost a leg and an eye in the fight. I've seen the cctv footage and my dog walked near her dog and he lunged at her and then attacked her.

Shockingly the boarder doesn't notice the interaction between the dogs until her neighbour comes running into her house shouting because she can hear my dog yelping and screaming. At the time of the fight the person I paid to look after my dog was grooming another dog and in a completely separate area of the unit. The other person insured to look after the dogs was out at the shop and so there were 5 day care dogs and 4 home boarding dogs + her own 3 dogs.

What is my legal recourse?

I want her to pay for my dog's treatment, the flights etc.

I would never have let her look after my dog if I realised she wasn't in the same area as the dogs. I didn't realise that dogs were being left completely unattended for up to 6 hours whilst she's grooming.

For the avoidance of doubt my dog didn't do anything to cause her dog to attack her, she merely walked passed him and he just went for her.

She is 6 years old and I cannot lose her. She is the last connection I have to my child. I'm beside myself right now. This is hideous.

I need to know what to do next. Do I report to the council? The rspca? The police? I want to take any and all action I can.

I don't know about the legal stuff but I'm so sorry this has happened to your dog

Get home, see your dog.

Take photos.

Make contemporaneous notes of who says what to you.

download the CCTV and back your computer up.

ask the vet for advice about police and lawyers.

I hope your dog is ok, but these questions you have are all tomorrow issues - right now focus on your flight and try to get some sleep.

The border should have insurance to cover all costs.
Some dogs don't get along with other dogs, and that's perfectly acceptable in dogs. But humans need to manage it. The mastiff is obviously a risk to other dogs, and I'd be querying if this behaviour came out of the blue or if there had been prior incidents. If there had been priors, then this is completely on her.

This is shocking so sorry and sorry for the loss of your child, I'd be devastated if this was one of my dogs and angry.....sue her all the way flights, vets, emotional trauma she shouldn't be running a business with a dog like that I can assure you it won't have been the first time her dog has been vicious towards another dog she needs closing down

I am so sorry this has happened to your poor dog. I also am worrying about the mastiff, as it isn't the dogs fault either but I understand you may be feeling differently in the circumstances.

I am sorry for the loss of your child. I hope your poor puppy makes a good recovery. How awful for you.

Where is home? In the uk? Obviously laws override contracts that conflict with them, but we’d need to see what contract you signed with them to advise you. While this does come across as negligent, it’s not illegal for boarders to socialise dogs with each other, though I agree that definitely should only be done with strict supervision. We don’t know what you’ve agreed to though

I'm so sorry, this is horrific. I hope your dog is getting the best possible treatment while you make your way home. I don't have any legal knowledge I'm afraid but make sure you document everything, especially your conversations with the boarder.

I agree with you. I think mastiffs are fairly placid as dogs go. I just want my dog to be ok and I don't want them to be able to board dogs whilst they are clearly not looking after them!

I naively thought that despite constant posting of dogs she's groomed that someone was looking after the dogs whilst she groomed but that wasn't the case.

My floor is at 2.30 am British time so I've told them I'll be there tomorrow (18/8) and I'm going direct to the vet hospital where my dog is and then I'll deal with the borders, once I've seen with my own eyes she's ok.

They suggested that I just 'enjoy my holiday' after being told their dogs had mauled Rosie. Not a chance

I'm fucking angry on your behalf. Who mixes dogs of that size unattended? Let alone ones that don't normally live together! The women is incompetent, negligent and lacks common fucking sense.

Push for the dog that did this to be destroyed. It's dangerous. When you get your compensation release the footage and make sure nobody leaves a dog in her care ever again. Sicking.

Yes home is the uk; I had no issue with Rosie socialising with other dogs in her care, and the dog that attacked her was the borders dog, so they'd be used to each other, the issue was she'd left all the dogs alone to 'play' and her dog attacked mine: he also bit another dog but mine got the brunt of the attack.

All of this

I'm so, so sorry OP.

Also I 100% will be going public once I A. Have the vets bill paid and B. Have spoken to every organisation I possibly can.

I don't care my dog has been there many times before, I don't care her dogs have been fine for months with mine.

I feel like the more I talk to people the worse it gets like they use one of their parents who is 80
To look after boarding dogs whilst the owners of the day care are out for the weekend, they also have their neighbours kid looking after the dogs if they're all out for a bit (neighbours kid is 12)

It's all stuff I wish to god I knew before I'd left my dog with them, and I'm going to write the longest email ever to the licensing department at the council.

That's even more shocking now, a 12yr old and an 80 Yr old. Completely irresponsible. I agree that it doesn't matter that your dog has been there before. The lack of supervision while the dogs were mixing is totally unprofessional.

I am sure your Rosie will be relieved to see you after her ordeal. I really do hope she makes a speedy recovery from her horrific injuries. One of my dogs had to have an eye removed (different I know but) he still managed to play football and enjoy life to the fullest. Just telling you as I was so worried about the impact it would have on him.

I can't believe they said to enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Again though re PP it is not the mastiffs fault and that wouldn't be who I would be going after.

Of course it is the mastiffs fault. Yes the owner put the dog in that situation but the dog made the decision to attack a dog that did nothing more than walked past it. Next time that could be the 12 year old from next door, or somebodies toddler on the park. The dog has a bite history now. It isn't just snap, a warning nip etc, it attacked op's dog so badly her dog lost a leg. Would you want to risk your child being permanently disfigured or killed because an irresponsible owner had been allowed to keep a dangerous dog? I thought not.

There's plenty of dogs in the world that don't bite. There's not a single good reason for keeping the dog alive. The woman who owns it can't responsibly take care of it, obviously, as she has proven, and nobody else with any common sense will want to take it on because a mastiff is that has mauled another dog is a huge liability. So what do you propose happens to it?

I worked with dogs for years, rescue, training working dogs, boarding kennels. And people need to realise that there this isn't a Disney movie with a sad dog and a redemption arc. It's a real world situation where the dog will likely go on to do this again and never ever be trusted not to.

Firstly, I am so sorry this happened

Are you 100% sure they are licensed and insured appropriately? Because there is no way any license would allow an 80 year old and a 12 year old to be left in charge of even one dog, let alone 12 of them, nor would it allow the dogs to be left unattended for six hours.

What has happened is disgraceful and these "boarders" should end up in court for what they've done. I would also hope they lose their right to care for dogs and to even own dogs, in all honesty. This isn't a minor scuffle which can happen with multiple dogs - this is neglect.

@Ellythe I'm so very sorry to hear about your DS & now this happening to Rosie.

Poor Rosie 🥲 I hope she makes a good recovery from the attack (not fight. Attack!). I know it's not the point, but does are very adaptable & im sure she'll adapt to losing both her eye & her leg.

Before getting into the rest of it I cannot believe they said to 'Enjoy the rest of your holiday' on what planet?

Their insurance should cover Rosie's medical care & your expenses - flight back, cost of lost accommodation & any other bookings you'd made for other things.

my worry would be she's invalidated her insurance in more than one way.

if she has I'd be taking as much legal action as I could

id want her boarding businesss closed down -(she shouldn't be allowed to board a houseplant) & strict restrictions put on her grooming business.& her ownership of pets.

lots of love to Rosie

Honestly? You need a lawyer. I hope she’s licensed and insured. You need Judge Judy.

my worry would be she's invalidated her insurance in more than one way.

Yes - this would concern me too and I suspect it won't pay out, unfortunately.

I work with dogs and have insurance (though I'm not a boarder) and my insurance is very clear that I must be operating within the law in order for them to pay out in the event of an accident. So if my council (for example) says they only allow 4 dogs to be walked at a time, and I walk 6 and something happens while I'm out, I won't be covered.

Similarly if I was licensed to board but didn't follow the requirements set out by my council, I wouldn't be covered and my policy would be invalid.

They told you to enjoy your holiday? That's shockingly awful. They should be paying for you to come home immediately for starts

how is she? I bet she's glad your home with her.

How awful, your poor dog 😞

I have known dogs missing and eye and a leg (although not the same dog missing one of each) and they have coped really well so I’m sure your girl will be ultimately ok, but that isn’t the point. She had 4 legs and 2 eyes when you dropped her off and you kinda expect her to have all of those things when you pick her up…

I agree with PPs, her insurance likely won't pay out because she invalidated it. So, you'll likely have to take legal action to get your money back. I'm really sorry. I'd also be reporting her to the police and going through lawyers for everything. All contact with them saved. Copies of the contracts etc.

I really hope your dog is okay, OP.

But also I would move this to 'The Doghouse' - because you posted in AIBU and some tit will be along in a minute to tell you your dog deserved it.

I'm home now. Just been to see her. She was so happy to see me. Her little tail was wagging so much. They can't let me take her home yet because she has an infection but I was able to get her to eat so that was a relief.

I've called the police and left a message with the licensing department in the local council. I've sent an email to them too. I'm going to take legal action against them

Sorry to hear this.

You need to contact the council and report the boarder to the licensing officer. They are usually part if the environmental health team but not always.

They are vest placed to ensure this doesn't happen to anyone else by removing the boarders licence. They should also be able to advise you regarding any legal action.

If you have your own insurance, they may also look at taking legal action on your behalf.

I’m so sorry for everything that has happened. Your poor little dog must be so relieved to have seen you again and hopefully will recover enough to get back home soon.

I’ve worked with dogs for over 4 decades now and this is one of the worst cases of malpractice that I’ve ever heard.

I cannot believe that the council’s home boarding licence allows 12 dogs to be kept together in one person’s home. Some councils have a copy of the full conditions and requirements necessary to apply for home boarding on their website.

Good luck and I’m praying for you and Rosie 💗