Attacked by a Dog or Attacking the Dog – A True Story

Out of Court Settlement, January 2010

Mr. John Doe owned a German Shepherd for several years. Rex, the full grown dog, was large and Mr. Doe relied on him for protection and to guard the house. It was a five room house in a small town in the center of Israel.

On one occasion, Mr. Doe took his dog for a walk, as he did every night. Mr. Doe`s cell phone rang and when he tried to handle the phone, he inadvertently let go of the leash, thereby setting the dog free.

The dog, upon being freed, ran over to a nearby tree where he usually stops for “a break.” On his way he encountered a neighbor, Mr. Smith, a 55 year old man. Rex collided with the man`s legs, knocking him down on the ground and hurting him, mainly in the head area. The man`s wife took him to the hospital and after a few hours he was released from the E.R. He sustained only minor injuries from his fall, which included mostly bruises and a small cut in the back of the head, for which he got 2 stitches.

Mr. Smith sued Mr. Doe for damages. Our law firm represented Mr. Doe, the defendant. Our defense was very weak from a legal standpoint and we concentrated on the monetary amount that was to be paid. From an initial 85,000 shekels, we eventually reached an out of court settlement in May of 2008. Mr. Doe paid the total sum of 20,000 shekels to the plaintiff, Mr. Smith.

The incident destroyed the friendly neighborly relationship between Mr. Smith and Mr. Doe. In June of 2009, a year after the incident, these longtime neighbors still didn’t talk to each other. After a bad argument, Mr. Doe woke up early the following morning and prepared to go for his daily walk with his dog, only to find his poor loyal canine companion and protector almost dead in the backyard.

The dog showed clear signs of a vicious attack and sustained serious extensive injuries. He had a deep gash, bleeding over one eye; clumps of fur were missing on the back of his neck and upon closer inspection, marks around his throat indicated choking. The dog lay very still and could not stand up when his owner came near him.

Mr. Doe called the police, who arrived promptly, but there was insufficient evidence; therefore, no indictment could be made. Mr. Doe came to our firm and asked us to handle this new case. The case took us a month`s time and a lot of luck. We contacted yet another neighbor to be used as a source of information to discover, unequivocally, that Mr. Smith was, indeed, the attacker.

After a short conversation with Mr. Smith`s lawyer, the defendant was ready to make some compromise but did not admit to any wrongdoing. Mr. Doe (now the plaintiff) agreed not to report our findings to the police if a settlement would be reached outside of court, in order to save on expenses.

This is the time to tell you that, immediately after the incident, the dog was rushed to a veterinarian, who gave the dog very special, top quality care that included stitching up his cut and tending his other wounds. It took the dog a while to recover but fortunately, he was back on guard after a week. It cost Mr. Doe more than 6,000 shekels in just veterinary expenses and medication.

We asked for a total of 60,000 shekels in compensation but Mr. Smith and his lawyer offered 15,000.

The case didn’t go to court but we held some kind of “pre-trial.” Mr. Smith’s lawyers offered to raise the offer to 18,000 shekels. After a few days and many phone calls, we reached a fair agreement. Mr. Smith was to pay Mr. Doe, the plaintiff, a total of 26,000 shekels.

His violent, intentional attack against the dog on his owner`s property cost Mr. Smith at least 32,000 new Israeli shekels including his lawyer’s fee; much more than the 20,000 he received for his claim when the dog, by no fault of its own, became free and accidentally tripped him.

Last but not least, it’s important to know that the law has no opinion about a dog’s own pain but the law surely holds any type of violence against any pet or animal in total contempt.

As you can see, “dogs” are turning into a booming business, even in the legal field.
 

Sincerely,
 

Tzvi Szajnbrum, Attorney at Law