Comments on: “They can’t bring my dog back…”

By: ace

ace — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:54:29 +0000

Give me a brake!!! They want to claim future breeding income on a lab mix??? I would like to know what suckers they were selling these previous pups to that made a significant difference in their income. We all love are pets and hate to loose them but the amount they are asking for is outragious. Let the pound give them a new pup that needs a home free of charge and go on with your life. If they loved their dog so much why was it running loose and in the pound for so many days?

By: nevins

nevins — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:19:25 +0000

“Animal control officers picked up their dog Amicus after it escaped from the couple’s yard. Officers left a notice on the door telling the owners how to claim the dog,”

So they negligently let their dog loose. Then let the dog languish beyond the 4 day waiting period, and during the period when the dog was at risk for termination or adoption the expected result happens. The pound was trying to be helpful by extending things beyond the 4 day period, but had a clerical error. It would have been a problem if the pound had terminated early against their own procedures, but in this case they were trying to give the owners a break.

By: Dave D

Dave D — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:31:52 +0000

If the dog had been hit by a car and killed while
it was running loose I wonder how much they would
be suing the driver for? I would like to see them
try to convince a claims adjuster that a 3 year
Lab mix was worth this much.

By: Jason Barney

Jason Barney — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:29:46 +0000

“They can’t bring my dog back, so the only thing they can do is give me money.”

Not true. They can apologize, find you a new puppy, fixed licensed with all shots and ready for your loving home. This unfortunate case of ordinarily negligence does not warrant a six figure windfall.

In many (if not most) cases where I have handled similar cases (Florida, Washington & Georgia, among others) ordinary negligence does not warrant emotional damages when a pet is injured or killed. If the killing was willful, wanton or the like, general damages are often allowed. I don’t know what Texas law allows, but see no reason in this instance for these pet owners to receive the damages they seek.

What makes some so spoiled in America that the unfortunate loss of a pet a calls for a six figure redress?