Very upset - my dog accused of biting an elderly man

[TrekTheKaty]

Bummer. It doesn't seem to much to ask for a pic or a Doctor's note to go with the complaint.

How come the real menace animals aren't ever reported? As an animal lover, I'd also be worried about your animal being threatened at some point in his lifetime and risking another report. Is there an appeal process?

[Koronin]

I'd be seriously tempted to fight it and since you have to prove your dog is UTD on vacs, I would want him to prove by consent of a doctor that it is a bite and prove your dog is the one that bit him. I doubt he can do that.

[PamNY]

Gosh, so sorry. Do you know any dog rescue people, or very experienced dog trainers? They sometimes are well-informed about issues like this.

I was tangentially involved with a similar situation involving a rescue dog (in another state) and several of the trainers who offered to help knew a lot about local laws.

I would do as much as possible to document that it wasn't a bite, but I don't know what that would be.

[indysteel]

I personally would lay low for the time being. If you press this man, he could escalate it further with your landlord. You don't want that. It's unlikely that your dog will bite anybody, so according to NC law, your're unlikely to be haunted by the dog's "record.". I would, however, make sure that this won't interfere with moving the dog to Belize.

If he does sue, then you can deal with that if and when it happens. There's not a whole lot you can do to prevent that, although you might see what, if anything, your renter's insurance covers. The animal control person will be your best evidence as to the nature of the man's injuries, so make sure to keep a copy of his report. Just steer clear of hthe elderly man on any future walks. If the landlord gets on you, agree to muzzle the dog while in common areas. Try not to take it personally; they have liability issues to worry about.

That's just my two cents. Others may disagree.

[Kerry1976]

I have nothing of value to add to the good advice already given, but wanted to chime in that I hope everything works out for the best for you and your doggie. This seems like a totally bum deal to me, but oftentimes these things end up working out to the advantage of the honest person and disadvantage of those who aren't (the old man).

[Biciclista]

we ought to send that old f a r t a photo of Catrin and show him what a dogbite looks like.

[Kerry1976]

When my 76-year-old grandmother visited at Christmas, my parents' pug jumped on her (in happy excitement - Cooper loves all people) and his little nails did the same thing - scratched the thin skin on her arms and caused her to bleed.

Difference? She felt bad asking for a bandaid and felt bad that some of her blood got on Cooper's face. She also felt bad because Cooper got scolded for scratching her. She said it wasn't his fault her skin was so thin and she was glad that he was so glad to see her. (mta: in fact, she was so happy to see him so happy that she was giggling and didn't even realize he had scratched her until I noticed she was bleeding)

Class act verses classless....

[Savra]

I can only give advice from the perspective of an owner who had a dog who bit someone. Go through the ten day quarantine - it's simply a normal thing animal control does. There isn't much more you can do. Usually, these things blow over. Not being able to see what happens - the gentleman may not have been able to see if the dog bit him or not. All he knew was that he started bleeding. My hope here is - if he intended to make a really big case about it he would have done it the instant the dog jumped on him and not a while later after he started bleeding.

[Catrin]

I....My hope here is - if he intended to make a really big case about it he would have done it the instant the dog jumped on him and not a while later after he started bleeding.

This - this remains me of my mother, one simply never has a scratch or a cold, instead one is dying of something. She is really putting herself through far more stress over MY bit leg than I am... He probably doesn't really know either way how it happened and felt he had to do this to protect himself just in case.

Just let me know, I can take pretty pictures of my leg that you can use as an example of what a dog bite looks like! I hope this blows over for you, and it has got to mean something that the animal control officer doesn't think it to be a real bite.