How Liable Is The Dog Daycare If My Dog Bites Another Dog?

Day-care is liable for any harm caused to the dogs if in case one dog bites another. Because a responsible day-care facility will make sure that all the pets in their custody are safe under their supervision and intervene before any harm happens. In addition, well-organized and competent day-care facility will care more about the animal rather than the financial burden that comes along with the incident. Day-care liability can also be answered according to the agreement on the contract of the day-care facility.

If it states that the facility won’t take the responsibility for any harm caused to or by the dog, then it’s not on the facility, and it is not held liable for any such incidents. But if the contract approves of the facility’s responsibility for any sort of harm caused by or to the dog, then day-care is responsible. In certain states, the law treats all dogs as property

Who doesn’t love dogs and want to keep them as pets? Dogs are the commonest animals kept as pets worldwide. Dogs as pets are the most generous and loving creatures. Not only are they loving but also the most loyal to humans in comparison to all the other animals. Not only do humans love them, but dogs themselves also rely on affection and care for humans more than they do on their breed.

The puppies are dependent on humans to an extent that they may even think of humans as their mothers. Any person who owns a dog treats it like a member of the family, especially as a little kid giving all the attention and affection it asks for and taking care of all its needs.

Need for the day-care facility:

Humans and dogs share the strongest and most exemplary bond of friendship and loyalty. Then why and where does the need for day-care arises? And how do owners manage to stay away from their beloved pets? First, let’s get to know what is meant by a day-care facility, what is it used for and how do dogs and pups end up being there?

Dogs’ day-care or doggy day-care are the terms pet owners come across quite a lot in their life. These terms refer to the temporary care of the dogs at centers specified for dog care. Day-care facilities provide an environment where dogs can spend their time freely and are groomed, fed, exercised, and even educated and efficiently looked after. While being in the day-care numerous dogs share the same space. They live, play, eat, and also get taken care of together. Pet owners because of their long working hours or other reasons/ emergencies cannot look after and spend all the time with their dogs. Therefore, to avoid carelessness or undue loneliness caused to the pet, owners put them up in day-care for the necessary care and attention dogs need, for the time they are away at work.

But pets being together doesn’t all come with goodness and playfulness. It may also lead to the fight and chaos among the dogs. And in such a situation, dog vs dog is not an unusual visual to see.  

 

Dog owners keep dogs as their other half as they live, eat, and sleep in short do everything together. Dogs are playful pets. They are always active and, on the go, to have fun with their owner and also with the other dogs around. But not all the time is this playfulness useful, as being of an aggressive nature, a dog may get into trouble. As we all know Dogs tend to be aggressive and following this urge can lead to a dog-on-dog attack. Attacks of such sort can lead to medical and legal complexities. Any harm caused to the dogs can be the reason to cost thousands of dollars of bills. Dogs can get aggressive at any moment. If such aggressiveness occurs during its stay at the day-care facility, then the harm caused to the puppy or a dog is the facility’s responsibility. Apart from all the feeding and grooming, part of the job of the day-care facility is to provide dogs with safety and security.

Liability of Day-care center:

Talking about the liabilities in case of a dog-on-dog attack, the facility at which the dog is being held can and cannot be held liable as It fluctuates with the reasons. But first, let us see what liability means. The word "liability" represents "responsibility."

 If a dog bites another dog while being at a day-care facility, how much is the day-care facility liable? This is going to be discussed all along in the following article how liable the day-care facility is in case of any harm caused by the dog during its time at the day-care.

 Now considering the dog as a property, the person in charge at the time of the incident is held responsible. So when a dog bites another dog under the care of a day-care facility, the facility is responsible for the damage that is done, because it was under their supervision that the biting took place. When a dog is bitten by another dog, the case can become complicated in a legal manner.

A careless dog owner is financially accountable for the harm their dog causes. Now the question arises what if the dog is in a day-care facility when it is attacked or gets attacked. Who is going to bear the burden of responsibility for any harm caused? When the dog is on the premises of the day-care center, it would be considered the day-care’s property. And any good or harm caused during this timeline would be day care’s responsibility.

 

Uncontrolled dogs or pups can be extremely dangerous:

Numerous factors can lead to the dog’s uncontrollable and aggressive behavior.  Speaking of the dog themselves, they have territorial nature, which means that they consider their space as their territory. If any person, thing, or another dog invades that space, the dog or pup feels immediately threatened and tends to react by snarling, barking, or growling at the invader hence showing off the territorial behavior. Certain another stimulus can also aggravate their aggressiveness such as uncommon objects, noise, etc. When it comes to a dog attacking another dog, damages include vet bills and dog medications, other than the emotional and mental hurt while the dog is recovering.

Dog-on-dog attack is difficult to figure out most of the time as one is never sure of what went wrong and what started the chaos. Before putting up the dog at the day-care center, the dog owner is presented with a contract paper having certain clues. Some day-care centers include the point of their exclusion of responsibility in case of any harm caused by or to the dog while they are being looked after at the center. Whereas some centers take full responsibility for the dog attacking another dog. A dog owner is responsible for all of the dog’s actions.  If the owner is carefree and negligent towards their duties towards the dog, it can result in damage caused to the dog and others also. And day-care center is the acting owner at the time dogs or pups stay at the center. If a fight occurs then, it is because of the incompetency of the day-care center and the unprofessionalism of the individuals working there. Because it is part of their duty to avoid such attacks by carrying out all the necessary interventions and preventing the complications that come with such incidences.

Hence, if already the owner has not signed the written contract stating the exclusion of the day-care’s responsibility for the damages, the day-care is free of all the liabilities and the owner cannot sue the center for any of the loss.

But otherwise, the day-care facility is solely responsible and has to compensate for all the damages be it physical financial, or emotional. But being the dog lover, we all know that no amount of money or words could compensate for even a bit of hurt caused to the beloved pet.

 

What damages does a day-care center owe when a dog bites another dog?

When we talk about a dog attacking another dog, it varies according to the outcome, from mild to severe. Dog a dog attack can result in mild damage or it may cause severe harm to the dog or property/person. Hence, damage varies with the severity of the attack. But in general, damages include medical bills of the injured dogs, vet payments, surgical payments, and other related expenses, and in the case of deceased dogs, the total replacement cost of the deceased dog has to be paid by the day-care center.

Legal values of a dog on dog attacks:

As dog attacks include complex legal issues, you may wish to consult with an attorney if the dog attacks another dog or a person. Legal defenses against the dog attack cases are sensitive and the nature of each case varies. If you want to hold the day-care center liable, you need to hire a lawyer at once. A good and experienced lawyer in the case will help you protect your rights to all the damage that has been caused to you and provide you with the defenses you need in the case. He will also help you take appropriate actions and follow the right steps toward the right path. Consult the animal control center and get the dog’s health status checked and get a report copy. Also, look for a history of any other attacks at the same day-care facility or reports filed against the carefree staff.

Under certain circumstances, day-care can be freed of all the charges and allegations. Here are the Strong defenses that can go in favor of day-care facilities in case of a dog-on-dog attack.

Cases in which dog day-care centers cannot be held liable:

If any of the dogs involved in the fight are classified as to be dangerous.

• If the dog has a frequent history of attacking other dogs.
• If the dog owner decides to not press the charger against the day-care center
• If the day-care center had already agreed to not be held responsible for the damage or loss
• Visual evidence or camera tapes of the presence of staff members of day-care at the site and intervention done to prevent the attack.

It is the legal responsibility of the dog owners to restrict the dogs from being harmful to other people and property. The same applies to day-care centers where when dogs hurt others, day-care has to fill up for the injured dogs’ medical bills vet payments, and suffering.

When any case of dog attacking comes up to the surface, the first and foremost thing talked about is the owner's negligence and lack of duty of care, making them prone to the liability of all the damage that has been done. When in day-care, the dog-on-dog attack comes under the negligence of duty staff unless proven otherwise.

 

Prevention of Dog-on-dog attacks at day-care center:

A dog attacking other dogs is a global phenomenon. Now the question arises how can these dog-on-dog attacks be prevented? 

It cannot be stopped altogether but can be prevented by carrying out certain measures by the dog owners and day-care centers.

• Raise and groom the dog well. A well-trained dog knows how to behave well in a company.
• Being a dog owner, feel responsible for raising your pet righteously.
• Avoid unnecessary aggression in front of your dog.
• Avoid misplaced aggression.
• Dog Day-care  centers must have trained and responsible caregivers.
• Dog Day-care  facilities must have specific interventions in case of such dog-on-dog attacks.

Holding the day-care centers liable can pay for the medical bills and vet bills of the dog. It can also pay for the unfortunately deceased dog but nothing in the world can replace and repair the sorrow, pain, and emotional damage that comes along with it.