Spencers Brook Farm/Flickr
A few Saturday’s ago my friend’s dog bit another dog – we think. She didn’t see it, but at the dog park her dog got in a scuffle with another dog that was aggressive towards yet another dog. (Dog 1 threatens Dog 2. Dog 3, a friend of Dog 2, charges Dog 1. Dog 1 ends up with a bite.)
The owner of the bitten pooch was very upset and started crying when she realized what had happened. My friend put her tail between her legs and immediately agreed to pay for a visit to the vet and shared info for her vet, which is open on the weekend.
The lady took her ailing pooch to the four-legged ER, where she ordered x-rays and treatment that required the dog to be knocked out. The emergency vet also cleaned the wound, gave the pooch two stitches, and dressed the wound. The total bill?
$584. Ruff!
My friend stuck to her agreement to pay the bill in full, partly because the woman seemed crazy and my friend wanted nothing more to do with her. She had the lady sign a waiver saying if she paid for the vet bill the lady would never hassle her again.
Then it came time to write the big fat check. My friend took a closer look at the ginormous vet bill and found the woman had specially ordered a slew of tests, including blood work to check for glucose levels. What the???
“Maybe it was to make sure your dog didn’t give hers rabies?” I said.
“No, that’s not it. I called my vet so she could confirm my dog is rabies-free.”
“Oh, well…”
“She’s just crazy.”
My friend debated whether she should still pay the entire $584 or whether she should knock off $144 for the blood work.
“How much do you want NOT to deal with this anymore?” I asked.
“A lot.” My friend decided to pay the $144 in the interest of goodwill and went to work.
Two hours later she called me.
“I can’t do it. I can’t pay the extra $144.”
“Why not?”
“It has nothing to do with the dog bite,” she said. “She’s taking advantage of me.”
So my friend wrote the crazy lady a conciliatory and polite note pointing out she had specially requested the blood work above and beyond the vet’s treatment. Because it was unrelated to treating the wound she would withhold payment for now on the $144. Instead, she put a check for $440 in the mail.
Who is responsible for the dog bill? What would you have done?
UPDATE: Readers are very split about how much of the bill my friend should paw, er foot.
Patricia would not pay for the bloodwork:
I think paying for half of the bill, not including the blood work would be fine. The crazy lady was just trying to see how much she could get away with that day.
But Sharon says past experience would make her pay up in full:
In order to get done with it she did the right thing paying the bill. My friends dog bit another dog and the two people argued over the bill well my friend wrote a check for half. The person did not cash it instead took her to court where the judge found for the woman who’s dog was bittin. It would have been cheaper for my friend to pay the full bill because that is what she ended up doing plus losing a day for court and paying for the other womens court costs. Get rid of crazy people as fast as you can 144 seems like a lot but taking off a day and going to court is not worth it.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Dog 1 was in the wrong. Dog 3 was only defending Dog 2. If crazy lady can not control her dog, why should your friend pay her full bill. I would of only offered to pay for half, since her dog was the aggressive one. I have 4 dogs and they are a pack. When I bring them to the dog park they all hang out together, and will stick up to each other. Dogs are just like people, we will defend our friends!
That is what I think of that.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
if you take a dog to a dog park, you need to watch your dog–just like taking a toddler to a park! I can’t believe someone would not have witnessed exactly what happened. And, I would have made arrangements with the vet directly to pay the costs related to the bite–and avoided this situation. But sometimes it is “preference” over “principle” and it’s worth the money to be done with a bad situation.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Many vets require bloodwork before they will anesthetize any pet. If the anesthetization was necessary, it could be that this blood work was also.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Wow. First of all, if no one was even sure which dog was the biter, AND Dog 1 started the whole altercation, I don’t know if I would offer a cent! And if I DID want to offer to help out, I would offer no more than 1/2 the bill. And I certainly would have done what she did & not paid for the bloodwork. That is insane, and obvious that the woman was trying to take advantage of her.
I’m all for taking responsibility for my actions, and if I had a dog OR child, their actions as well. But her dog started the whole thing, and no one witnessed the actual biting…I would have given her a heartfelt apology, not admitting that my dog was in the wrong, but just sorry the dog was injured & all THREE owners were not paying closer attention to the dogs. And then I woulda gotten the HECK outta the area…
November 11th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
I agree with your friend. I would not pay for the bloodcwork.
I think paying for half of the bill, not including the blood work would be fine.
The crazy lady was just trying to see how much she could get away with that day.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Your friend really stepped up and that is really admirable. I would have checked with the Vet. to see if the blood work was something that was really necessary and go from there. It would have been nice if all three dog owners involved would have stepped it up so the burden was not on your friend. Very admirable, never the less.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
In order to get done with it she did the right thing paying the bill.My friends dog bit another dog and the two people argued over the bill well my friend wrote a check for half. The person did not cash it instead took her to court where the judge found for the woman who’s dog was bittin. It would have been cheaper for my friend to pay the full bill because that is what she ended up doing plus losing a day for court and paying for the other womens court costs. Get rid of crazy people as fast as you can 144 seems like a lot but taking off a day and going to court is not worth it.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
not sure who bit who, but in my opinion whatever dog did the biting, that owner is responsible. When a dog is put under, many vets will do blood work. I just had two of my dogs teeth cleaned. It was over 500 bucks, but I had the blood work done because one of the dogs is older and the other is under 4 pounds and never had blood work done.
If some dog attacked my dog at a dog park I would be classifed as a crazy lady too because I would be horrified, scared and pissed off. If you have ever seen the results of an attack or have been involved it is a tramatic situation.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Your friend was being an absolute doll by offering to pay any of it. I agree with Jan and think that your friend should have made arrangements with the vet directly to pay for the cost of treatment associated with the bite. It’s like if you accidentally bump the rear of someone’s car on the street. To avoid the hassle and cost of dealing with insurance companies, you might consider having them get an estimate from a local body shop and agree to pay them directly. This way you can avoid the cheats that will start to complain about their neck, etc. This is why I rarely take my dog to the dog park anymore. There are too many crazies like Dog 1’s owner.
November 11th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I’m curious why if your friend sent Crazy Lady to her own vet, why the vet would have allowed CL to request something unrelated to the bite?? Sounds like your friend might need a new vet, and that the vet was taking advantage of the situation too!
November 11th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Alexa, the crazy lady did not take her bitten dog to the vet, as my friend suggested, but to an emergency pet care place. That’s part of the reason by the bill was so high!
November 12th, 2009 at 12:35 am
I’m with you, Alexa. The vet took unfair advantage of the situation in order to make a quick buck.
Let the vet and the crazy lady handle the cost of the blood work between them. They deserve each other.
Had CL gone to the Vet you sent her to, the blood work would have been unnecessary.
One more thing, if you choose to take your dog to a public park to play, you need to carry pet insurance. Accidents happen….especially in public parks.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:43 am
I would never pay a dime extra. YOU CANNOT LET PEOPLE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU – EVER. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
When you let losers walk all over you, they will go on to walk all over someone else.
YOU’VE GOT TO LET SCUMBAGS KNOW THEY CAN F*CK WITH PEOPLE!
It’s worth a trip to court – then you get to stick ‘em with the legal fees!
November 12th, 2009 at 12:45 am
PS. This is why I stay away from dog parks. I feel bad for most of the dogs because most of the people that go there aren’t real dog lovers – just uptight yuppies and drama queens just begging to start something. Ugh.
November 12th, 2009 at 10:15 am
it could happen at a dog park or even walking down the street, dogs attack quickly before you know what’s happened. Dog was was the agressor, and the owner should have offered to pay at least a part of the bill (may 1/3?or 1/4) if they cannot control their dogs from being agressive, maybe they should not take thier dogs to the dog park. Sounds like Dog #3 was being defensive to me; owner was sweet to offer to pay, sounds like she got burned, but may have some more charges if the othe owner wants to pursue the case. Sorry to all involved