Loose dogs can cause a tight squeeze from a dog bite lawyer
When a dog is your dog, you’ve got to love it. Those eyes. That face. That slobber. But when it’s someone else’s dog, you might wind up being a dog-hater — and for good reason: dog bites.
Though many cities, including Houston, have laws requiring that dogs be confined or leashed, many people routinely disregard them. They figure they’re special and the law doesn’t apply to them. “Let everyone else toe the line, but my dog likes to run out the front door, too, so he can romp and explore while I’m getting the paper or moving the sprinkler. Now, where did he go?”
Dog bites may be unexpected
That’s just the problem. When a dog is loose, he can – and may — go anywhere. If he’s a big dog, he can dart across the street and playfully jump on someone – and that someone could be a small child, an elderly person or anyone nursing a neck or back injury – a person who could be severely harmed if your dog topples them over, even in play.
And not all dogs are friendly when they perceive someone has invaded their turf. Perhaps a person is innocently walking down the street for exercise and is treading your sidewalk when your dog runs outside. If the dog approaches, and that person makes the wrong move, the dog could bite.
Or perhaps an infant wanders into a dog’s range, playfully reaches for it, bonks it on the nose and – snap! The dog bites.
It can happen to anyone at any time, and it can be quite dangerous. People even die from dog attacks — made by dogs who, until that moment, had been considered pets, not destroyers.
Dog bite lawyers can help
The bottom line is that no dog can be deemed 100 per cent safe, and besides, it’s not your call. You don’t have the right to declare your dog never could cause harm to someone else and therefore you’re entitled to disregard the law. Rather, the law is quite clear: All dogs – all – must be confined always. If your dog isn’t, you are breaking the law. And if your dog hurts someone, you could be held legally liable for their injuries.
Actress-singer Jennifer Lopez has gotten that message. She’s being sued for $5 million by an airline flight attendant who claims that the star’s dog, Floyd, knocked her down and bit her.
“But my dog never would bite anyone,” some may say. Of course not — but that’s probably what J Lo said, too, before her dog bit off more than he could chew in a $5 million lawsuit.
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I love dogs, heck, my nickname is Dawg. But there are dog owners out there who just piss me the hell off. If you have a dog, keep it on a leash. Don’t let your dog run loose to crap in my yard. And if you have a pit bull or some other dog with a reputation for attacking kids, keep that dog behind a big fence. Or better yet, keep it in your house.
Every time I see the 10 o’clock news and there is a new report about a little kid gettin mauled by a pit bull, it just makes me sick! I can’t blame the pit bull, its just a dog. I blame the owner! J Lo, I’m talking to you!