I'm ****ed off and I need to vent. Apologies in advance for the length of my post.
Here's the situation:
First off, you have to understand something about my wife. She attracts stray dogs like a magnet attracts iron filings. She easily comes across 2-3 a year without even trying, whether they're wandering through our property or walking on some roadside. And, dog lover that she is, she feels obligated to make sure these dogs are safe. So she will usually capture the dog and, if the local police can't find out who the owner is, she'll call the humane society.
Well, we had some brush to get rid of and she decided to take it down to our village's 'brush dump' outside of town. While there, she saw a dog wandering around the place.
She got the dog to come over to her and it didn't have a tag or collar. So she coaxed it into the car and brought it home. Then she tied it up to a tree in our yard while she notified the locals.
At the same time, we were dog-sitting for a friend. The dog was a good one, a german shepherd, but it had one problem. It was very dog-aggressive, especially with dogs it didn't know. We knew this and took steps to ensure it couldn't get at unfamiliar dogs.
Unfortunately, those steps weren't enough.
My wife opened up our screen door, thinking the inside door was closed. It wasn't, and the visiting dog took off like a shot, heading straight for the stray. She attacked it like it was a piece of raw meat and, due to being tied up, the stray couldn't get away.
It took only a few seconds for my wife to reach the dogs and stop the fight, but the damage had been done. The stray had a 5-6" laceration on its back.
My wife felt horrible and responsible. She immediately called the humane society and asked what to do. They came out and picked up the dog and said they would take care of treating it.
Fast forward about a week. My wife received a call from a person who lives outside of town. The humane society had been able to identify the dog as theirs. And, in addition to the $75 fee for picking up the dog, the HS also wanted $300 for the veterinary bill. The woman wanted us to foot the $375 bill.
According to the woman, the dog is allowed to roam and never leaves their property. When my wife tried to explain to her that it wasn't on their property, the woman refused to believe her.
My wife told her we would talk it over and let them know. We discussed it and decided that we certainly had some culpability in the situation, as we had allowed the dogs to get together, however inadvertently. But we also felt that, if the dog had not been roaming freely -- or even if it had a tag -- the situation would have never occurred. So we offered to pay half of the vet bill.
When my wife informed the woman of this, she said the whole situation was our fault and we should be responsible for all the costs.
My wife and I talked it over again. This is a small community and we're relative newcomers here (only 8 years). And the family that owned the dog is one we are likely to run into socially in the future. So in the interests of community relations, we offered to pay the full vet bill, but not the $75 for the HS. They agreed to this and I wrote them out a check for $300.
The unfortnate side effect of all this is that my wife has vowed to never pick up another stray dog. She may soften in time, but she's adamant about it now. Plus, we've also put a moratorium on watching other people's dogs, especially those with behavioral problems.
What say you? Were we wrong to offer to cover only half the vet bill? Or should we have stood firm and told them to get bent -- their dog, their problem?
Here's the situation:
First off, you have to understand something about my wife. She attracts stray dogs like a magnet attracts iron filings. She easily comes across 2-3 a year without even trying, whether they're wandering through our property or walking on some roadside. And, dog lover that she is, she feels obligated to make sure these dogs are safe. So she will usually capture the dog and, if the local police can't find out who the owner is, she'll call the humane society.
Well, we had some brush to get rid of and she decided to take it down to our village's 'brush dump' outside of town. While there, she saw a dog wandering around the place.
She got the dog to come over to her and it didn't have a tag or collar. So she coaxed it into the car and brought it home. Then she tied it up to a tree in our yard while she notified the locals.
At the same time, we were dog-sitting for a friend. The dog was a good one, a german shepherd, but it had one problem. It was very dog-aggressive, especially with dogs it didn't know. We knew this and took steps to ensure it couldn't get at unfamiliar dogs.
Unfortunately, those steps weren't enough.
My wife opened up our screen door, thinking the inside door was closed. It wasn't, and the visiting dog took off like a shot, heading straight for the stray. She attacked it like it was a piece of raw meat and, due to being tied up, the stray couldn't get away.
It took only a few seconds for my wife to reach the dogs and stop the fight, but the damage had been done. The stray had a 5-6" laceration on its back.
My wife felt horrible and responsible. She immediately called the humane society and asked what to do. They came out and picked up the dog and said they would take care of treating it.
Fast forward about a week. My wife received a call from a person who lives outside of town. The humane society had been able to identify the dog as theirs. And, in addition to the $75 fee for picking up the dog, the HS also wanted $300 for the veterinary bill. The woman wanted us to foot the $375 bill.
According to the woman, the dog is allowed to roam and never leaves their property. When my wife tried to explain to her that it wasn't on their property, the woman refused to believe her.
My wife told her we would talk it over and let them know. We discussed it and decided that we certainly had some culpability in the situation, as we had allowed the dogs to get together, however inadvertently. But we also felt that, if the dog had not been roaming freely -- or even if it had a tag -- the situation would have never occurred. So we offered to pay half of the vet bill.
When my wife informed the woman of this, she said the whole situation was our fault and we should be responsible for all the costs.
My wife and I talked it over again. This is a small community and we're relative newcomers here (only 8 years). And the family that owned the dog is one we are likely to run into socially in the future. So in the interests of community relations, we offered to pay the full vet bill, but not the $75 for the HS. They agreed to this and I wrote them out a check for $300.
The unfortnate side effect of all this is that my wife has vowed to never pick up another stray dog. She may soften in time, but she's adamant about it now. Plus, we've also put a moratorium on watching other people's dogs, especially those with behavioral problems.
What say you? Were we wrong to offer to cover only half the vet bill? Or should we have stood firm and told them to get bent -- their dog, their problem?
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