Dog Attack/Insurance..

rodneytrotter15

We have a 20 month old Bullmastiff ( our 2nd one ). My girlfriend was out walking him a few weeks ago with a halti. She stopped talking to her brother through the window of the car and put our Bully on a down stay behind her and held him loosely on the lead. After a few minutes he made a sudden bolt and pulled the lead from her hand. He raced towards a woman walking a small cross breed dog and attacked the dog. herself and her brother managed to free the small dog after a few mins but not until our bullmastiff had done considerable damage. Obviously we are quite shocked as this is/was the first time he ever did such a thing and he was what we thought well socialised with other dogs. Obviously not I know.
The resulting vet bills are quite large, in excess of €3,000 euro for the small dog. I guess really my question relates to insurance. We have per insurance but not with Allianz, it is the premium policy through www.123.ie I believe teh actual insurer is a UK based company. From reading the small print they dont cover one dog attacking another. However my g/f called them anyway and advised that they may very well cover it under 3rd party liability. Just wondering if anyone has any experience of dealing with insurance companies in realtion to something like this. Is there a chance they actually will cover the vet bills.
Before I get berated for not having out dog under control, I know it was an awful mistake to make and we have certainly learned the hard way...

Thanks in advance,
Dave...

andreac

No one really knows the ins and outs of your insurance company and whether they will cover it. The only people that can answer this is the insurance company themselves.

As i said on other forum, you could have a problem on your hands because the dog was not muzzled out in public and therefore you were breaking the law and the insurance company could get you on a technicality with that one if they are trying to get out of paying.

TechnoPool

Also The Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 (SO.I. No. 442 of 1998) states
that there are certain rules in relation to the following breeds (and
strains/cross-breeds) of dog in Ireland:

a.. American Pit Bull Terrier, English Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull
Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Dobermann Pinscher
b.. German Shepherd (Alsatian) , Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler ,
Japanese Akita, Japanese Tosa, Bandog
The rules state that:

a.. These dogs (or strains and crosses of them) must be kept on a short
strong lead by a person over 16 years who is capable of controlling them
b.. These dogs (or strains and crosses of them) must be muzzled whenever
they are in a public place
c.. These dogs (or strains and crosses of them) must wear a collar bearing
the name and address of their owner at all times.


just posting what it covers under law, the insurance company could get you on a technicality and refuse to pay as the law was being broken by not having the dog muzzled, as Andrea pointed out.

sorry to hear what happened.

crotalus667

I dont know about the muzzel butbe prepaired for the premium to jump now they will consider your dog aggresive:(

rodneytrotter15

andreac wrote: »

No one really knows the ins and outs of your insurance company and whether they will cover it. The only people that can answer this is the insurance company themselves.
.

The reason I asked is because maybe someone will on this site will. Thanks for your advice, again.

I posted the claim form today and should hear back in the next week or two.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Really only your insurance company can answer this for you. Everyone else is guessing. However, for my tuppence worth I don't think they'll cover you if no muzzle was in place and to be honest I wouldn't expect them to. Letting the lead go is one mistake and fair enough but having a Bullmastiff out without a muzzle is not on and you'll be lucky if you don't loose the dog over this.:mad:
I'm sorry for the other dog that was injured and what it's owners are going through because of gross negligence. I think you should prepare for a legal battle to keep your dog.

Howitzer

Sorry to hear about the whole ordeal from both sides. No-one wants that.

Please keep us posted on the outcome of whatever happens.
Help us learn from it.

Might be no harm to seek good training advice from someone. If anything legal happens it shows willingness to correct the problem. A muzzle would also be a good idea at this point - for any dog that has shown such behaviour no matter the breed.

pm me if you want the name of a good trainer I know.

morganafay

Oh no, that sounds like a horrible position to be in. I'd also suggest maybe training classes for the dog, but if he is usally ok, then maybe just to always muzzle him just in case it happens again, and maybe for you to walk the dog with your girlfriend, because he might just be too strong.

Son Of A Vidic

I would certainly advice the use of a muzzle for this dog in future. Something triggered the dogs prey drive and this could very easily happen again without corrective training. Regarding insurance, sorry I can't help but I always assumned such eventualities were covered by it.

Greenview

hi all, last week, our springer spaniel came out to meet us, as we pulled in to the drive. At the same time, a neighbour's staffordshire bull terrier wandered into our drive, probably just being curious about us. He's only in the neighbour's house for a short time.

He attacked our dog, puncturing his neck. A friend of this neighbour, alerted by our shouting, managed to pull him off. My wife & I did not even attempt to get out of the car, such was the ferocity of the attack. Not nice to be in that position - seeing your dog being mauled & unable to help!

Anyway, vet's attention on Friday evening + a surgical procedure today & I'm €260 down. Should I expect to be able to get this money back from her.

We do not know her as she is new/recent tenant to the area.

Thanks for any pointers.

TooManyDogs

I'm just wondering if you'd be able to negotiate with the other dogs owners if they have insurance? Something like you'd pay the excess and diff in premiums until they drop back down again?

My sister's dog got attacked in the UK by 2 bullmastiffs and again the damage was very severe, the vets were amazed he survived. My sis had insurance and they covered the vet costs no problem, again the costs amounted to over £3000 sterling!

I've heard no end of stories about pet insurance companies getting out of paying on any technicality they can and no muzzle on restricted breed sounds like a perfect excuse for them to me.

crotalus667

Greenview wrote: »

Should I expect to be able to get this money back from her.

Yes you should get every penny from her , for a number of reasons 1 her dog was on your property uninvited and unaccompanied ,2 her dog is a restricted breeds and was allowed to roam with no muzzle it is a good idea to call the dog warden and make a report her dog is not safe roaming and she needs to be told so by some one that is able to ensure she listens

Michael B

Greenview wrote: »

hi all, last week, our springer spaniel came out to meet us, as we pulled in to the drive. At the same time, a neighbour's staffordshire bull terrier wandered into our drive, probably just being curious about us. He's only in the neighbour's house for a short time.

He attacked our dog, puncturing his neck. A friend of this neighbour, alerted by our shouting, managed to pull him off. My wife & I did not even attempt to get out of the car, such was the ferocity of the attack. Not nice to be in that position - seeing your dog being mauled & unable to help!

Anyway, vet's attention on Friday evening + a surgical procedure today & I'm €260 down. Should I expect to be able to get this money back from her.

We do not know her as she is new/recent tenant to the area.

Thanks for any pointers.

Yes you should. Her dog attacked your dog. Give her the Vet bill.

Greenview

Michael B wrote: »

Yes you should. Her dog attacked your dog. Give her the Vet bill.

Approached her last night & gave her the itemised bill. Her attitude is she's on Social welfare, 5 young kids, was not in control of the dog as it was her brothers & I can bring her to court if I want, as the judge will also find that she cannot pay. :mad: I asked that she pay the bill within a week.

Amazing how some people just do not care/accept the role they play in society.

Any thoughts on next steps, if any?
thx.

crotalus667

Greenview wrote: »

I can bring her to court if I want, as the judge will also find that she cannot pay. .

LOL she is dreaming the judge will make her pay it + costs even if it's some thing silly like €5 a week she will be made pay (my sisters ex boyfreind was made that way)

Greenview wrote: »

Any thoughts on next steps, if any?
thx.

Ring the dog warden and expalin what has happened , the dog needs to be off the street , but give her the week to pay first then ring if she pays or not , as for it being her brothers , it was living with her so she can forget about using that as a way out , unless she wants to say the brother is living with her which will land her in a whole lot of bother