Pit Bull Killed my cat

[TheodoreJay]

It's amazing how some dog owners don't fess up and take responsibility for their pets. What if that were a small child or person to make the situation even worse. Having killed a cat what would stop the dog from going at some one?

At minimum you should report the incident to the responsible agency w/ respect to leash laws. You would certainly be in your right to take this to small claims and be compensated for the estimated value of your cat plus possible further damages but don't delay, the longer you wait the less likely of a successful claim.

I recently had a somewhat similar situation in Honokaa where the Owners were walking their young dog along the busy road w/ no leash and the dog came bounding across the road on the "drop of a hat" straight at my car (not enough time to react).

To make matters worse the dog Owners got beligerent w/ me and I had to leave for my safety sake. Apparently it was my fault for being on the road minding my own business and not braking fast enough.

Due to their negligence my insurance company is out at least $1300 for a new bumper and then there's my eye glasses for another $500 that got knocked off and I didn't notice till I pulled out down the road a bit. Promptly reporting the incident to the police their first question was the dog on a leash (as required by law in a public space).

Funny how on the same trip I had two other dogs make the same kind of lunge at my car thankfully at a slower speed. My sister had another incident where a dog ran straight at her bike and came pretty close to breaking her collar bone not to mention running over the dog. My rental agent claims person mentioned a similar situation she had w/ a car and a dog. So this seams to me to be a very common problem w/ dog owners.

So dog Owners please, please obey the leash laws for your dogs safety sake if you love your dog and your fellow man.

[birdmove]

Many years ago when I was about 20, I was driving down a street lined with parked cars on both sides of the road. A small dog darted out into the street and I could not help from hitting that dog. There was no warning. I was not speeding, and he ran from between the parked cars right under my car. I got out to see how the dog was, and he was still alive. The owners came out and had seen the whole thing. They saw there was nothing I could have done to avoid it. I said the dog needs to get to a vet ASAP. They told me they didn't have time to take him. So, I ended up taking the dog to the vet and dropped him there for them to check out. This was a long time back, but I think they had told where their vet was located. You believe that? The owners wouldn't take their possibly dieing dog to a vet, so I, the guy that hit the dog had to do it!!

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[Canuck]

When my dog was attacked by our neighbors dog, I got her contact information, called the cops and humane society and told her to pay for vet bills. Luckily she did nptnrefuse, otherwise I would and told her so, take her to court. It is 35$ to file for small claims and takes about an hour of your time in the actual email claims court itself. So, hypothetically not much time missed.
Also, the HIHS is contracted through the county, however they HIHS does not have police power to enforce the laws.
Obviously this is an issue in this county, yet no one seems to want to do the leg work to change it. So it goes. Maccuu22 again, sorry about your kitty.

[TomK]

Macuu222 - really feel for you and sorry for your loss. There's stuff in another thread describing the stuff my neighbors and I went through for a year with another irresponsible owner of a dangerous dog, fortunately it ended well.

The one thing that worked in our favor was that the dog owner was renting, so we took it up with the landlord and then as we learned things, the property manager of the neighbor's house. It ended up with the guy being evicted and also dealing with a criminal court case.

If the dog owner in your case rents and you can identify the landlord/property manager, then getting in touch with them might help. If they are responsible they will not want to deal with a lawsuit caused by their tenant as they are liable for damages as well as the tenant. Documenting things through the humane society and the police will also help. In our situation the dog tried to attack a police officer plus the property manager, so things started to happen very quickly after that.

Anyway, just a thought. Drop me a line if you want more details and of course this only works if the place is a rental. This was in HPP.

Tom
http://apacificview.blogspot.com/

[TomK]

PS. Should add that if you have neighbors who are also concerned about the dog then get them involved. Ultimately, in our case, it was a community effort that led to getting the irresponsible dog owner evicted and his dog was gone well before the eviction occurred.

Tom
http://apacificview.blogspot.com/

[macuu222]

Thanks everyone. I realize allowing a cat to roam freely has a certain amount of risk no matter where one lives. He was a cool cat and lived a fairly long life and I guess he just wasn't as quick as he use to be. It's partly my own fault for seeing this slowdown and not keeping him inside in his senior years but when you allow a cat to be an outdoor cat his whole life..it's very hard to make him an indoor cat. I have found out that other residents on this street have lodged complaints against this dog owner in the past. Police have come out several times....and it hasn't changed anything.

[ericlp]

sorry to hear about this. I'd like to hear the outcome of this. I suppose if it was my cat, I'd say a few good words and send it off to it's next life and be done with it. Unless you are prepared for possible retaliation from your neighbor as you take him to court.

[sputnut]

a pound of hamburger and a lupm of rat poison is cheap and effective. I can't believe it bit people, and still lives to bite again. Vicious animals have no right to life.

comin' your way soon!

[sputnut]

Let them prove who did it.

comin' your way soon!

[kalakoa]

quote:

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Originally posted by sputnut

Vicious animals have no right to life.

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