Can I sue a dog owner, when their dog got out and killed my dog?

Our dog (shitzu) was tied up as is the law in Minnestoa. The neighbor (3 houses down) let out their dog, without putting it on a chain, the dog came into our yard and attack and killed our registered dog. Their dog is a German Shepherd, very large dog.…

    Can I sue a dog owner, when their dog got out and killed my dog?

    Our dog (shitzu) was tied up as is the law in Minnestoa. The neighbor (3 houses down) let out their dog, without putting it on a chain, the dog came into our yard and attack and killed our registered dog. Their dog is a German Shepherd, very large dog.…...
    General Dog Discussions : Can I sue a dog owner, when their dog got out and killed my dog?...

    • Yes, you can... Provided you got enough evidence that your neighbour's dog killed your dog.... Such inconsiderate owner should get punished... PS Did you use a video recorder to record the evidence down??

    • Yes you can, and also tell the police and they could make the other person give their dog up. I recently had a simliar problem when my neighbors St. Bernard attacked my Boxer. My Boxer is small for a boxer and is not at all aggressive. I was walking my dog when this dog ran out and attacked. The ower already knew that his St. Bernard (normally calm breeds) was animal aggressive. It is illegal in most states to allow your dog outside of your property unleased.

    • First of all...I am so sorry for your loss...this is a horrible situation.Did you contact the police when it happened??When did this happen?You need to find out the laws for your area, but most states are strict when it comes to this type of situation.http://doglaw.hugpug.com/doglaw_088.htmlhttp://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/Minnesota.html

    • Yes, you can sue. You can sue for all medical costs and the cost of your dog.I also live in Minnesota. I don't know where you are from, but you should also report the incident.https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=343.21http://www.cvm.umn.edu/vmc/forclients/reportcruelty.html

    • You can sue them, but you will be lucky if you get anywhere other than in a small claims court. Im sorry to hear about that. A good way to deter things like that from happening is to put up a good sturdy fence. Good luck.

    • yes call the police, then call the insurance company, they will be helpable if they are anything like where i grew up (ie they aint interested in paying for something they can make someone else pay for as a principle, and an properly - akc registreed dog would be considered expensive, especialy if you have shown or evented him, the more you done the more value cause those dogs cost, if your ensurance is same as where i grew up you have the demand on a new dog of same standard and training that you had before...and yeah...costy)

    • You probably could, but why would you want to? Do you know for a fact the owners PURPOSELY let it go? Could the owner's control the dog's actions? That's just a simple fact of life, animals are going to kill each other & theres nothing you can do about it.

    • I'm sorry for your loss. Sad situation.A couple of things. Did you take your dog to the vet immediately after the attack? Did you report the incident immediately following a visit to the vet?This is something the vets office can handle, reporting the attack.Did you actually see the dog attack your dog?What is the temperament of the neighbors dog?I don't think that putting a dog out on a chain, in a yard (UNFENCED yard) is ever a wise thing to do. All this does is prevent your pet from wandering.Any animal could attack/kill a pet that is left (unattended, as most are -that's why they're chained) in a yard on a chain.MN, like other places in the US has wild animals. Coyotes are known for preying on small dogs. There are hawks and eagles, wolves, raccoons and skunks (rabies concerns) that all could prey on a small dog left chained in the yard. And we've all read about those crazy people that poison pets, steal pets for various situations.Anything could have happened to this pet.If you had been aware of the Shepherd and knew it could access your yard then I think you might want to reconsider the idea of chaining a pet in the yard if it's not fenced.Other option would be something like an outdoor run.I'm not saying the neighbors dog isn't at fault. There are other things to consider in this situation. I imagine that if you had not taken your dog to the vet and/or did not immediately report the incident then you might want to consider small claims court.

    • my wolf dog got out and killed a pitt. basically it was almost unrecagnizeable, i have the pic's from the attack which i can't bear to look at, its nasty and my dog hates short haired pittbull dogs, because i knew her for 40 years she forgave me and, let my dog live