A Turkish Proverb says, “A dog that intends to bite does not bear its teeth.”

A Turkish Proverb says, “A dog that intends to bite does not bear its teeth.” Dogs can be wonderful companions and loyal guardians. Records relayed that on occasion, however, dogs can also be vicious animals that annoy and wound men, women and children. Cases involving vicious and dangerous dogs, typically, seek one of two forms of relief. First, dog cases will seek to invoke the protection of a public statute. Second, dog cases will seek monetary damages.

Some dogs can be more vicious and dangerous than others. For example, German Shepherds are large, intelligent and strong and, if trained properly, can serve as trusted guard dogs and police dogs. Without proper training, however, German Shepherds can be vicious indeed. According to records, New York recognizes a cause of action which imposes strict liability with no proof of negligence necessary upon owners for injuries inflicted by their vicious dogs, the owners having knowledge thereof and viciousness being defined as prior bites and/or mischievous propensities.

This is the story of three dogs and their respective owners. He said that there were two curly coated Bichon Frises, a nine year old and a three year old dog. The dogs were owned by a couple and reside with them somewhere in Yonkers, New York.

Another dog, a large 5 year old German shepherd weighing 110 pounds owned by a neighboring housewife. Sometime, around the month of March, 1993 and on June, 1994, the housewife allowed her German shepherd to run loose without a leash. On these two occasions, the lawyer further said that the German shepherd entered onto the couple’s property and viciously attacked the nine year old dog causing severe injuries. On both occasions, the nine year old Bichon Frises was taken to a veterinarian for treatment of the wounds inflicted by the German shepherd. The veterinarian bills were $392 for the March, 1993 attack and $182 for the June, 1994 attack.

The following days after the June, 1994 attack, the couple who owned the nine year old dog commenced a lawsuit before the court of Yonkers seeking damages for the injuries sustained by the dog and themselves. After a trial held on October, 1994, the court found the German shepherd and its owner responsible for the injuries inflicted upon the nine year old dog and awarded damages of $524. The following year, 1995, the three year old Bichon Frises dog was with his owner who was in his driveway shoveling snow. The German shepherd suddenly appeared, sniffed the three year old dog and then, without provocation, viciously attacked and mauled the three year old dog. The owner chased the German shepherd away and took his injured dog to the veterinarian. The three year old dog remained hospitalized for four days undergoing surgery. There were photographs during the trial showing a 10 inch gash held together with surgical staples running from the dog’s stomach to his back. The veterinarian bills for the dog’s hospitalization, care and treatment were $819, considerably more than those incurred by the other dog just the year before.

Thus, another lawsuit was filed again on the same dog, the German shepherd. The couple seeks damages to include the costs of veterinarian services amounting to $819, two days lost wages in caring for the three year old dog amounting to $156 and all other appropriate damages. The housewife responded that she had built a fence around her backyard to keep her German shepherd enclosed. The court decided that the housewife knew full well that her dog possessed vicious propensities because of the previous incidents. Aside from the damages sought by the couple, they had been awarded and additional punitive damage worth $1,000.00.

Call a New York Dog Bite Attorney if you happen to have a case like these. A New York Dog Bite Attorney will help and guide you win a case and will be the one who will provide you with information on what to do legally when faced with a situation above.