The next time your dog asks for a treat, you may want to give it to him. In Pennsylvania, a dog reportedly injured its owner with a shotgun left on the bed, while in North Carolina, a dog was caught on camera setting a house on fire (no less than the assistant fire chief’s) with a damaged lithium battery. Since I just finished teaching my tort students about animal liability (and strict liability for dog bites), these cases provide a teachable moment for both people and dogs.
Dog bite cases have long been a mainstay of tort law, including recent incidents involving the Biden family at the White House. But what about dog attacks with weapons?
Dogs can get into trouble, but this is usually not a matter for court. (Getty Images)
The common law imposes strict liability for dogs if the owner knew or should have known of the animal’s vicious tendency. Also called the “one-free bite rule,” past evidence of cruel tendencies such as a bite may be enough to create strict liability. Other states are moving to a general rule of strict liability. Many have established legal standards that impose strict liability without requiring proof of prior knowledge of the cruel propensity. These laws anticipate the common law rule.
Before we take these dogs for the ultimate perp walk, let’s examine their potential legal exposure (setting aside the fact that these owners would effectively have to sue themselves for liability for their own dogs).
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Years ago I did discussed a case in Alabama where a dog ran over its owner with the owner’s own truck, which may have constituted a strict liability violation.
Alabama Section 3-6-1 does not limit liability for dog bites, but for injuries caused by a dog. The state has a hybrid law. First, the law applies a negligence standard in public spaces. Second, it applies a strict liability approach to the “cost” of injuries caused by a dog. Third, the owner is protected from punitive or statutory damages, for lack of knowledge of the cruel propensity, as under the common law “one free bite rule”.
An unknown man got out of a four-door Honda Accord around 7:15 p.m. and shot one round at “Boots,” a male chocolate lab mix, who was loose at the time. According to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, the dog was shot in the snout. (Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office)
Since this was the dog’s first vehicular attack and the incident occurred in a public place, he considered this a negligent claim. However, the owner was clearly disinclined to file the claim against his own dog, and contingency attorneys don’t typically cut corners.
Assistant fire chief’s dog escapes unharmed after chewing on lithium-ion battery, causing house fire
Similarly, in Maine, a dog was accused of driving a vehicle into a lake after his owner put him in his truck as a timeout after fighting with another dog. The good news is that Maine is a strict liability state, regardless of any prior knowledge of the animal’s vicious tendencies.
The law applies when “a dog injures a person who is not on the property of the owner or caretaker at the time of the injury.” A truck is owned by the owner, but is not usually considered part of the property. However, Maine Revised Statutes Title 7, Section 3961 means that the owner is liable, and not the dog. Since this was the owner’s own truck, he was left with a submerged truck and a grinning dog.
Now to the armed dog cases. This is not the first drive-by (or jump-on) shooting by an owner’s dog. Yet dogs are virtually pronunciation-proof. After thousands of years of evolution, they developed that disarming look with a long face that will melt any jury. The result is that they can mow down people with impunity and police officers have to rub their stomachs while the coroner wraps up their previous owner.
DOG shoots owner after jumping on bed during cleaning accident in Pennsylvania
Take the latest incident in Berks County, Pennsylvania, where a 53-year-old man was cleaning his shotgun and briefly left it on his bed. His dog then jumped on the bed and shot his owner in the back.
The police do not appear to consider this a possible attempted homicide. No attempt was made to determine whether this was a crime of passion for refusing belly rubs or chew toys.
“Frannie” the dog would never break the law. You can just tell. (Humane Association of Missouri)
Then the civil liability remains. In Pennsylvania, the state has a hybrid system. If someone is attacked or bitten by a dog, the owner is liable for all medical costs. However, for costs or damages other than medical expenses, you still have to prove negligence.
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Notably, however, the rule applies not just to a bite, but to any attack, presumably including shooting by an armed dog.
Nevertheless, the dog is hardly a defendant who can pay damages (and the owner would sue himself). So the dog will likely escape any serious punishment. After the dog has learned how to use a shotgun, the owner may be more forthcoming with the treats in the future.
Then there’s the pooch in North Carolina, where Colton, assistant chief of the Chapel Hill Fire Department, David Sasser’s dog, reportedly “counter-surfed” and found a lithium battery. He started chewing on the battery and then placed it on the living room carpet, causing a fire.
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Colton causes small house fire in Chapel Hill, NC (Chapel Hill Fire Department/Facebook)
Like the Pennsylvania police, the solution is for the dog. The fire department immediately posted a statement that “Colton is a good boy” and apologized for his behavior. There was no suggestion that Colton was an arsonist of dogs.
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Luckily for Colton, North Carolina is a one-bite state. You are strictly liable for a known dangerous or vicious dog. Notably, however, strict liability applies to “any injury or property damage” and not just to dog bites. Setting fire to houses appears to fall within the legal definition of dog-related harm.
By the way, North Carolina also still has laws on the book regarding issues like “Allowing bitch in general“And”You can’t kill the crazy dog“).
It is unclear if this is the first arson incident linked to Colton, but the claim that he is a “good boy” suggests that his record is clean.
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Both of the most recent cases raise concerns about whether local police and fire departments are committed to these dogs. Legally, however, they appear to be in the clear. Presumably suspicions would be greater if these were cats. Cat crimes are treated as presumed intentional.
I am an unapologetic dog lover and willing to act as counsel for any accused dog, large or small. However, Groucho Marx had the one ironclad rule about dogs: “Outside the dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside a dog, it’s too dark to read.”
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