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If I am pet sitting 2 dogs in my home and one dog attacked the other, am I supposed to pay vet bill?
Anonymous2 views5 answers
I was pet sitting for 3 dogs at the time, 2 dogs were mom and male pup the other dog was a small poodle. The 2 dogs belonged to Lauren the poodle belonged to Rose. The women were sisters.
The male pup Spanky is one year old , the poodle Remi is 9 years old. Spanky went after Remi while Spanky and his mom were playing ball, I was sitting on couch rolling ball to them. There was no warning when Spanky attacked Remi, we raced him to the vet hospital and Put $ 6,200 on my credit card, which Lauren wants me to pay!! Lauren and rose were on vacation together at the time.
Am I supposed to pay that? Am I liable?
I would think that there is no liability on your part, however the mistake you made was in putting the charge on your card. Now you have to get payment back from Lauren, and if she does not pay you will have to sue her for the money. Never put a debt on your card for another person.
Were you pet sitting as a favor to the sisters or were you being paid? If you were being paid, I think there would be liability against you as this happened under your care. Do you operate a pet sitting service? If so, your business should be insured.
Lars A. LundeenPersonal Injury LawyerRutland, VT ·
If you have renters or homeowners insurance, I suggest that you immediately report this incident to your carrier. At the time of this incident, you were the keeper of the dog which attacked. Depending upon state statutes and case law in your area, you may have liability for the damage done to the other dog. If you do, your insurance company should be paying the damages, not you. Since the amount in question is not trivial, you may want to speak with a local personal injury attorney who could perhaps advise you on your individual liability as a dog keeper.
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Mr. Lundeen is licensed to practice law in Florida and Vermont. The response herein is not legal advice and does not create an attorney/client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to provide general information about the matter within the question. Oftentimes the question does not include significant and important facts and timelines that, if known, could significantly change the reply and make it unsuitable. Mr. Lundeen strongly advises the questioner to confer with an attorney in your state in order to ensure proper advice is received.
I would say that since you had no indication that this would happen, you are not liable. But, you've already put the charges on your credit card, so now you have to try to get reimbursement from people who do not want to pay. There is a question as to whether they are obligated to do so under the arrangement they had with you. If there was no written contract, then it is a matter of whether you covered the question of potential vet bills when you agreed to dog-sit. See if they woud be willing tosplit it.
