I know the vast majority all dog owners are responsible, but this morning an Alsatian got into our back garden, trashed the rabbit hutch,
and killed the family rabbit. The owner of the Alsatian was delivering some
garden machinery 3 doors away and had let his dog wander off. The dog owner
has offered to pay for any damage to the hutch and a replacement rabbit but
what else are our options. One of the kids could have been playing in the
back garden and the Alsatian may have attacked them, so I really want to
make sure the dog owner understands the seriousness of what happened today and the distress of my 10 year old daughter finding her pet rabbit dead on the patio.

Thanks,

Ian

Ian
he can never compensate for your daughters distress can he :(

"what else are our options" ?
Do you mean can you have the owner prosecuted, his dog taken away & destroyed?
Depends on what exactly you want! I would have thought a stern lecture about the dangers of his dog wandering weas sufficient & do not think there is too much relevance to the dogs rabbit killing ability versus the "possibility" of attacking your child.

i agree!
It's an awful thing to happen, and i'm truely sorry for your daughter having to see that, but it's not the dog's fault!!
And just because a dog will readily kill a small furry does not, by ANY stretch of the imagination mean they would attack a child!!

Annette

Hi Ian,
Many years ago a neighbour's dog got into our garden and killed several of my pet bantams. As you can imagine I was extremely distressed (like your daughter, I was about 10 at the time). My father advised the neighbour to keep his dog under better control in future.

Other than that, there really is nothing that can be done. Dogs are predators, and accidents happen. It's unfortunate, and very distressing, but that's life. Do as my father did and make it a good opportunity to teach your daughter about mortality and the natural order of things - it will be of benefit to her in the long run.

(It was about the same time that another neighbour's cat ate my guinea-pig.)

I'm not condoning what the dog did, it should have been under the owners control, but, how was it able to get into your garden?
If not this dog, then it could easily have been another....

I agree with everyone else, it must be extremely distressing for your daughter :( but was apparently a terrible accident. If the dog owner is at all decent he is probably feeling upset and at least he has taken blame. I would try to accept what has happened hard though it may be to do so.

Best wishes
Lindsay

I must admit I disagree slightly from the above posts, I personally think that the dog owner should be held more responsible than paying for a new rabbit and damage to a cage.

Don't get me wrong I don't think the dog should be punished as obviously it's nature to do what he/she did but the owner needs to realise and compensate for the lack of responsibility he showed in letting a dog wander into someone elses garden.

Your poor daughter must have been distraught to see what she saw and then of course there is the trauma the rabbit suffered. I know someone mentioned you can not assume the dog killing the rabbit would mean it would attack a child and I fully agree but if that child had been present at the time and tried to stop the dog killing the rabbit then it could have been an entirely different story!

Right this is going to be contravertial, reading the other replies.
I am a dog owner, love dogs, owned and bred rabbits and guinea pigs and have children so I see this from all angles. I would be fuming (at the dog owner) and I certainly wouldn't assume he feels bad as one poster suggested. He should be made accountable for this event (it wasn't an accident) and I would make sure somehow that I was convinced he would not let it happen again. How I'm not sure, but too many people shrug this sort of thing off as 'natural' and 'accidental'.

IMO it's a case of "6 of one and half-a-dozen of the other". Yes, the dog should have been better attended. Equally maybe the garden should have been more secure. It's possible that a fox (or my neighbour's cat :rolleyes: ) could have done the same.

The dog owner has apologised and offered to replace the 'destroyed goods' (which is how it would be seen in law). "What if" doesn't enter the equation, I'm afraid.
:)

Its difficult - i have guinea pigs and if a dog owner let his dog into my garden and they were killed i would be furious. But my garden is almost impossible to break into for a dog and my pigs are in a very strong hutch and/or outside run.

I remember how i loved my guinea pigs as a child and i do believe that if a dog had broken in and killed them i would have been completely devastated and it would have stayed in my memory for all my life :( So i do feel desperately sorry for the child.

Thinking about it again I do feel it wasn't strictly an accident as such, because the dog should have been kept under control better :(

I will say one thing: in this day and age most people wont apologise and will be just as likely to be abusive, ( hope i am not too cynical here) and not accept responsibility. So at least this man has done this, in offering to pay. Not that money is any real compensation but it does show good will.

Lindsay

I don't think that is the point, a dog did it. A dog should be under the control of the owner and not allowed to wander onto anyone elses property let alone 'do damage' which in this case was to kill a little girls rabbit!! People shouldn't need to fence their gardens off just in case a dog comes in and kills the rabbit.

No, but reasonable care and attention should be made to avoid anything happening - its too late after the event :(

So what is reasonable care and attention? It was a private garden and an unattended Alsation was in it. It shouldn't have been and the owner is TOTALLY to blame IMO.

We don't know yet whether or not the garden is securely fenced and the gate shut. If not, then it should have been (for the children's security, if nothing else!).
IMO.
:)

Reasonable care and attention would be to have a fully enclosed garden and a hutch and run thats as secure as possible, which should be as standard anyway to avoid foxes etc. I remember my friends rabbit being killed by a fox when I was 5, and the sight of the blood stains down the driver will live with me forever.

All I am saying is that in an *ideal* world we shouldn't have to do it, but people do not have their dogs under control and accidents do happen from people not being responsible - so it makes sense to me to take as much care as possible of your own animals!!

patbee I totally understand your sentiment in this & agree that the owner was totally in the wrong & must be blamed, not the dog. HOWEVER the original poster wanted to know what other options he/she had & I dont think there are any other options unless they want to go down the DDA route and all that would involve :(

What is the DDA route?

The DDA route would be invoking the iniquitous Dangerous Dogs Act. But I don't believe that would apply in this case because the incident didn't happen in a public place.

Thankfully.
:)

JG does that meant that if a dog (not mine) wandered into my garden & attacked me, then I would have no redress under the DDA? (All hypothetical of course)

I don't know the Act well, but I believe that would be the case. I think the critical wording is "...dangerously out of control in a public place". An interesting technicality, isn't it?

Blimey! :(

Not one I'd suggest trying out either. Under the law if someone enters YOUR garden or house and your own dog attacks them, then you are still liable & can be taken to court for it.
I have had this discussion before when I by neighbours kid kept annoying the dogs and even trying to get in the garden despite me locking the gate, I was officially told that if anyone can gain entry to the garden in any way then I am liable, despite a six foot gate and padlock.

Ingrid