A Dog Attacks and The Victim Pays
Posted by
Susy OwenMarch 08, 2007 12:37 PMSara Weidenhaft did nothing more than lean into a vehicle to hug the driver, when a dog that she didn't even know was there, attacked her face destroying her lips. She is now haunted by that day and stared at by what seems like everyone. To date she has had five surgeries in an attempt to repair the damage.
It was only after experiencing that dog attack she found out that a dog's owner is not liable for a first time-time bite. "So far my surgeries are in excess of $66,000 and I'm still not fixed," Weidenhaft, 52, told lawmakers at a hearing in Salem for House Bill 2345, a dog-bite measure proposed by Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach.
The new bill makes sense and in my opinion is long overdue. The bill states that the owner of the dog would be responsible for medical expenses but the owner would retain defenses such as provocation of the dog. Weidenhaft made an excellent point when he said " If a dog comes into my pasture and kills one of my sheep, not only can I kill the dog ... I can collect up to three times the value of the sheep. But, if a dog bites my lip off, I have to pay? Something isn't right with this picture." Indeed.
Oregon is not alone in its centuries old law, which dates from 16th-century England. I think the fair thing to do would be to make each dog owner liable. Since it is owner's dog it would therefore be his/her responsibility. There really is no justification for leaving an innocent party with not only a disfigurement and emotional trauma due to an attack, but with medical bills to boot. It really does add insult to injury. If the law states that if you take on the responsibility of an animal you are responsible for that animal and for whatever that animal does, we would be putting responsibility where it should be.