So my girl Stephanie asked her aunt/cousin (16 yrs old) to watch her dog while she went out of town. They accepted and failed miserably! So everything was fine until the her cousin dropped her dog and broke it's leg just a day into watching the animal. After the incident they called Stephanie and reported what happened and asked if they should take the dog the the VET ER. My girl said yes, and the initial medical bill was $600 just for the ER visit. Now the dog needs a $1600 surgery to repair the damage. My question is who should be responsible for the bills? The aunt is saying that Stephanie should pay, she even said that Stephanie should pay them back for the ER visit. My girl is pissed, I mean why should she be responsible for that? It wasn't a pre-existing condition or anything like that, it was pure negligence. who should pay??

My outlook on it is: If I borrowed a car and the tranny went out, that's not my fault. But if I wrecked the car I'm 100% responsible for the damages. Make sense?

 

Makes sense to me. This is a case for Judge Judy!

 

o come on man, thats a no brainer. thats quite a lot of money, take it to court if you need to

 

If the girl dropped the dog out of sheer inability to hold an animal properly, that's pretty much on her and the mom to take care of.

If she dropped the dog because the dog didn't like her and it squirmed / wriggled / jumped, then that could be taken as an accident. It'd be nice if they all just shared in the accident and moved along.

Unfortunately in a situation like that, there's nothing controlling the blame aside from integrity. And it's a shame that her family needs to play the blame game instead of just working together and forgetting about it.

Make sure to look for options when it comes to caring for the dog. My guess is there isn't only one veterinarian in your town. Go around and get some quotes.

 

This is why I recommend VPI Pet Insurance to everyone.

I usually find these sort of optional / supplemental insurance programs to be huge scams but VPI is a legit company. They are the largest pet insurance company and is a division of Nationwide insurance.

Been amazingly helpful and already paid for itself for Kane, and he's had nothing major (thank God).

Granted this doesn't help you guys now, but it certainly would in the future. Its never to late to sign a dog up - they don't take pre-existing conditions of course.

Anyways as for your situation, sounds like i'd just not pay them back the 600 and pay the surgery myself. That's at least 600 you got out of them. I'd also never ask them to babysit my dog again hah. Also 600 bucks just for an ER visit? That sounds fishy to me. Most are 100-120 tops for the ER visit. I called around and asked about 5 places a couple weeks ago because Kane had an allergic reaction. The visit with his treatment and drugs was 220 bucks. (VPI paid all of it I might add).

 

You happen to sell for VPI on the side or something?
Good info though, I never even heard of VPI before so it's definitely something I'm going to look into for Russel.

 

Good info everybody. Her aunt is still trying to say she's in the right and that Stephanie should pay her back. I don't get some people's logic?!?! Stephanie does have "dog insurance" on her animal but the surgery is still costing her $1600. I have advised her if they cant figure this out it will need to go to small claims court. This is too much money to just forget about. Thanks for all of your input and I will keep you updated.

 

me...? Sell for VPI on the side? hmm ah.. no of course not.
But if you do call make sure you told them NateDiesel sent you!

Well smoore, if she has insurance they should cover at least part of it right?

 

$2200 on a dog bill? lol, that kind of money doesn't get spent on dogs around here. There a dime a dozen.... We'd just put it down and all move on with out lives.

flame if ya want to, i'll wait...

 

Man VS Woman. It's the OP's Girlfriend's dog. You know woman all sentimental, emotionally attached to anything that is soft, cute, cuddly and shows interest in them.