My landlord's dog damn near killed my cat last night (long)

The BBQ Pit
1

Last night, my most beloved and wonderful cat Achmed escaped out my screen door and was attacked by my landlord’s dog, a large mastiff-type dog. It was 10:30pm. When I realized Achmed got out, I put the dog back in my landlord’s house. Someone (either his drunk ass or the skank he was fucking that night from the strip club) let her back out.

I was outside with a flashlight searching for him when I heard my cat screaming. I ran around to the other side of the house to find this huge monster dog (who has never been anything but sweet and submissive with me) was killing my cat. I tried to get her off him, hitting her in the face with the flashlight, pulling her collar, and screaming blue murder at the top of my lungs for help. My neighbor came out and got the dog off us and into the house. Still, my landlord does not respond.

In this melee, Achmed sustained a torn diaphragm, a deviated sternum, broken ribs that were torn from each other, and a hole that penetrated into his abdominal cavity. He was also in massive shock. After major surgery, he is stable, with a chest tube in and receiving lidocaine, fluids, and oxygen. I will visit him tomorrow. What could still get him is infection and inflammatory reaction. While not out of the woods, he is as well as can be expected under the circumstances.

I pray to whatever gods might listen that he makes it, since he is the angel of my life, my favorite baby kitty, the best friend I ever had. I am wracked with guilt at the door coming unlatched, at not getting that dog off him in time, at not being careful enough. I also had to go to the ER because Achmed bit me deeply several times. My right pinky is so swollen and bruised that I can’t use it. Typing hurts a lot but I need to vent, so forgive any typos. Also, I’m on antibiotics and got a tetanus shot. I feel like I got hit by a bus. However, I will live. My baby might not.

I am so fucking miserable right now I can’t even think right. I was able to see Achmed before I left. He put his head in my hand and purred. He found it in himself to purr even though he was at death’s door. He’s that kind of boy.

So basically, I have to move now because I can’t live here anymore. I had cluster flies in October, and that alone made me want to move anyway. Also, my landlord has propositioned me sexually in the past and is a heavy drinker. He said he’d pay for my medical bills but not Achmed’s, which will no doubt be around $3000. He lets his dog run free at all hours and never has her leashed or fenced in. He threw it in my face that he didn’t want cats in the apartment at all, that it was ME who let the cat out and that he warned me that his dog kills cats. Like that makes it all OK. FUCK YOU!!!

I need to sue him after I move out. FUCKER!!! I hate him so much. I don’t blame the dog, as she has a tiny little pea brain. I blame HIM…

ARGH. This is horrible. God, I hope Achmed lives…any prayers from those who believe in such things would be welcomed, as well as any advice, or whatever. I need to go to bed now, massively tranquilized, as I haven’t slept more than an hour in a row since this happened…

2

I don’t think I have any advice for you, beyond moving as soon as you can which you are already planning. I have sympathy for you, though - my cat is an escape artist too, and if anything ever happened to her when she manages to bolt out the door, I would feel about the same, I guess.

I don’t know the laws about this, but a dog that attacks other animals might be considered vicious. I know you don’t blame the dog, but an owner who doesn’t look after his dog might need a wake-up call from your local Humane Society.

If it makes you feel any better, cats are very tough. Achmed is a little fighter, and he’ll do his best to make it.

3

I’m not a lawyer, but I agree you should take some legal action. If I were you I would speak to a lawyer to find out what kind of rights you have in this case. I would ask for the vet bills to be covered, at least. You might even speak to your landlord about it before you go to a lawyer.

I hate giving this kind of advice because I’m not a lawyer even though I’m in law school. I am especially not your lawyer. I just feel very bad for you, and I hope your sweet little kitty is all right.

4

Oh, God, that’s awful! I hope your cat’s okay. I hope you find a new place. I hope your current landlord gets hit by a frozen chunk of airplane toilet waste.

Let us know how the little guy does, okay?

5

One of my mom’s dog broke loose from her chain once (before we found a type of restaint that could hold a 100+ lb Akita). She attacked our neighbor’s tiny mutant-rat dog and did some serious damage.

So, the neighbor said (as well as I can remember) that either Mom pay for all medical bills for her dog, or she’d sue for them and report our dog to the Humane Society.

Mom paid the bills and got that basically amounted to a tractor chain to hold our dog, who never got loose again.

And this was over our dog accidentally getting loose, who had NO history of attacking anything other than racoons (a useful skill when a possibly rabid racoon decided to try to attack my mom).

So, this dog apparently has a history of attacking cats, huh?

Move out, and threaten. What a JACKASS.

And I’m sending healing vibes to your kitty. Good luck.

6

Sorry, but I don’t see how you can blame a dog for behaving like a dog.

7

You might have noticed that she didn’t. She blamed the owner for letting a violent animal run loose.

If a tiger from the zoo got loose in the streets and killed a half-dozen people, I’d blame the zoo for letting it get out, not the tiger.

8

Prayers sent. I wish I could do more, except agree your landlord sounds like a SOB.

9

IANAL, either, but you should consider legal action for the vet bills. Talk to a lawyer and see what they have to say.

My best thoughts to little Achmed.

Robin

10

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but although most dog bite laws cover attacks on other animals, many make an exception for “animal trespass”. If the dog was in the yard of the landlord’s residence, and then the cat entered that yard, the landlord might not be liable for the cat’s vet bills. These laws very from state to state, of course, so some basic research is in order. What state do you live in?

One other thing to think about before you threaten legal action is your landlord’s offer to pay for your medical bills. Since it was your cat rather than his dog that bit you, I don’t believe he would be considered liable - especially if the altercation between the two animals was caused by the cat’s “animal trespass”. If you threaten to sue for the vet bills, your landlord may decide not to pay the vet bills or the hospital bill.

Keep in mind that I am not a lawyer, and don’t know the specific animal bite laws for whatever state you live in.

11

I’m terribly sorry to hear about your kitty. I lost a cat in this exact same way about five years ago. I lost her because I was at work and wasn’t around to go save her. It was the same deal: someone’s dog wasn’t under proper control.

Of course you can’t blame the dog for being a dog, but AFAIK, most states have leash laws. Which means your landlord’s dog could have to be put under quarantine and would be listed with the county as a “dangerous” dog. Your landlord’s insurance premiums could skyrocket (I know my insurance company goes nuts if they find out you have a dog that’s bitten someone or shown to be dangerous.) Check with your local animal control to find out where you can report this and what the consquences are for your landlord.

Here’s to hoping there’s a special place in hell for humans who think there’s nothing wrong with allowing their pets to kill and/or maim someone else’s. As if the dog is the only pet worth saving in this story.

More importantly, the late Boo Boo Kitty and I sincerely hope your baby pulls through and heals nicely. Despite my user name. :slight_smile:

12

I’m very sorry to hear that. I hope your kitty comes through.

13

I hope your cat will be all right, and that your wounds heal too. Your landlord sounds like a jackass. It’s good that you’re moving out soon. :frowning:

14

I hope Achmed pulls thru, cats are resillient lil’ creatures, so i hope he’s going to be okay

however, your landlord is clearly in the wrong here, he’s harboring a vicious animal and deserves to have a visit from Animal Control, the dog is obviously not well trained, it shouldn’t be killing cats (maybe it’s too stupid to know the difference between cat or raccon, still no excuse though), the fact that the landlord knows this and doesn’t care is irrelavent, the dog needs to be trained to behave (actually, if this is not it’s first time killing a cat i’d say the dog needs to be put down)

don’t get me wrong, i love dogs, heck, one of my freinds had a huge rottweiler that looked big and mean, but he was the sweetest dog you’d ever meet, Max thought he was a lap dog, a 170 LB lap dog, he wouldn’t hurt a fly (well, maybe flies, but i digress)

if i was in that situation, after rescuing the cat i’d have a hard time resisting the urge to introduce the landlord’s dog to my good freind “Mr Mossberg”…

Sue the landlord (i’m not big on lawsuits) and try to get the dog put down as a vicious dog

15

Achmed is still alive but remains in critical condition. My landlord will not pay my vet bills, so I am visiting my lawyer today. As for “animal trespass,” he knew I had a cat when he let me move in and did warn me not to let them outside, but there are MANY cats in this neighborhood who wonder around wherever they like. This dog wanders wherever she likes. None of them respect property lines. Achmed was in front of MY DOOR when this attack happened.

Anyway, I put in a call to Animal Control and am waiting for a call back. Going to see Achmed and a lawyer today. This is like a very bad nightmare for me.

16

I am sorry to hear about your kitty Rubystreak. I lost a kitty the same way. She escaped and it was awhile before my Mom and I noticed that she was gone (she was a loner anyhow so we’d go hours at a time without seeing her around the house) and when we found her another animal had attacked and killed her.

Now I am super paranoid with my two new kitties. I won’t let them outside but they’re little escape artists and can get out if they try hard enough. Mom doesn’t think it is a big deal but I don’t want them to wind up like my last kitty. Fortunatly they are not declawed (Mitzi was) so they’d stand a better chance if something did happen.

I am sending good vibes to you and your kitty.

17

The other thing to make SURE of is that the landlord’s dog is current on rabies vaccinations. You don’t want to have to go through the rabies shots if you don’t have to.

And if the dog is not current, you need to let animal control know. They will probably want to have the dog quarantined, either in their facility or at the owner’s home, depending on the laws where you are. But make SURE you’re not exposed to anything from the dog.

Best wishes and good thoughts to your kitty. I’ve had a cat killed by dogs, and it’s awful.

(BTW, what are cluster flies?)

18

Best wishes to Achmed, Rubystreak. Adding my prayers that he’ll pull through this and be good as new. Poor little guy… :frowning:

19

We need to remember that Rubystreak’s injuries were caused by her* cat - not her landlord’s dog. There is nothing in her post to indicate that this mastiff mix has ever attacked a human, she even described the dog as having “never been anything but sweet and submissive with me”. It was for this reason that I worry that the landlord might refuse to pay her hospital bills if she threatens to sue. It wasn’t his dog that harmed her.

This also makes the vicous animal definition a bit sticky. There is no reason for us to believe that this dog has ever attacked or even threatened a human being. Most likely, local law will consider the owner liable for the damages the dog inflicts on another animal (provided animal tresspass does not apply, and if Achmed was in front of his own door, I don’t think it does), but it very well may not consider the dog to be a vicous animal since it has never harmed humans. The fact that it has a history of killing cats is certainly disconcerting, but hey, I don’t write the law. Not knowing what the local laws are where Rubystreak lives, I’m going wait to hear what the lawyer had to say.

My point here is twofold: 1.) We need to remember that Rubystreak’s injuries were caused by her cat and NOT her landlord’s dog. Therefore the landlord might not be liable for her hospital bills even if it does turn out that he is liable for the cat’s vet bills. If Ruby threatens to sue, she might end up with less money than she would if she had remained silent 02.)Depending on the local laws, the dog’s penchant for killing cats may not be enough to have it put down.

*I don’t know Rubystreak’s gender. I wrote “her” because I find the “his/her” construction awkward…so I made a guess. If I guessed incorectly, please accept my apologies.

20

God damn my heart goes out to you. I myself am a huge cat lover and I can’t imagine something like this happening to either of my cats.

Maybe its an almost parental instinct taking over but just hearing your story has gotten me riled up. God have mercy on that poor dog if I had been the one trying to defend my cat.