Based on my experience with my min pin, that’s the doggie I’m going to point to. Those little things can be quite vicious. Granted, they need very good attention to training and socialization, and we didn’t do such a good job. But, I’ve read that’s pretty common with min pins. They are underestimated because of their size, and turn into little terrors. Just IMHO, YMMV, etc.
How much of treatment costs a vet clinic or professional boarding facility is responsible for is directly correlated to how much control the staff has over the cause of the problem. We let your dog into the walk area without a leash and it hurts itself jumping the fence or gets hit by a car, or we forget to put a towel down and a paw slips through the floor grate and gets wrenched? That’s all on us. Your dog develops intractable stress diarrhea and needs to go on IV fluids because you’ve never crate trained it, or breaks with kennel cough the day after you leave it? That bill’s all yours. By that standard, getting an ear torn by another dog would be all on us. We’re the ones who have control over how much access the animals have to one another, and there’s a reasonable expectation that we will keep them separate from each other for everyone’s protection from both injury and disease.
With doggy day care type places, things are a bit different. There’s an expectation that the dogs will interact with one another–that’s part of the reason the owners bring them there. And as anyone who’s ever been around dogs will tell you, letting them interact opens up the possibility that they’ll have some out-of-character scrap or that play will get out of hand and someone might get hurt. If staff at such a place just throws dogs out together without temperament testing them or doing leashed meet-and-greets and leaves them unsupervised, any resulting dog-fight injuries are the facility’s responsibility. But if they’ve done the introductions and the dogs are getting along well, and there was supervision, the responsibility is greatly diminished.
Your situation is like the daycare, but with even more diminished responsibility–there was not only a reasonable expectation that these two dogs would interact, there was also a reasonable expectation that you would not, and indeed could not, watch them like a hawk every second they were together. Because this isn’t a job where watching the animals is your primary duty, it’s your house in the evening and you have meals to cook and housework to do and leisure activities to engage in. The risks of something happening to the visiting animal are higher than in a paid facility, and the owner knew or should have known this when they agreed to the arrangement. By agreeing to leave her dog with you, she was agreeing to the risk, and therefor the potential consequences.
In short, bitch can pay for her own bandage change.
I would caution against this. While dogs bites are generally covered, it is very possible, depending on your insurer, that they will drop you or refuse to renew your policy as long as you have a dog that is a “known biter”.
Not to mention any claim like this will certainly result in a premium hike next year. Save HO insurance for stuff you really can’t afford.
Assuming your dog is not a regular biter, I wouldn’t say you owe them anything.
If this person is truly your friend, why aren’t they bothering to ask if they can reimburse you? (I would be aghast if I accidentally put a friend in financial trouble over this).
Bottom line: Owning a pet is expensive, dog on dog action is unavoidable, you agreed to do them a favour, you’re not a professional pet boarder, you don’t have insurance for it, you didn’t sign up for financial hardship, and your friend shouldn’t expect to put you through such hardship. Mention that money’s really tight and ask if they can chip in.
Otherwise, tell them the next time their dog gets injured on your watch, you’ll kill the dog outright and get them a new mutt from the paper since it’d be cheaper than a vet.
My dog is 8 and has cataracts in one eye. He has never bit any other dog or human, ever. He has gotten into rare barking, slobbering scraps with his sister (pointer/dalmatian) and other visiting dogs but there has never been any blood. He has stayed at doggy day cares and socialized with many other dogs. When my friend dropped off her dog she said to feel free to crate her dog if she gets aggressive. We should have taken that as a sign.
I was about 4 ft away when the scrap started and while I didn’t see exactly what happened I have formulated a theory. I think what happened was that my dog was dozing and the mini walked up on his blind side. He startled, as he is apt to do when that happens, and the mini mistook the move as aggression and attacked. Based on the way the tear looked and the quickness with which the scrap ended, it appears that the mini may have tried to jerk her ear out of my dog’s mouth. My dog looked stricken and immediately went into “I’m sorry” mode. (It would have been cute if I hadn’t been busy cleaning up blood)
I have been trying to come up with a way to gently suggest she cover at least half the costs. Since my friend has only been in contact with my partner, I haven’t actually spoken to her at all. We play on the same softball team so regardless of the outcome I will have to continue to see her and try to get along at least until mid-December.
I’m pretty sure though that my GF will not allow there to be a next time.
ashenRiot does your friend know that you’re in financial straits because of this? Before losing a friendship I would consider the potential cluelessness aspect. If that’s the case, then a gentle request for shared payment is in order. But if your friend is aware and expecting you to pay, then I’m going along with what everybody else said!
She’s rather young so she may be clueless…
For anyone who’s curious, here are the offending parties. http://www.flickr.com/photos/40726005@N02/5054930296/
Aw. The MinPin looks so sweet in his little cone.
IANAL, just a guy. 'Twere me, I’d eat the 350, but nothing more. I’d feel awful if that happened on my watch, and I would feel responsible, whether legally or not.
I do think adding the 40 and more is milking the situation.
A while back a friend of mine who knows I’m good at felling trees asked me to help him with his tree. After getting things set, I made the cuts, and just as the tree began to move, a great gust of wind came up and put the tree 180 degrees from our intended fall line. Crushed the neighbor’s fence, my friend’s 8’ ladder and my chainsaw case.
We just looked at each other for a moment, and I said “I’ll go get some fence, you start cleaning up!” I got a section of fence that matched, and grabbed a new 16’ ladder as well.
When I got back the friend protested mightily that I didn’t owe him a ladder - this was an accident. I said bottom line is my action resulted in the damage - right or wrong- and I say it’s all on me.
It’s the way I feel, and what I teach my kids. You do something, or something happens on your watch, it’s on you - on a case-by-case basis.
I realize you have no control over dogs - I’m not saying that. I guess that if we all just take a little crap that doesn’t belong to us now and then, it all balances out in the end!
I just hope you don’t lose a friend because of this.
Wow, this completely changes things in my mind. She knows her dog is aggressive so, IMO, she is totally responsible for all the charges. She should be apologizing profusely and writing you a check.
(On second thought, it didn’t really change things as I always thought she should be paying you for it…)
I have a Boston myself, so I’m on his side. He’s a good boy, yes he is. :: kisses his smooshy widdle face ::
I really am on the BT’s side, but not just because I’m biased. Had I left my SmooshyGirl™ with a friend (which I just did last weekend) and let’s say, they weren’t watching her and she fell down the stairs and hurt herself. (She will be 15 next month, is very wobbly and falls up and down stairs all the time. I always offer to bring baby gates for the dogsitter.) I would call that negligence. If they had a kid and the kid walked up to the dog and jabbed it in the eye with a Taco Bell spork, I would expect the dogsitter to cover the costs. If my dog hurts herself through no fault of my dogsitter’s, or has a stroke, or some other medical related problem, that is totally out of the dogsitter’s control and I would offer to reimburse everything.
Something like this, though, is the opposite. I’m keeping XYZ dog and my dog throws down some bitey face (which Bostons are known for). XYZ dog gets stitches. I’d cover it, but I’d hope the owner offered to at least split it. If I were you, I wouldn’t ask, but if she offers, I’d take it.
ashenriot’s GF here with an update
we talked with the mini pin’s owner and she has agreed to pay for at least half. Thanks for the input, your responses helped us decide on how to handle this.
[quote=“Really_Not_All_That_Bright, post:24, topic:556056”]
Not to mention any claim like this will certainly result in a premium hike next year. Save HO insurance for stuff you really can’t afford.
[QUOTE]
And, there’s usually at least a $500 deductable.
OP, glad it worked out, sounds like a good compromise between friends. 
Good job!
Agree. I would be mortified if I was the dog owner if something like this happened and I *didn’t *pay for it.
I would be mortified if something like this happened while I was watching a friend’s pet and there’s no way I wouldn’t offer to pay for it.
It’s the friend’s responsibility to pay for this, BTW and IMO. You weren’t negligent. Shit happens. Cost of owing a pet. I can’t believe that the owner didn’t immediately apologize for putting you out and come to get their dog that very day.
I am amazed at the difference of opinions on this issue. To me, it is so cut and dry. His dog hurt the other dog. Therefore, as the owner of the pet that caused the damage, he is responsible. I don’t care if it was in his living room or a dog park. He volunteered to supervise the animals, he did not, he was negligent in allowing a fight to happen, he pays. If my dog had bit an animal that I was dog sitting, of COURSE I would pay the bill. In its entirety. It was my dogs fault. Why should she pay for his mistake? He should have kept them separated or at the very least, totally supervised at all times so this didn’t happen. The fact that he is bitter about it clearly confuses the heck out of me.
Chill out. There was no bitterness in the OP. The OP was just asking for opinions.
First, I’m a she. Second, as I stated in the OP, the dogs had been getting along just fine for the previous 4 days and none of them were showing any aggression, not even when food was involved. Third, I was only about 4 feet away when the scrap happened, they were in my line of sight and one may have even been dozing. And lastly, you read bitterness in the OP? Really?? If I was bitter I would have posted in the pit. 
Anyway, we are all entitled to our opinions. I’m just glad this all worked out ok.