# Killer of Bichon Frise Sues Dog's Former Owner **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 1, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450 "2003-03-01T21:22:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/21 "2003-03-02T01:22:52Z")
Am I the only one who finds it fantastically amusing that the two people in the news article are named Burnett and McBurnett? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/22 "2003-03-02T01:26:23Z")
Yes. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/23 "2003-03-02T01:28:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rhum Runner \* > \*\*. But comparing the dog to a child, to my mind, is a bit demeaning to the importance of human life, but to each his own. \*\* well, depending on how the reference child/pet was made. Iā€™m a mom and have pets, and often have referred to the cats as ā€˜the kidsā€™, talk about me being their ā€˜momā€™ etc. I do, however, assure you that Iā€™m well aware of the difference, and when my cat of 19 years died, I was very sad, still miss her and all, but when my **son** was in the hospital ICU, I absolutely lived there, and could think of nothing else, it still scares me how close I came to loosing him. Compare to, when my cat was in the kitty hospital, I stopped to see her once a day for a few minutes. so, someone might overhear me refer to my cats as the kids, or me as the mom and mistake that Iā€™m equating them with my child, itā€™s not true. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/24 "2003-03-02T01:36:48Z")
I noticed that too, friedo. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Rhum\_Runner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/25 "2003-03-02T01:38:29Z")
**Wring** I completely understand what you are saying. We always refer to the dogs as ā€œthe boysā€ and I love them dearly. I had to put one of ā€œthe boysā€ down two years ago when his kidneys failed I was very upset, and I still think of him fondly. But the kind of humanizing that some people go to, like our asshat friend **RangerDude** comparing throwing a dog in the street to stringing a man from a tree is just wrong. Thatā€™s all Iā€™m saying. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/26 "2003-03-02T01:43:24Z")
> [@](#): > > _Orig. by RangerDude_ > Joking about killing a poor helpless innocent dog is no more funny than joking about lynching a black man. > [@](#): > > _Orig. by Rhum Runner_ > But the kind of humanizing that some people go to, like our asshat friend RangerDude comparing throwing a dog in the street to stringing a man from a tree is just wrong. Er ā€¦ I think, **Rhum Runner** , that youā€™ve taken \*\*RangerDudeā€™s \*\* statement and gone running a mile with it. He was referring to ā€œjokesā€. Youā€™re referring to ā€œactsā€. I canā€™t find the comparison, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Rhum\_Runner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/27 "2003-03-02T01:55:31Z")
\*\*Ice Wolf[/] They were saying that the evil Keithā€™s jokes about throwing the dog was the moral equivalent of making jokes about lynching. The only way that could be true would be if RangerDude feels that actually throwing the dog is the same as lynching, which IMNSHO is a silly thing to say. Anyway, like you said before, our defendant here is a real jerk and I donā€™t have a tremendous amount of sympothy for his plight. [Hijack] Howā€™s the cup going? šŸ˜‰ [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/28 "2003-03-02T02:00:08Z")
[Hijack] Weā€™ll lose thā€™ bloody thing today, hopefully! Best of luck to you guys in the Mediterranean! Yay!!! (Sick of the whole bizzo, actually). Oh, yeah, folks ā€“ I mean the Americaā€™s Cup yachting. [/hijack] Sorry about that, folks. Do carry on. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/29 "2003-03-02T04:06:06Z")
The son of a bitch - actually, thatā€™s too good an epithet for him, how aboutā€¦ The piece of shit got exactly what he deserved. Unfortunately, when they let him out heā€™s going to do something worse, mark my words. People like that always do. ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/30 "2003-03-02T04:25:27Z")
Iā€™m mostly amused that Angry Keith canā€™t figure out that the answer to this riddle: > [@](#): > > What is greater than God? > More evil than the devil? > The poor have it > The rich need it > And you will die if you eat it. > If you fwd this message to ten people and then hit the SHIFT key, you will find the answer. is ā€œnothing,ā€ and claims that it having no answer proves itā€™s bullshit. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/31 "2003-03-02T04:48:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rhum Runner \* > \*\*But comparing the dog to a child, to my mind, is a bit demeaning to the importance of human lifeā€¦ \*\* Absolutely no offense meant to you, **Rhum Runner** , but I find this statement absolutely fascinating, in regards to the eternal debate of the comparison between human and animal life and death, in all its myriad complications and emotionality. I feel like looking up some of those old threads nowā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/32 "2003-03-02T06:24:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kambuckta \* > \*\*If indeed he _did_ suffer injuries from the initial accident, why should he be barred from seeking damages? As far as I see it, he has the right (like anybody else) to be compensated for his injuries. This should be a completely seperate issue to the killing of the dog. He is currently serving time (and rightly so) but does that mean he has no ethical right to petition the courts for redress, both from the dogs owner and the newspapers? > > \*\* He shouldnā€™t be barred, of course. But since jumping out of a car and tossing live animals around does not sound like the actions of someone who has just suffered a million dollars worth of spinal injuries (and given that he just drove away afterwards, and given that he didnā€™t feel the need to make any medical claim before this, and given that there was no mention of him seeking medical treatment before this and given that the accident was discribed as minor by pretty much everybody) my suspicion is heā€™s trumping up his injuries to harrass the poor woman, because heā€™s pissed off about being in jail. Which is unethical. Of course I may not know the whole story (does he have any medical evidence?) but based on the facts at hand Iā€™m going with ā€œassholeā€. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/33 "2003-03-02T07:19:22Z")
Heā€™s gonna have a hard time suing the newspaper. Truth is an affirmative defense to a libel charge. A question for our esteemed members of the Bar: Does Burnett have to prove that what the paper were lies? And, can a jury consider Burnettā€™s killing of the dog when trying to assess his credibility? (I am assuming it could only be introduced to impeach his credibility) ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/34 "2003-03-02T13:44:09Z")
So he threw a dog in a fit of rage, which to me as an animal lover is abhorrent enough. So just as easily he could have picked up a baby and thrown that, in the same fit of mad rage. So this guy, IMO, **should** be in jail, and I bet he will come out just as angry, and just as dangerous, and I only wish he had died in the accident, or from his (spurious) ā€œinjuriesā€ he is suing for. ---
**Author:** ![Rhum\_Runner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/35 "2003-03-02T14:09:13Z")
**istara** we donā€™t usually put people in jail for what they could have easily done. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/36 "2003-03-02T14:40:36Z")
Well, we put people likely to kill (eg who have tried to kill, but failed) in ā€œsecure institutions.ā€ At least we should do. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/37 "2003-03-02T19:11:25Z")
Yet another example of where cost sanctions might both help deter such frivolous actions and help compensate the wrongly accused who find themselved dragged into these messes. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/38 "2003-03-02T19:36:33Z")
Eh, thing is, Muffin, thanks to Assmunch being a prisoner, weā€™d have to pay his sanctions through our taxes, in order to ensure his rights. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/39 "2003-03-03T04:00:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kambuckta \* > \*\*If indeed he _did_ suffer injuries from the initial accident, why should he be barred from seeking damages? As far as I see it, he has the right (like anybody else) to be compensated for his injuries. This should be a completely seperate issue to the killing of the dog. He is currently serving time (and rightly so) but does that mean he has no ethical right to petition the courts for redress, both from the dogs owner and the newspapers? > > For his sake though, I hope he has plenty of medical evidence to back his claim. > šŸ˜ƒ \*\* In November, I was struck from behind by a speeding motorist travelling at about 60 MPH. (I was at a dead-stop, waiting to make a turn.) Since that day, I have been in constant pain, and have had to undergo physical therapy. Yet, I would not say that I deserve a million dollars. This accident, in all of the reports I have read, has been described as ā€œminor,ā€ and as **betenoir** said, he wasnā€™t complaining about injuries before this time. I agree with the lawyer in the article, this is clearly a frivilous lawsuit, intended to harass the victim of his nasty acts, but thereā€™s nothing that can be done. He is excersizing his rights, and you have a right to be an asshole if you want to. \*\* E-Sabbath, \*\* in some states, unless he has been declared indigent, he must pay for the costs of his filing, so it may not be a burden on the taxpayers at all. If he works in the priso, his pay is most likely around $20-30 a month, so thatā€™s a big chunk out of his cigarette money. Unfortunately, the poor woman will have to pay to defend herself, assuming the case is not tossed out. And if she wins, he can sue again. And again. And again. This could become very costly for her, and this is probably his intent. ---
**Author:** ![Rhum\_Runner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450/40 "2003-03-03T04:18:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lissa \* > \*\*Unfortunately, the poor woman will have to pay to defend herself, assuming the case is not tossed out. And if she wins, he can sue again. And again. And again. This could become very costly for her, and this is probably his intent. \*\* Not sure about that there **Lissa**. If his complaint were dismissed with prejudice he would be barred from relitigating it. _res judicata_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/killer-of-bichon-frise-sues-dogs-former-owner/158450.md?page=3)