This was a mistake on your part (as an individual, not in your capacity as HOA official).
Trust me I am aware of that. It was a mistake as the victim and as HOA official.
Oh, they most certainly can be!
Yep. Second call to a Lawyer. Sue the living fuck out of them. Dog bite? Slam Dunk!
I know this is a hijack, but the comments about “it’s really not the dogs fault” jumped out at me too. My reaction was “Oh yeah? If this isn’t the dog’s fault, under what circumstances would it be the dog’s fault?”
IMHO, it is not necessary to consider the dog a moral agent in order to say “It was the dog’s fault.” If I leave a bunch of metal in my microwave oven, and it sparks and starts a fire, that’s my fault. But if I’m using a microwave oven entirely correctly and it sparks and starts a fire, that’s the microwave oven’s fault. Even though the microwave oven is not a rational being.
Here’s some information from a lawyer’s website … “Tennessee Dog Law” …
Alas … “Tennessee does not have a Dangerous Dog Statute.” …
Out here, dog bites are supposed to be reported to Animal Control. the dog will be impounded until it is proven to be rabies-free.
Username/post combo for the win!!
A friend just had their husky-mix’s jaw broken by a loose pitbull. Would’ve died if she hadn’t put herself in harm’s way to pull the attacking dog off of her dog.
Unfortunately, you simply can’t fuck around with a dog that demonstrates the intent to attack other pets and humans.
Well here’s an update. The victim will not call the police and without that, there is nothing police or animal will/can do.
I will talk to him to learn his reasons why. As an HOA we can ban the dog from the premises, but we have no way of enforcing it.
Your own dog was a victim. You call the LEO. And Animal control. Then spill the beans about the person who was bitten, he will be forced to give a true statement. I know it’s sneaky, you have to get that dog gone. If you ban him from the premises they will give him away. What’s to stop the dog from killing or mauling more dogs or, god forbid, killing a child in his new home? I wouldn’t be able to sleep with that burden. I wouldn’t sit on this. IMO it’s your responsibility.
It’s too late for me to report it. We are basically starting from scratch now. I am talking to the victim in a while and hopefully, I can change his mind.
Believe me, I am fully aware of the seriousness of this. I’ve learned some tough lessons already.
I kinda don’t understand why the hospital or ER didn’t report it when the guy went in to get stitched up. I thought they had to report dog bites, among other things. (Gunshot wounds, suspected abuse.) I guess that goes by state?
I thought the same thing. Apparently, the victim was given a choice and declined.
So there’s no penalty or fine if the dog is caught out without its muzzle?
Agreed. Some dogs are naturally aggressive. They are born that way and they cannot be trained out of it. The part that is the owners’ fault is that they did not provide adequate restraint even though they knew the dog was aggressive.
Yes.
Have you contacted the police and/or Animal Control to find out what your options are as far as having the animal removed?
If you haven’t notified the owners that the dog needs to go, you need to do so. You are opening the HOA up for liability. One of these days, someone will report you and say that you are permitting a known dangerous dog to reside on the property, or they will sure. If he causes serious damage, you are in deep trouble. Your insurance may not cover it because you know about the problem and are not taking appropriate action.
This statement might be a problem when you get sued for not taking appropriate action in the first place. I’m not a lawyer, but I think its possible you are setting the organization (and maybe yourself personally?) for a lawsuit for not addressing what was clearly a documented problem. For the protection of the HOA and yourself, you probably should act aggressively now; at least to limit your own appearance of culpability.
This seems to me to be outside the purview of the HOA. They could prohibit the dog from entering the building or grounds, but I don’t see any way for the HOA to enforce euthanasia.
I also think that this (banning) should have happened after the first incident.
What’s the attitude of the dog owner throughout all this? Does he have an “aw shucks, yeah my dog bites but so what” view?
Why do you need the victim to report the incident? You have to do it regardless if the foreman wants to report it or not. If I understand the event correctly, the foreman was working on the HOA’s property and hired by the HOA to perform the work. The HOA would seem to have liability here, as well as the dog owner.
Dogs aren’t going to be viewed as mentally capable of criminal responsibility.
Despite that, dogs can act to kill or injure someone.
Society isn’t going to accept perpetratorless violent crimes where there’s no legal recourse of any kind.
Dogs customarily have owners in this society.
I think dog owners should be held responsible exactly as if they had done the deed themselves.
How would you enforce HOA laws if the guy was found to be breaking some other rule? What if he, say, put a truck up on blocks in the front yard?