Am I Liable For Vets Bill After My Dog Chased And Caught A Cat.

[Bacon2017]

My dog slipped his collar while being walked by my 14 year old daughter, the owner of the cat is demanding I pay the Vets Bill, taking into account this is my brother and his partner (her cat), they are being quite nasty about the whole situation hence the question, he is full of self importance and she is the weeping wounded, the cat is seemingly goin to be fine so they say. I have given them £50 towards bill and have asked for an itemised copy of the bill, not just a copy of the receipt, as the cat is old and has previous medical problems which I am not willing to pay for. This is in Scotland whether that makes a difference.

[twix123]

Do either of you have 'Pet Insurance', and would it cover the injuries?

[Buenchico]

The short answer to the question in the title of your post is "Yes".

The more long-winded answer is that you're liable for compensating the owner of 'property' (which includes cats) for any 'damage' (including 'injury') to that 'property' caused by your dog through 'negligence' on your part. i.e. you couldn't be successfully sued if your dog caused damage or injury after a burglar had let it out because you hadn't been 'negligent'. However a court would almost certainly rule that, through failing to tighten your dog's collar sufficiently, it was your 'negligence' which ultimately resulted in 'damage' (= 'injury') to the cat owner's 'property' (= 'the cat').

If you want to 'tough it out' you can see what happens if you simply refuse to pay. In order to force you to do so, the cat owner would first have to send you a formal written demand for payment, stating that court action would follow if you didn't meet the demand. Then, when you didn't pay, they'd need to use the small claims procedure to get a court order against you. (If you still didn't pay then have to go back to court to seek an enforcement order, possibly involving the use of bailiffs).

So you might get away with not paying simply by saying "Tough luck, mate" and hoping that the cat owner won't be prepared to go to court. However you'd be risking ending up having to pay more (through court fees) and possibly damaging your credit score (through having a court order for non-payment of a debt against you). It probably also wouldn't do much to keep the peace within your family.

[Bacon2017]

Thanks for your replies, his attitude is PAY UP or I will get your dogs killed (his words not mine), so you can see why I am hesitant to pay him a penny more until I see an itemised bill, he is the sort to get extras added to the bill that are not required. We do not have baliffs in Scotland to come knocking on the door for money, its not legal here.

[Buenchico]

You've still got 'diligence' available to unpaid creditors though, Bacon2017:
https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/debt-collection/diligence.aspx

[bigbadmarty]

Outstanding work Chris
You are a legend

[Peter Pedant]

Animals Act 1971 - or equivalent may still apply

https://www.inbrief.co.uk/animal-law/liability-for-animals/

dog is a not normally dangerous species
scroll down
still liable - damage forseeable and negligence not required

Scotland does make a difference
as you know under the treaty of Union
each act should have a scottish equivalent - which sometimes is different.

short answer - still liable

[NoMercy]

Yes you're liable for any injuries inflicted by your dog but under any law you are entitled to see what you are paying for - hence you are perfectly within your rights to demand an itemised bill.

Stick to your guns. Your dog won't be destroyed for chasing a cat.

[Hazi-Hammenuhoth]

And they say people are 'tight' in Scotland!

[ummmm]

I would phone the vets.

[THECORBYLOON]

BACON there may be no "Bailiffs" at the door but you may have Sheriff Officers demanding money, http://www.scotlanddebt.co.uk/articles/personal-debt/powers-bailiffs-sheriff-officers-scotland

[Khandro]

Of course you should pay it, both legally and morally

[ummmm]

I don't think Bacon is arguing about paying. Just wanted to make sure they are paying for injuries caused by the dog and not any other health issues the cat might have.