How Should A Dog Owner Know That Their Dog Is Dangerous If It Has Never Attacked A Person?

Hello, my name is Priscilla Patton and if you're interested in learning about living trusts you can find many articles of interest in this blog. When my parents told me they were going to speak to an attorney about a living trust, I didn't know exactly what they were talking about. I decided to do some research to find out about living trusts and why they're beneficial. After doing thorough research, I knew all about living trusts and I was glad that my parents had decided to speak to an attorney about this important legal document. If you need to learn more information about living trusts, please read my blog.

How Should A Dog Owner Know That Their Dog Is Dangerous If It Has Never Attacked A Person?

How Should A Dog Owner Know That Their Dog Is Dangerous If It Has Never Attacked A Person?

23 January 2018
 Categories:
Law, Blog


If you are pursuing a dog bite claim, one of the things you may have to prove is that the owner of the dog knew or should have known their dog was dangerous. This is usually easy if the dog has a history of attacks on other people. However, you can still prove it even if the dog has never attacked another person; here are some of the things you can use for the proof in such a case:

The Owner Had Put Up a Warning Sign

When a dog owner puts up a sign warning others about the animal, then it is a sign that they know the animal can attack people. This is the case even though others put up such signs to keep out trespassers who would otherwise get onto their properties without fear. However, you can still use a "Be Aware of Dog" sign to convince the judge or jury that the dog owner knew their animal was dangerous even if the animal had never actually attacked a person.

Therefore, if you are injured on a property with such a sign, take pictures of the property and make sure the sign is visible. That way you have your evidence even if the owner of the property tries to be clever by removing the sign after your attack.

The Dog is a Dangerous Breed

There are dog breeds with such compelling histories of violence that their owners know or should know that they are dangerous. In fact, there are states that have classified some dog breeds as inherently dangerous. Even without such specific laws, you can still point to the breed's history of violence; credible statistics will help you a lot here. 

The Dog Has Attacked Other Dogs

Dangerous dogs don't just attack people; they also attack other animals, such as other dogs. Therefore, if the animal in question has been known to attack other dogs, then it's probably an indication that it can attack people too. However, this is not a definitive proof because some dogs are only aggressive with other animals but not with people.

This means the owner can defend themselves by proving how the animal has been gentle around human beings, and it has only been aggressive with other dogs. However, the odds may be in your favor if you can show that the animal has been aggressive with other dogs, but it hasn't hadn't had adequate contact with other people to prove whether it was aggressive with human beings too.

Others Have Warned the Owner about the Dog

Lastly, you can also use reports of near misses to prove your claim. This may be the case, for example, if the dog nearly bit some people or has been behaving aggressively towards the neighbors. In this case, you can argue that the dog is definitely dangerous, and its would-be victims in the past had been merely lucky.

These tips, along with the advice of personal injury attorney services, can help you to hopefully win your dog bit claim in court.

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The Benefits Of A Living Trust

Hello, my name is Priscilla Patton and if you're interested in learning about living trusts you can find many articles of interest in this blog. When my parents told me they were going to speak to an attorney about a living trust, I didn't know exactly what they were talking about. I decided to do some research to find out about living trusts and why they're beneficial. After doing thorough research, I knew all about living trusts and I was glad that my parents had decided to speak to an attorney about this important legal document. If you need to learn more information about living trusts, please read my blog.

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