My sister got bit by a dog :(

chickadeedeedee

I just got off the phone with my dad, and my 15 year old sister just got back from a friend's house with a giant gash running up the side of her face and two big scuff marks on the bottom of her jaw and behind her ear. She first told Dad that she fell on a rock, but later on she ended up telling him that her friend's St. Bernard jumped at her and wrapped his mouth around the side of her head and bit her. She begged my dad not to press charges against her friend's family, but holy crap, people. A St. Bernard is one of the biggest dogs there are, and my sister is a five foot, 90 pound little girl who now has a six inch gash up her face.

People who can't control their dogs already drive me nuts, and now, I have an even bigger reason to dislike them.

sapphirebaby926

ZOMG!

I'm so sorry to hear that about your sister - and yes your dad should press charges IMO. She's very lucky that she wasn't hurt any worse than she was - my dog is a german shepherd/st. bernard mix and knowing how she stacks up on me I can guess at what that dog was on her - your sister is a little smaller than me but not by much.

*hugs* I hope your sister is ok!

PaigeMcC

Oh my lord! I hope your sister is okay.  That's a very dangerous situation - if you can't control your pet you shouldn't have one.  

genj15

OMG!  Hope your sister is ok!  What a horrible situation. 

oceana919

Your dad absolutely needs to press charges. Negligence of maintaining an animal not only hurts the people involved, but it hurts the animal as well. Besides, if the animal attacks someone else and your family failed to take action...that would just be bad.

I can somewhat relate. When I was 14, I went over to a neighbor's house to visit my friend. They had a HUGE Great Dane. When I came in the house, I made a point to turn on the light and show him it was me so he wouldn't wig out (he knew me pretty well). Thirty seconds later, he busted through the baby gate they had up to keep him in the kitchen and he attacks. Thankfully, I put my arm up or he would have gotten my face. I had a huge bruise over the entire underside of one arm and had teeth marks on the top and bottom where he had bit in. I had to have shots and stitches. We ended up going through their home owner's insurance to cover the medical bills, and the home owner's insurance forced them to put the dog down (they wouldn't cover them anymore if they kept the dog). While I felt horrible that the dog had to be put down, I was thankful that no other neighborhood kid would be put in that position. If that dog had gone after someone younger or smaller than me, it could have killed someone.

chickadeedeedee

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_sister-got-bit-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:32e13354-af4f-43d5-a158-8fb2e9ec292cPost:c29aa975-25be-4bde-9b2a-e801786fb926">Re: My sister got bit by a dog :(</a>:
[QUOTE]ZOMG! I'm so sorry to hear that about your sister - and yes your dad should press charges IMO. She's very lucky that she wasn't hurt any worse than she was - my dog is a german shepherd/st. bernard mix and knowing how she stacks up on me I can guess at what that dog was on her - your sister is a little smaller than me but not by much. *hugs* I hope your sister is ok!
Posted by sapphirebaby926[/QUOTE]

I won't be surprised if my dad does end up pressing charges. Olivia's biggest concern is that this friend of hers won't like her anymore, but hey, she's a freshman in high school. When I got a bad perm as a freshman in high school, I had that exact same concern about my friends. Dad once threatened to press charges against my sophomore English teacher because she gave me a zero on a paper she was convinced I plagiarized, and then was just satisfied with her being fired from the school district. If Olivia's face doesn't heal up properly or if she and this friend start fighting about the event, I'm sure he'll do something. I won't be surprised if he at least gives this friend's parents a nasty telephone call. He has always been very concerned about taking our opinions into consideration before making a decision, so he's probably just trying to treat Olivia with the respect she wants from him.

If I were in charge, though, that dog's sunnofa-b-word owner would be in court tomorrow.

chickadeedeedee

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_sister-got-bit-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:32e13354-af4f-43d5-a158-8fb2e9ec292cPost:9aff16cc-6d62-4a89-b8f9-8ecdbe0957bc">Re: My sister got bit by a dog :(</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh my lord! I hope your sister is okay.  That's a very dangerous situation - if you can't control your pet you shouldn't have one.  
Posted by PaigeMcC[/QUOTE]
She's fine, from what I hear. Aside from a gashed face, she's just a little shook up.

oceana919

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_sister-got-bit-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:32e13354-af4f-43d5-a158-8fb2e9ec292cPost:750dd7a1-edf8-4d47-9f00-820d9a915acb">Re: My sister got bit by a dog :(</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: My sister got bit by a dog :( : I won't be surprised if my dad does end up pressing charges. Olivia's biggest concern is that this friend of hers won't like her anymore, but hey, she's a freshman in high school. When I got a bad perm as a freshman in high school, I had that exact same concern about my friends. Dad once threatened to press charges against my sophomore English teacher because she gave me a zero on a paper she was convinced I plagiarized, and then was just satisfied with her being fired from the school district. If Olivia's face doesn't heal up properly or if she and this friend start fighting about the event, I'm sure he'll do something. I won't be surprised if he at least gives this friend's parents a nasty telephone call. He has always been very concerned about taking our opinions into consideration before making a decision, so he's probably just trying to treat Olivia with the respect she wants from him. If I were in charge, though, that dog's sunnofa-b-word owner would be in court tomorrow.
Posted by chickadeedeedee[/QUOTE]

I understand what your dad is trying to do in relation to your sister, and to some degree, even respect it. But think about what happens if this happens to someone else and they're injured or - god forbid - killed, and you didn't say anything.

aperitisa

Yikes!  That is scary!  I hope shes ok.

sapphirebaby926

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_sister-got-bit-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:32e13354-af4f-43d5-a158-8fb2e9ec292cPost:c82419ca-c897-4880-b4bd-ae358785a5f2">Re: My sister got bit by a dog :(</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: My sister got bit by a dog :( : I understand what your dad is trying to do in relation to your sister, and to some degree, even respect it. But think about what happens if this happens to someone else and they're injured or - god forbid - killed, and you didn't say anything.
Posted by oceana919[/QUOTE]

I 100% agree with this - I can respect what your dad is trying to do but this is a situation where charges *need* to be pressed. They have an aggresive dog that has attacked someone - if he does nothing there's a high chance that it will attack again and possibly kill someone.

dwest2201

Oh my goodness, I hope that your sister is okay. 

I think that charges should be pressed, period.  I understand your sisters concerns about upsetting/losing a friend... but honestly if this girl is her real friend then she should understand evne though losing a pet is very difficult. 

oceana919

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_sister-got-bit-dog?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:32e13354-af4f-43d5-a158-8fb2e9ec292cPost:4671bec0-4ee5-47d0-b774-5f2a0bd6476b">Re: My sister got bit by a dog :(</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh my goodness, I hope that your sister is okay.  I think that charges should be pressed, period.  I understand your sisters concerns about upsetting/losing a friend... but honestly if this girl is her real friend then she should understand evne though losing a pet is very difficult. 
Posted by dwest2201[/QUOTE]

In addition, any medical bills that are incurred from this whole situation, most insurance companies will not cover as they consider it the home/pet owner's responsibility. You need to show precedent right away, or their home owner's insurance might fight you tooth and nail to pay for anything.

desertsun

Ditto Oceana. Listen to her, for she is wise.

Sorry about your sis! Really hope she recovers okay.