Would you demand half the bill?

Question

6 weeks ago, my friends 10 month old pure bred staffie came on heat. Despite my repeatedly telling her she should get the dog desexed, she refused.

Her neighbours male staffie jumped the fence and what do u know, the little female got pregnant.

So thismorning at 9am, she calls to tell me the dog has gone into labour. 9 hours later, she finally takes my advice and gets the poor thing to a vet for an emergency C Section. 6 live puppies, and one dead one stuck in the birth canal.

Last week the owner of the male made fun of my friend for having a pregnant dog, and she told him it was his dog's fault and he said 'well I'll be taking a pup for a service fee'. Not knowing any better, she laughed it off.

I have just told her she needs to be asking him for half the vet bill (at least) and he has absolutely NO claims on a puppy. I dont see this as being any different to if the male dog jumped the fence and bit the female. I'd be asking for the whole bill to be paid by him in that case.

So what do you all think?

Answer 1

I hate hearing stories like this.

Her b*tch, her responsibility.

Who would leave a staffy on heat alone in the backyard? Im surprised only one dog got in!

Plenty of staffies have C-sections, a responsible breeder is aware of this before they let a mating take place.

And 10 months old is way to young for her to be having puppies. 2 years old is the ideal age for this breed.

I would, however, tell her to reconsider paying for an unplanned stud fee.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

She knew her dog needed to be de-sexed and had to have known that there was a male next door, which should have prompted her to spay her. I think your friend could ask for half the bill, but she is also at fault and doesn't really have a case. She left a ***** in heat unattended in the backyard, and a puppy at that! She was negligent in not getting her dog spayed. As far as the other guy getting a puppy, he can go s***w himself!

Answer 3

IF she filed a police report on the original trespass she may be able to go to small claims court to try to recoup the money for the C-section.   If she did not - then it gets to be more of he said she said and will be harder to prove it was his dog.

If the animal was in the yard unattended - there is no guarantee it was only this male.  Even behind a fence - you should NEVER NEVER have an unspayed female in heat outside unless you are right there or she is on a leash and in direct control.

Answer 4

The friend should have had her dog spayed before she was old enough to have a heat cycle. Ultimately her dog is her responsibility. However,the neighbor should have had his dog neutered and should not have let it roam unattended. So even though he may not technically be responsible for the vet bill, if he were a gentlemen he would offer to pay a portion of it. He sounds like a real jerk so I'm not really seeing this happen though. It looks like your friend is just going to have to chalk this up to a lesson learned the hard way. Oh,and no puppy for him.

Answer 5

Well I agree and disagree. She needs her dog spayed, but since the male was on their property...hmm. I'm sure you could demand some money, and h**l no he shouldn't get a puppy for that unless he pays half the bill.  

Answer 6

Her *****. Her responsibility.

Certainly not the dog's fault, she has found out the expensive way that keeping an unspayed ***** without taking the necessary precautions is not a good idea.

Answer 7

i would ripped that dog balls out

Answer 8

It was your friends responsibility to keep her ***** away from any male dogs, she should have been with her at all times and not hope that a dog would not get to her, she doesn't have to give a puppy away to anyone she chooses not to, if the dog got over the fence and bit her dog then that is an entirely different thing altogether, a male dog is acting on instinct and not aggression when jumping into a garden with an in season ***** in it.

Answer 9

I agree completely. If his dog had broke into your friends yard and distroyed everything then her neighbour would certainly be liable to pay for the damage. It is up to him to keep his dog under control.

Answer 10

This case is a bit different than a "dog bite" case....if your friend had spayed her female in the first place, the male would have never jumped the fence.  

Breeders of show dogs sometimes have to pay for C-sections too, and the stud dog owners don't split the bill with them.  It's a risk the female dog owner takes when he/she chooses to keep and/or breed an intact female.  

Rayven is right....the neighbor has no right to claim a puppy, and your friend has no right to demand half the vet bill.....BOTH of them were equally irresponsible.  Maybe she will learn her lesson and spay her dog once she heals from the birth.  

Answer 11

10 months old and had a litter? thats sad, and very irresponsible of your friend, she doesnt deserve the dog period... if you choose to keep a intact female then its your responsibility to make sure she does not get pregnant... the dog could have died because of her and a puppy lost its life thanks to your friend... no she can not demand help with the vet bill, it is her dog that she let stay outside in heat knowing there was a male dog right next door. and he can not have a pup. there was no "stud" fee agreement.

tell your friend to get her dog spayed or find it a new home.

ADD: i just realized that you said her heat came on 6 weeks ago??? how did the dog already go into labor? i find this very hard to believe

Answer 12

Legally, he doesn't have rights to a puppy.  He may be legally responsible for half the vet bill since his dog did jump the fence.  She'd have to take him to small claim's court and it may be tricky proving that it was his dog.  He'll just deny that it was his.  If you can get a picture of his dog in your yard or have the police come and make a report that it was then that'd probably be the proof there.  The only other thing is DNA testing of his dog and your pups which is probably too costly and who'd pay for it?  Personally, I think your friend should just call this a lesson learned.  She should've had it fixed like you said but he also should have his dog fixed!  If your neighbor's dog can jump its fence, that's dangerous!  Next time it does this, anonomously report it.  Staffies are just way too territorial and protective and it could end up hurting someone especially a neighborhood child.  

Answer 13

Your not going to like this...

It's your friends fault for leaving her in-tact, in-heat female alone for even one second.

Sorry, but a male dog is just a male afterall...His instincts took over as he saw a chance to get some...

Your friends dog needs spayed, his needs neutered. period.

Answer 14

it is a good idea,

its fair inuf to make him pay 50%  

Answer 15

i think he should pay half of the vet bill, since his dog jumped over the fence and got her pregnant.

Answer 16

I have two opinions here..

Firstly when the neighbour first made claims to a pup, I would have immediately said you can jam that one where it fits.  There was no stud invited into the situation it was a donation from the your stray dog.

Second opinion is your friend has no right to claim for half of the vet bill, as far as I am concerned if you have an unspayed female and you risk the chance of pregnancy from a stray dog it is your problem.

Two people are at fault here and they are the irresponsible owners of intact dogs so they both have no right to expect anything from each other.

Just my opinion :)

Answer 17

I think she needs to have the female spayed if it wasn't done during the c-section and then pay the bill herself. It was HER fault the dog was pregnant in the first place, by leaving her unattended outside while in heat.

Secondly she let a dog who was still a puppy go through the pregnancy. This all could have been prevented by spaying her before her first heat or after she was seen mating with the dog next door.

No the responsibility for the bill lies with her and no one else.

ADD: just like he's not entitled to a pup she not entitled to ask him for half of the bill.

ADD2: Sarah more than likely the ***** went into premature labor because of her age. So again this whole mess is the friend's fault. 7 pups in an immature ***** if she wasn't getting the proper prenatal care could have led to early labor. h**l if the others survive i will be surprised.