Legal Question in Personal Injury in Texas

I was asked to watch my neighbors dog for one night. I took him out in the evening and placed food in his crate (which they had not). The next morning I took him out before heading to work. While at work I received another text message that said she would not be home til later if I could take him out and feed him. When I went into the house at 3 the dog had not eaten at all. I left him out of his crate from 3-5 to see if he would eat (and texted the owner to let her know) At no time did she say that he should not be left out of the crate. The dog then stayed with me in my house until almost 9pm. He acted and responded like normal. When i returned him to his crate the owner was to return home around 10. Some time between 3-5 the dog got into iron pills, and when the owner got home after midnight the dog was sick and she had to take him to the hospital to have his stomached pumped. (between 5-9 the dog went to the bathroom and drank water). I received a text at 1230am explaining the situation, and another text at 9:48am. (which i did not receive until 10 am) At no time during the emergency did either owner attempt to contact me by knocking on my door or calling me. I attempted that evening to speak to her in person with no response. The next evening I finally contacted her in person and she said that he almost died however the dog was acting normal. We talked about what happened, she explained that the pills were left hanging on the bedroom door in a bag. ( I apologized and she mentioned how much the bill was and I again apologized and we ended the conversation). Today I received a text with the vet bill amount. I have yet to see the actual bill, nor has she approached me in person. I do not feel responsible for this, since there were no instruction to not leave the dog alone in the apartment, and I only left him out to see if he would eat, which he finally did.

In conclusion I was asked to take the dog out and feed him for one night, which turned into two. He didn't eat the first day so I did what I could to get him to eat. The dog got into pills in their house, which were left hanging from a bedroom door, and they are trying to hold me financially responsible, is their any legal basis for this?


Asked on 7/19/10, 5:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Roger Merrill Merrill & Associates

I think it's reasonable to assume that the dog was to be left in the crate to prevent it from soiling rugs/carpets/floors. So, I don't think it was irresponsible of you to let it out of the crate for a few hours; especially since there had been no prohibitions communicated against doing it. Nonetheless, if it had soiled a rug; then the owner's would have had cause to complain. If the owners didn't want the dog running loose at all, then they should have given you instructions regarding keeping the dog contained at all times. They didn't. The owners left the pills in an accessible place. If they normally let the dog run free in the house, then they should have forseen that the dog might get into the pills. You, on the other hand, did not know about the pills.

The owners will likely have a hard time proving that you were negligent or that their own negligence was not greater than yours. This incident could have prevented if the owners had put the pill bag in a secure place or simply said, "Keep the dog in the crate except when you let it outside" or "Don't let the dog run loose inside."

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Answered on 7/21/10, 7:06 am


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