My Dog Was Killed In My Own Backyard By Two Loose Dogs. Legal Options?
Location is California...As the title says, my dog was mauled to death by two pit bulls who entered my backyard.
My father had left one of our dogs in the backyard while taking the other for walk and returned home to horrific scene...he saw the dog who had stayed back lying motionless in a pool of blood through our back gate. When he entered through the back gate, he was confronted by the pit bulls who stopped when he yelled at them, giving him enough time to retreat to safety to the garage with dog #2.
Best we can tell, the pit bulls got into the yard due to a pile of garbage and refuse that was stacked on the other side of the wall (the wall enclosing our property is 6' high made of a decorative cinder block). Our next door neighbor passed away a few years ago and his house had been taken over by homeless squatters who have caused numerous headaches. They have since been cleared out by the city.
Animal Control came and took the pit bulls. The registered owner (both dogs were microchipped) contacted Animal Control after they had reached out to her and she identified the pit bulls as hers. Per the incident report, the owner claimed that her ex-boyfriend had taken the dogs and she didn't know where they were. Once she was told that there was a strong possibility of euthanasia, she said she would contact a lawyer and hung up. Animal Control hadn't been able to contact her since and they ended up declaring the dogs abandoned and vicious and put them down.
I'm planning to sue the owner in small claims court for the value of my dog ($500) and court costs. I understand that in California, dogs are considered property, so I don't think this will result in anything more than a pricy lesson on responsible dog ownership. I've been looking through various statutes, but was wondering if anyone had a suggestion as to the statute I should base my claim on?
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