Dog attack - Ellie dislocated toe - me, broken bones UPDATE

So glad to hear that Ellie got some weight on her leg, hopefully it's the first step to a full recovery (again!)

Sending {{hugs}} your way as you get through the mountain of tasks facing you -- it always stinks to be overwhelmed and behind, but more so when you have to do it with one hand tied behind your back, so to speak

~kat

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Do NOT call her. Let the lawyer handle it. If you have verbal contact with her she can misrepresent things you have said or lie and say you said something you didn't that may hurt your case. Since you have enlisted the services of a lawyer, let him earn that contingency fee and don't give the dog owner the opportunity to weasel out of the responsibility. They will do things like cry and try to get you to say something like, "It's OK. I'll be fine," then use it against you. Let the lawyer call her.

i am sensing a complete and utter lack of faith and trust in the human race


if you are really concerned about your words being twisted, record the conversation

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I wish I lived nearby. I would love to help. I would even get some target practice in.

I offered... not sure where we are in relation to each other.

That's so nice of you.

unfortunately these folks have proven to be irresponsible and also liars (they testfied on behalf of the person flooding my property, asserting all sorts of stuff the law breakers told them to say, even though they have no firsthand knowledge of the flood conditions, having never been on my property - essentially they perjured themselves without a care) so unfortunately i do not have much faith in their character. i wish itweren't the case
jj

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You've obviously never been involved in a lawsuit! LOL! People that you think would tell the truth, lie their behinds off. They get crazy!

I agree. Do NOT speak to her again, except through your attorney. Anything you say to her can be construed as a settlement if she is recording it or has someone that claims to be a "witness" once this thing goes to court...and it will! If you have any mutual friends, don't discuss this with them. If they make an offhand comment, she can also use that against you. I'm not trying to make you paranoid, I just want you to be careful. This is serious, and I am glad you are getting the help that you need.

I'm glad Ellie is doing better. Remember to document everything. All of your medical bills and therapies, all of Ellie's vet bills. Sounds like you have a huge case against the city. I hope everything works out and they take care of their responsibilities. Listen to your attorney.

Shelly

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Well ..... yeah! The faith and trust in this person went right out the window with their original response.. (Not to mention the history of irresponsibilty) Anything said AFTER they know they are potentially in trouble is usually CYA BS ...

Best to record, report, document like you can't trust them.. You can always throw that stuff away if things work out .. you can't recreate it if things go south.

wow, after reading all of this post i am concerned that no one in NJ seems to read the laws on the books. or gets hired to do a public job without any knowledge of local laws/ordances that they are supposed to be in charge of.

in the last couple of years i have gotten to know most of our local agriculture ordances since both domestic, wildlife and farm animals seem to fall under the same section of the govt here. just have different dept heads and employees.

do you know if you local animal control officer(s) are a hired position (anyone can apply?) or do they require some law training?

many times local law enforcement will not give you the time of day unless you can quote scripture (laws/ords) to them. then they either feel dumb for not taking you seriously or will feel threatened and throw it back in your face.

regardless of if you were bit, heavily scratched or just slammed down by the dog, this is still a sign of possible rabies infection or serious agressive behavior.

rabies is transmitted through saliva and can still infect you through a small open scratch. animals lick themselves often and this is how many other animals can be infected with it. cats actually are highly suceptible to getting it and due to their cleaning habits can turn around and infect other animals quickly. (i took animal science while in high school and this was something highly stressed could happen.)

and if it was agressive behavior the dog still should be quarrantined for observance of other harmful behaviors. chasing/killing small animals is seen as agressive behavior.

i'm afraid i may have to eventually deal with the same situation sooner or later as both neighbors on the sides of me have 2 dogs each and no fence around their own yards, i'm working on putting one around mine. one has an akita husky mix that is very strong but has the drive to chase when he got loose the last time. the other side has a Manch terrier and Min Pin, the male i was told could be agressive but they weren't sure how it would be with the chickens. their female charges over to my yard when i have my corgi out but she stops just shy of attacking, she just scrapes and struts and then poops in my yard.

i found it sort of funny at first when the wife said to me 'we need to do something about this'. it seemed as if she was saying my dog was the problem when the female is never on a leash when out but the male usually is. i have not had a problem with my own dog in my own yard because i will walk him on a 20' lead to be sure he stays in my own yard (he knows his own boundaries without needing the fence there). the 2 times he's been able to escape from his collar he sits at the door to be let back in. he's a prissy dog that love humans to be with him at all times.

good luck with you and your hen's healing!

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It is sad that we live in a time when a person's word means nothing, but unforunately we do. I just wanted to point out that is is illegal to tape record a phone conversation with out the other person's knowledge and consent. And as Jody pointed out, any slip of word like, "I'm ok" oranything that can misconstued can be used against her. It really is safer for JJ to just let the lawyer deal with the mess, esspecially since the medication for pain she is on can cloud judgment (no offense).

Couple of things are fixing to happen here.

1. No matter what happens, to get their homeowners to pay for your medical and vet bills you will have to sue them. No hard feelings have to be involved, it has to happens

2. Mum's the word. I wouldn't discuss this with anyone other than your attorney at this point. The AC and PD are going to be in enough hot water over this as it is. You have witnesses to the fact that you were in fact bleeding, the police never got out of their car to talk to you, and there is no report on file.

3. If the lawyer thinks it would be ok, trying to talk to the police officer who came out but never got out of his car. I would ask him to prepare a sworn statement about what he saw (or little) what was said in his presence etc. The fact that you were injured and are now suing the other party should have him cooperate, otherwise you're attorney will subpoena him and he'll have to cooperate unwillingly.

4. Date and times...... I'm sure you are doing this, but record everything. Also, your answering machine of the neighbor calling... that isn't the same as a hidden recording device. Anything she leaves on the machine is admissible in court and can be used.

Keep us informed