Renny vs. Jenny: B.C. woman takes friend to court for $100K over dog bite
"This is a difficult case of a friendship divided," a British Columbia judge wrote of a lawsuit between owners of dogs with rhyming names.
Justice Francesca Marzari was asked to weigh both sides of a case that pitted two former friends against each other, with one trying to get nearly $100,000 out of the other.
According to Marzari's decision, which was posted online earlier this week, the women who used to work together at a B.C. care home agreed on some things.
The incident happened in February 2018. The defendant's dog, Renny, bit the plaintiff's dog, Jenny.
The plaintiff tried to intervene, and Renny bit her hand.
No one disputes that the plaintiff's right hand was injured enough that she needed a surgery, and had a pin put in her hand to straighten a broken bone.
Jenny's owner also needed stitches and antibiotics, and was unable to work for months as her injuries healed.
In the years since, Jenny's owner has mostly recovered, but her hand still cramps or feels sore at times, and according to the judgement, she's more likely to develop arthritis in her hand because of the injury caused by Renny's teeth.
The plaintiff took Renny's owner to court over the injury, claiming tens of thousands of dollars for general damages, special damages and past wage loss.
How she arrived at an amount of about $100,000 is unclear from the judgment. The judge said by her count, at most the plaintiff would be entitled to about $26,460 – and even then, she'd have likely cut that in half.
But first Marzari had to figure out if the woman was actually entitled to anything.
The justice looked at factors including Renny's history.
Renny had attacked a small dog at a campground once, when she broke loose from her leash, and in another incident, she attacked and killed a parakeet after knocking it out of its cage. Renny's owner knew that the dog could be reactive with other dogs at times, so she kept Renny on a leash and put a muzzle on her in some situations.
But, according to the judge, there was no evidence Renny had a propensity to injure humans, "and, in fact, reacts with joy and positivity.” Even the plaintiff didn't suggest Renny had been aggressive to people.
Since the bite, Renny hasn't had any incidents of aggression to humans or animals, which the judge attributed to her owner's work to keep her muzzled and leashed in situations with new or strange dogs.
The defendant, for her part, argued that if she's liable, the plaintiff is partly to blame for letting Jenny out of the house without warning the other owner, and for putting her hands between the fighting dogs.
Text messages back up the first part of the argument – Jenny's owner said she would keep the dog inside. That's why Renny wasn't wearing her muzzle when she was let out to play.
But then Jenny's owner opened the door, with Jenny standing in the doorway, and Renny ran towards the dog and bit her ear.
When Jenny's owner bent down to get Renny's mouth off the dog's ear, it was then that Renny latched on to the plaintiff's hand, both parties say.
The defendant drove the plaintiff to a local clinic for help, and so the treatment began.
The judge outlined the crumbling of the women's friendship, saying it wasn't immediate. Both were sympathetic to each other, but things appear to have deteriorated when the plaintiff spoke to animal control.
The defendant said she felt betrayed by her friend "who was like a sister to her," even though the animal control officer didn't designate Renny as dangerous, because the bite happened when the plaintiff tried to separate the dogs.
Renny may have been considered dangerous if, for example, she'd randomly bitten the plaintiff without warning, but the officer told the court that this case didn't suggest any unprovoked aggression. The plaintiff pointed out that the officer didn't know Renny's history.
Ultimately, the case that destroyed a years-long friendship was dismissed, with Marzari deciding Renny's owner took reasonable care to prevent such incidents.
The justice said evidence in the case wasn't enough to establish scienter, a legal term meaning intent or knowledge of wrongdoing prior to an act – in this case knowledge that the dog could be dangerous to humans, not just animals and birds.
She also sided with the defendant on the allegation of negligence, and the case was dismissed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.