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
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.