Sisters In Law: Legal advice on who pays vet bill if dog is hurt at doggy daycare

Welcome to Sisters In Law, news.com.au’s weekly column solving all of your legal problems. This week, our resident lawyers and real-life sisters Alison and Jillian Barrett from Maurice Blackburn advise about your rights when it comes to a vet bill resulting from doggy daycare.

Question:

I send my little cavoodle to doggy daycare twice a week and he loves it! At $80 a day it’s not cheap but I like to know he’s not home alone and it’s also good for him to socialise with other dogs.

Last week, he came home from daycare with a deep wound on his leg that the staff didn’t mention until I asked about it. They dismissed it, saying there had been a small incident during a playfight with another pup.

But over the next few days, my dog became lethargic and stopped eating. I took him to the vet and the wound was infected – they said it was so deep it needed stitches.

My dog had to stay overnight and the entire debacle cost me $800. I asked his doggy daycare to pass on the bill to the other dog’s family but they refused. I’m outraged that no one is taking responsibility. What can I do? – Anna, Queensland

Answer:

We’re sorry to hear that your pet has been hurt, Anna. Some pet-sitting operators require owners to sign a waiver saying they won’t be held responsible if the animal is injured in their care.

You haven’t mentioned whether you signed a waiver, but these aren’t always enforceable anyway so we’ll work on the basis you didn’t sign one.

You’ve mentioned you want the owner of the other dog to reimburse your expenses.

This will likely be challenging as you don’t know who they are and, even if you did, they were not supervising their dog so are unlikely to be responsible. This means you will have to claim against the pet-sitting operator (the doggy daycare).

If you have pet insurance then you should contact them to make a claim on your policy and they may try to get this money back from the doggy daycare.

If they reject your claim, you can proceed through their internal dispute resolution process before making a complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

If you do not have your own pet insurance, the doggy daycare likely has insurance to cover these situations, so you can ask who their insurer is. If they don’t have an insurer, or refuse to provide you with their details, then you can prepare a letter of demand and give that to the daycare.

The letter of demand should set out that your dog was injured in their care, that the vet bills amounted to $800 and ask that it be paid within a certain time frame, otherwise legal action will be taken.

You should collate all of the evidence, including any correspondence you had with the daycare where they admitted there was an incident with another dog, as well as any photographs and receipts for the vet treatment.

If there is no response to your letter of demand, you can lodge a claim in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (‘QCAT’) to recover the money owed to you. This is called a “minor debt claim”.

To lodge a claim in QCAT, you must prepare a claim document which has:

• the full name and address of the doggy daycare

• details of the debt, including what happened and when and where, and the amount you’re claiming

• any supporting documents and evidence

• details of the amount you are trying to recover, plus any additional costs or interest

You must then serve the claim on the doggy daycare.

You may be required to prove to QCAT that you provided them with the documents (for example by sending via registered post).

The doggy daycare is required to respond in “defence” of the claim. If they don’t respond, you can ask QCAT to decide in your favour.

If they do defend the claim, you will be required to attend QCAT and argue why you should be paid. You don’t need a solicitor to do this.

If, ultimately, the debt is ordered to be repaid then the doggy daycare may agree to repay the debt in instalments.

If the debt is not repaid, then you may make a further application to a court to:

• seize and sell the doggy daycare’s property

• redirect debts – if the doggy daycare is owed money by someone else, this can instead be ordered to be given to you instead

• redirect money – if the doggy daycare has money in a bank account, or is due to receive money for daycare of other dogs, then this can be paid to you

If some of the debt is paid, you should always keep a record and provide a receipt.

There are strict time limits for recovering a debt, so you should not delay in taking action.

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This legal information is general in nature and should not be regarded as specific legal advice or relied upon. Persons requiring particular legal advice should consult a solicitor.

If you have a legal question you would like Alison and Jillian to answer, please email stories@news.com.au

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