The law on strict dog owner liability, or: how no one actually takes responsibility

A lot of recent events have made me again very angry about a situation that occurred early last year, when an American bully dog ​​escaped from its owners and bit my (linked) 10-year-old German Shepherd very badly. If the bully hadn’t been less than half the height of my dog, he might not have lived. The owner has received absolutely zero consequences, and has not even paid the veterinary costs, despite the fact that it is stated in the law on supervision of dogs and cats (https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/lag-20071150-om-tillsyn-over-hundar-och-katter_sfs-2007-1150/) that “Section 19 An injury caused by a dog must be compensated by its owner or keeper, even if he or she did not cause the injury.”

We were out walking between the neighboring houses because someone had set off rockets one evening in February, and my dog ​​is scared and didn’t want to go far from home. Out of nowhere I heard a noise like a chainsaw and I really didn’t realize it was a dog until he attacked. My dogs did nothing and hadn’t even looked askance at the dog that came, so totally unprovoked. I kicked the dog (was taught not to do this in retrospect, made no difference) and tried to get away, while protecting my large dog who was being attacked and my half-sized dog who I was terrified would be bitten. The owner’s wife came and caught the dog after a few unsuccessful attempts. My dog ​​was screaming and bleeding profusely. The owner came out and said “that’s no danger, you can’t control dogs, they do that”. Then he went back in. The wife gave me paper because she thought I was bleeding too because I was bloody from my dog. Did not receive contact information. Took us to the vet quickly (had to carry the dog that couldn’t walk) and he was stitched up and glued together. He had at least 10 gashes on his chest, one on his chin and a very deep one on his leg as well as large bruises.

Since I have sickness benefits and only work very little, this was a very large expense for me. My dog ​​is also older, and the insurance gets progressively worse over the years, so he didn’t have very good coverage anymore.

A woman in the vet’s waiting room was some kind of Facebook expert and managed to find the dog’s owner, who has a very special name and appearance. Unfortunately he doesn’t have a phone number but I found his daughter and got in touch with him that way. Called the police and the report was dropped immediately, of course, because no one was hurt, only “property”. Contacted the County Administrative Board, informed that he and his family have very poor control of their dog when you meet them outside, that he is aggressive and extremely strong and that they can barely hold him, as well as what happened. After a few months the county board decided that the penalty would be 1) he had to register his dog which was imported from Poland and 2) he had to fix his fence.

The dog owner notified the county administration that he fixed the fence and registered the dog and they closed the case. However, he did not put up any gate, so the garden was open to the outside. My neighbor called them and informed them about this but they said they could not demand anything more from him until something new happened as the case was closed. LS also wrote that the dog owner is liable for payment. Conclusion: he needed to register his dog and mend parts of his fence.

I contacted my insurance company and attached LS’s statement. They sent a demand letter to the dog owner and also wrote that he was obliged to pay my expenses. He told them he would pay but did not do so within the specified time. The insurance company informed me that it was “voluntary” for him and that there was nothing they could do. Conclusion: he didn’t have to pay anything.

Contacted the Kronofogden and made a report after I repeatedly communicated with the dog owner via phone and email and he showed up at my house to yell at me about how stupid I am to involve other authorities but that he would pay for the veterinary care. (I am a rather short and pretty woman, felt unpleasant). The Bailiff accepted my case, tried to reach him for 6 months and then started searching for him personally. They went to his home three times at 12 noon on weekdays. They couldn’t find his employer even though he claims he has a job. He did not answer the phone, mail or letter. No one can certify that he lives where he lives, even though there are usually people at home there in the evenings. Now they drop the demand because it is deemed impossible to get hold of him. I can serve him myself before 1/16 but I won’t be able to do that because he has been behaving so threateningly. Conclusion: he didn’t have to pay.

So no one is making sure that someone actually needs to live up to the law. The least you could demand from the county administration is that they should attend a course or that the dog should be leashed or muzzled. No one seems to be able to take responsibility for collecting money for the veterinary costs. Ideally, he would have notified his home insurance and that would have solved everything, but then of course he would have had to take responsibility and be helpful, and that is a lot to ask. I’m standing here with a dog who doesn’t dare go past that house, who gets scared when we see the dog in question outside (thankfully they turn and go the other way when they see us) and still have money left for the vet. Atmosphere will be the next thing but I can’t stand this!

TLDR, no one is responsible for enforcing the strict dog owner responsibility law.