When Best Friend Bites
By Mara R. Spence
BY MARA RAVEN SPENCE
     A sportsman's dog is not only an important family member, but also a valued hunting buddy. However, this special relationship can bring liability it the dog bites someone. When a dog bites, under common law and statutory law. the injured person may sue you for his or her
injuries. Under common law, in order for the victim to win, he or she must prove the dog was dangerous and that the owner knew the dog was dangerous. If the victim cannot prove this, he can pursue a lawsuit under Michigan statutory law.
     Michigan has a specific dog-bite law which provides "if a dog bites a person, without provocation while the person is on public property, or lawfully on private property, including the property of the owner of the dog. the owner of the dog shall be liable for any damages suffered by the person bitten." Unlike the common law, under this law it does not matter if the dog tends to be vicious or if the owner knows that.
     Many people think if the dog bite occurs on the owner's private property, the owner is not liable for any injuries caused by the clog. That is not necessarily true. If someone is on your property, you may still be liable for the dog's actions. The main exceptions are if the person is trespassing or on your property for purposes of committing a criminal act.
So, if someone is on your property legally, what defense do you have when the victim sues you for his injuries? Provocation. If someone is provoking your dog (teasing or antagonizing it), you may have a defense under common law. A dog bite victim might not be compensated if he or she was grossly negligent in going near the dog with knowledge of the dog's vicious habits. This has made the "Beware of Dog" sign very popular. However, the victim's contributory negligence (careless actions) cannot be used by the owner as a defense
under statutory law. If the victim was not trespassing and did not provoke the dog, then the owner is almost always liable. The owner or his insurance company would likely have to pay for damages, such as the victim's medical bills.
You also should be aware that if your dog bites someone, the dog may be destroyed. A vic tim might submit a document to a court claiming your animal is dangerous and that it has caused serious injury or death to a person or another animal. Then, you would be ordered to appear in court. You would have to explain to the judge why the animal should not be destroyed.
    Before this hearing takes place, the animal control authorities would kennel the dog at your expense. After the hearing, if the judge finds your animal is dangerous and guilty of causing serious injury or death, he or she would order the destruction of your animal, at your expense.The judge may also order the destruction of your pet even though the animal did not cause serious injury or death. This would occur if the judge rules that the animal is dangerous and is likely to cause serious injury in the future or if the dog was previously found to be a dangerous animal. If the judge does not require a dangerous animal to be destroyed, an owner must take several precautions in order to keep it. These include placing the animal in an escape-proof enclosure, sterilizing the animal, and having ample liability insurance.
Dog ownership requires a lot of responsibility. Owners must take precautions with respect to dog bites, just as they feed, exercise, and groom their dogs. Man's Best Friend deserves no less.
• Mara Karen Spence is a lawyer with the Okemos law firm of Foster Zach & Lowe. PC. for more information on this subject she can be reached at 517/706-5806 or at mara.spence&fosterzacklowe.com.
J.Kevin Winters. MUCC’s Corporate Counsel, also is a lawyer with that firm and can he reached at 517/706-5772 or at kevin.winters@fosterzacjlowe.com.
Submitted by Judy Matice
permission granted by Mara Spence for use to The United Retriever Club

Meet Barb Christman

I've had labs since 1978, but slowly got into the show aspect in the late 80's. By the mid-90's, when I was seriously getting into breeding, a friend informed me that the UKC (which I had no knowledge of prior to that time!) was now including Labrador Retrievers in conformation. My friend, in fact, had one of the first few CH labs.
In 1997, I attended my first UKC event...it was the Centennial Premier in Kalamazoo. Labradors had been "on the conformation books" for only a couple of years, but we had 5 or 6 showing (I don't remember exactly). To keep it short, my girl, Heidi (Can Ch, UKC-CH Red Birch's Alpine Lace WC) proceeded to go BOB all four days! What a positive introduction to UKC conformation!!!!! There was no Top Ten at that time, so since she "finished" in those 4 shows, I really didn't do much with her after that. However, the next year, she became the FIRST Labrador to win a BIMBS at a show in Wisconsin. Due to the difficulty in getting 3 champions in the ring at the same time (there were only 7 other CH labs in the country when she finished and they were spread from Michigan to California), she never was able to pursue a GRCH title. A few years later, a Heidi son, GRCH Red Birch's My Father's Eyes WC, became only the second Labrador to achieve the GRCH title. When Top Ten began for labs, Conner (as he was known) placed in the Top Ten for two years). We've been busy with UKC/AKC/ CKC activities ever since and have had at least one Red Birch dog in the Top Ten every year!