My irresistibly-cute little Shi* zhu (shitzhu, shitzu, various other spellings) dog bit the hand of somebody who reached down to pet her. This occurred when she was on a leash, being walked in the neighborhood. And, actually, it happened on two separate occasions, to two separate persons. Neither one of these adult neighbors required medical treatment beyond hydrogen peroxide and a band-aid.
One day I was talking to my insurance company about an unrelated matter, and (out of the blue) the rep asked, "Do you have a dog?" Yes, I answered. "Has it ever bitten anyone?"
As soon as I answered (truthfully) that she had, I knew that bad things were going to happen.
Sure enough, a few days ago I received a notice in the mail stating that my umbrella policy was being cancelled. Except for hail damage to a roof, I have never made a claim on the policy in the couple of decades that I've had it.
Has this happened to others here, and any suggestions? Is it difficult to get a new policy if your old one has been cancelled?
Note: We now firmly warn people not to pet the dog.
To enter a coupon code in your post please enter the following info:
Coupon Code:
Merchant:
Url (optional):
saving...
Summary: OP's dog bit someone twice. Instead of putting the cur down, he's puzzled that his umbrella policy should be cancelled.
Personal note: little dustmop of a dog bites me and I drop kick it into the next county.
Message edited by: marketingmike on 2010-03-23 20:36:46 CDT
BEEFjerKAY
Pics?
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 3:59p
austex said:Is it difficult to get a new policy if your old one has been cancelled?
Probably best to start practicing the following words: "We used to have an irresistibly-cute little dog ..."
patch96
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 4:07p
Once a dog bites someone , you should get rid of it unless you are positive it will NEVER do it again.
Here is a quick tip.
Don't feed the dog for one day. Water, but no food.
After that, every day/every meal let the dog eat food from your hand.
The only time the dog gets food is when it is calm and the only way the dog gets food is from gently eating from your hand.
If the dog does not cooperate - no food.
The dog will cooperate.
Then let others feed the dog this way. The first time they may want to be wearing a protecive glove of some kind.
Again, no cooperation - attitude - NO FOOD.
The dog will cooperate.
The dog will never bite a human again.
ifyouhavetoask
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 4:10p
Your first mistake was being honest with your insurance agent.
pattyb53
Senior Member
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 4:11p
I had a similar situation occur. It had to do with obtaining a Homeowners Insurance Policy. The question, do you have a dog? Response, yes. (thinking that a dog would help as far as protection for my house). Next question, what kind of dog? Response, Rottweiler. The next thing I knew, I was denied insurance from that particular company! After that experience, I never volunteer any information and hope that I'm not asked about my dogs.
BEEFjerKAY
Pics?
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 4:14p
ifyouhavetoask said:Your first mistake was being honest with your insurance agent.
Nah. I'm guessing there's more to this story.
austex
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 4:25p
BEEFjerKAY said:ifyouhavetoask said:Your first mistake was being honest with your insurance agent. Nah. I'm guessing there's more to this story.
Actually, that is the entire story. It does appear that in this case, honesty was not the best policy. (pun not intended)
LordB
Broke Member
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 4:28p
I'm guessing if he was asking verbally that somewhere in the policy it says that dogs void said policy. In any case I would read any policy very carefully to make sure it covered dog incidents.
austex
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 4:34p
LordB said:I'm guessing if he was asking verbally that somewhere in the policy it says that dogs void said policy. In any case I would read any policy very carefully to make sure it covered dog incidents. That is a good guess, but actually I was asking about adding some rental property to my homeowner's policy. So it was a surprise when the agent asked if I had a dog at my house...we weren't even talking about the insurance at my house.
tripleB
Banned
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 4:41p
Your dog should be put to sleep. If a human attacked two separate people on two separate occasions, they would be in prison.
LordB
Broke Member
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 4:44p
Was there barking in the background? Anyways good luck getting new insurance... it is good to know and be aware of this as I have a dog (though he has never bit anyone).
I must say I am a bit surprised they canceled over a tiny dog... i don't see how such a small dog could even conceivably hurt someone for the amount of injury it would take for an umbrella policy to kick in. Though perhaps the ins company just doesn't want to go through the trouble of saying only dogs up to a certain weight are covered.
BEEFjerKAY
Pics?
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 5:00p
austex said:Actually, that is the entire story.
OK, I'll bite.
1. How old was the first bite victim?
2. How long was it between the first and second biting?
3. How old was the second victim?
4. When you say neither required medical treatment, is that because they told you so or is this your presumption?
5. Do you know for a fact that neither victim sought professional medical treatment for the biting and that neither sought professional medical treatment for any other condition (pre-existing or not) subsequent to the biting?
6. How long was it between the 2nd biting and the conversation with your agent?
edit: corrected grammar
BEEFjerKAY
Pics?
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 5:15p
LordB said:I must say I am a bit surprised they canceled over a tiny dog...
I guess being "irresistibly-cute" can get away with lots of bitings. BBB is right, the dog should be taken care of.
Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.
Cheapoking
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 5:49p
Get a new insurance provider. Cheaper than getting another doggy.
tolamapS
Senior Member - 2K
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 5:56p
I don't understand the attitude of insurance companies.
Dog bite claims are skyrocketing? Then add a clause and charge for it.
Problem solved.
Separately, if some states consider some dogs "vicious" (legal definition, nontheless), then these states should simply prohobit having such a dog as a pet.
IMO - and this is strictly my opinion - dogs such as pit bulls are too dangerous to be had as pets.
tripleB
Banned
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 6:11p
tolamapS said: IMO - and this is strictly my opinion - dogs such as pit bulls are too dangerous to be had as pets.
So the OP's shitzu that has repeatedly attacked people has more of a right to be a pet than a pitbull that has never attacked anyone?
Pitbulls can be trained to be aggressive, but they are not aggressive genetically. Laws against pitbulls are the same as laws against short-barrel shotguns and butterfly knives. A .45 handgun is ridiculously more deadly than a short-barrel shotgun but movies portrayed SBS as deadly so laws were made against them. Butterfly knives are slower to open than a regular spyderco folding knife, but they are illegal because movies and TV depict them as "deadly."
In "less civilized" countries laws are based on "God," and in "more civilized" countries, laws are based on Hollywood.
sideout
Cranky Member
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 6:31p
I bit the neighbors dog before. I still have my insurance.
Cidni
New Member
posted: Feb. 7, 2010 @ 6:59p
Every now & then, honesty isn't the best policy if you want an insurance policy.
Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.