"Dogs seem to reflect the spirit that reigns within a family.
Vicious people have vicious dogs; a dangerous owner means a dangerous dog.
Important to know
Liability for harm caused by an animal rests with its owner even in situations formally unrelated to a tenancy — for example, when showing a flat to a prospective tenant.
Even a change in their mood can reflect a change of mood in people."
Arthur Conan Doyle
Everyone living in Germany knows how fond and attached the locals are to their pets. Germans are certainly happy to keep pets, most often cats and dogs, and to take good care of them. It is customary here to take pets along almost everywhere — besides the usual places for walks, you can find them on public transport, in cafés and restaurants, in supermarkets, and even in the offices of some companies whose management takes a relaxed view of such "employees" being present in the workplace. As with many other matters, Germans' commitment to established order shows through in how they keep pets. At the heart of many German laws and rules governing the relationship between pets and people lies a simple principle: no one should inconvenience anyone else. The owner of an animal rightly bears responsibility for keeping a close eye on their pet and for preventing excessive noise, aggression towards neighbours, or mess in the stairwell.
To the delight of pet owners, permission to carry pets on public transport applies nationwide. In some cities travel is free, while in others you must pay half or the full adult fare. On long-distance trains, small animals that fit in a bag travel free of charge, while larger ones require a child's ticket. Carrying animals in taxis is also permitted in Germany, provided the established rules for transporting them by car are observed.
For dogs, owners may take out special insurance, which applies if the animal causes harm to third parties. Insurance companies offer cover for situations where your dog, for example, bites someone, damages someone's property, or causes an accident. The premium for such insurance is roughly 80 euros a year. The decision on whether such insurance is needed rests with the animal's owner, although Germany is currently discussing whether to make it mandatory.
In recent years, special rules have applied in Germany to the keeping of so-called fighting dogs (German: „Kampfhunden"). Different federal states classify different breeds as belonging to this category. Owners of such dogs must hold a special permit from the administrative authority responsible for public order (German: „Ordnungsamt") to keep the dog, as well as a certificate confirming the animal is not dangerous. Periodic temperament tests are carried out for this purpose. The law requires that, in most cities, such dogs must be kept on a lead and muzzled at all times. Mandatory insurance and an increased tax apply to them, and breeding them at home is prohibited.
In the course of our law firm's work, we occasionally handle cases in which our attorneys represent the interests of pet owners or, conversely, of people who have been harmed by such animals. In this article we will describe one of the successful cases from our extensive legal practice.
A young man came to us for a consultation — let's call him Maxim — who had been injured by a dog bite. Like many other residents of Germany, Maxim was in the middle of an exhausting search for a new flat to rent as his permanent home. Viewings of various flats followed one after another, practically every day. Unfortunately, one month passed after another with no positive result in sight. Either Maxim found a given option unsuitable given his lifestyle, or the flat was perfect but the price "bit," or, for some other unknown reason, a flat that had barely appeared on the market was "gone" to other applicants by the very next day.
During one viewing of a flat he liked, the young man was met by an elderly woman named Inna (name changed), who apparently lived in the flat alone. As she explained to Maxim, who had come to view the flat, she was planning to move soon to a house in the countryside to live with her son, and intended to rent out her flat in the city centre on a long-term lease. That evening, the young man was in no hurry; he calmly looked at the bathroom, then the kitchen, stepped out onto the balcony, and was about to move on to viewing the rooms. At the start of the viewing, the landlady mentioned that she had a dog named Nelli, who was currently shut in one of the rooms. She also assured our future client that the animal was friendly by nature and would not cause any harm whatsoever. During the viewing, the young man heard the dog whining, scratching at the door, and asking to be let out. With the landlady's permission, Maxim opened the door to one of the rooms and was about to go in. The dog, apparently startled, or guarding her territory from a stranger and sensing a threat in the person viewing the flat, jumped at the young man, knocked him to the floor, and bit his arm several times. It is hard to say how this story might have ended had the landlady not hastily put Nelli on a lead and sent her back to her place. Naturally, after such a "warm welcome," Maxim abandoned the rest of the viewing and hurried home. He then went to the nearest medical clinic, where he was given the appropriate preventive injections and his bite wounds were treated. He was also advised to take one or two working days off so that he could, in a calm home environment, monitor how he felt over the following days. Maxim ran his own small café, so being unable to work for two days naturally came with a fairly significant loss for the business, since he always organised the purchase and delivery of supplies himself. In this way, what seemed like such a harmless activity — viewing a new flat to rent — turned into such unexpectedly negative consequences for the young man.
A few days after the incident, he contacted the landlady himself and tried to resolve the matter. He asked her to reimburse the medical costs not covered by his health insurance for the treatment received at the clinic, as well as the cost of the medication he had to buy. The dog's owner, for her part, flatly refused to discuss the matter and claimed she had no idea about anyone being harmed by her dog. After consulting with friends, Maxim decided to turn to professionals. He came to us for a consultation and, having heard the attorney's preliminary assessment of how to proceed in order to protect his interests, authorised the attorney to represent him in dealings with the person responsible for the harm and issued the corresponding power of attorney. Without delay, the attorney drafted a written complaint to the dog's owner, Inna, setting out the following demands:
- reimbursement of the costs of medical treatment at the clinic, as well as the cost of the necessary medication;
- compensation for the physical pain suffered, in monetary form (German: „Schmerzensgeld");
- compensation for the harm caused to his business as a result of the young man's absence from work for two working days.
These claims for compensation were supported by corresponding evidence enclosed with the attorney's letter.
On receiving this formal complaint prepared by the attorney, Inna became considerably more willing to enter into negotiations. She informed us that, as it turned out, she had taken out insurance covering material damage caused by her dog to third parties. Having received a copy of the insurance policy and the contact details of the insurer's representative, the attorney forwarded the claim he had drawn up on behalf of our client. Inna, in turn, confirmed the incident in writing, which was likewise enclosed with the set of documents sent to the insurance company. Just as we had rightly expected, about two weeks later we received a letter confirming that the material damage would be reimbursed to our client in full.
Maxim thanked us for the excellent work and asked our permission to turn to our firm again in the future for other legal matters. This case is a fine illustration of the fact that, once they receive formal written demands drafted by an attorney, those responsible for harm are often far more willing to engage, which allows conflicts to be resolved efficiently and swiftly within the framework of the law. We once again urge our readers to take the observance of applicable laws, rules and requirements seriously, especially when in a foreign country, and if you find yourself in a situation where you have suffered harm and need legal protection, we invite you to turn to our law firm.
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THE LAW FIRM REPRESENTS CLIENTS' INTERESTS THROUGHOUT GERMANY
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