Is Your Dog Dangerous?

Many dog owners in MA have been losing their homeowners insurance coverage this year due to a crackdown by insurance companies to ban coverage of so called "Dangerous" dogs. If you own a dog on the hit list you may be in for a shocker. I have heard of people being charged $300 and up in surcharges for keeping a dangerous dog in their home and others have had their policies outright cancelled!



Is it fair to deem a dog dangerous because of it's breed? Probably not, but the insurance industry uses data collected from prior claims as well as bite reports from the CDC to determine which dogs make the list.



As a daycare provider, I am often torn between giving a high risk dog a chance or simply telling the potential customer to try another facility. I don't take Pit Bulls but there are other similar breeds that I do have in daycare and I require them to behave perfectly or else they will be immediately expelled. No second chances. The safety of my clients and family as well as my integrity are at stake. If I end up offending the owner of the aggressive dog, so be it.

So is this fair? I still don't know. Would it be better to allow three strike/bites for every dog, regardless of breed, and then cancell the insurance? Perhaps just one strike is enough. What if the insurance companies just refused to cover any claims involving any dogs. That would be scary. Who would pay for the little old neighbor ladies new hip after being knocked to the ground by your bouncy Golden Retriever? Who would pay for the plastic surgery your drunk cousin needs after he tries to play a nose to nose tug of war with your Jack Russel and it's favorite toy at your annual family pool party? Whose to blame when your Bernese Mountain Dog takes a bite out of your teenage daughters boyfriends but as he makes an escape out her bedroom window after midnight on a school night? I'm just trying to think ahead here......

Anyway, a group of breeders and handlers of dogs that make this list every time are banning together to stop discrimination of thier beloved breeds, so stay tuned for the class action lawsuit!