A
burglar alarm might be a better choice than a dog
A reader of www.dogbitelaw.com
E-mailed the following comment: "I am a single woman and I am going
to get a dog for protection. I think it is the best choice."
Many experts feel that
a simple burglar alarm is far safer, less expensive and better protection
than a dog. Furthermore, it presents less risk of financial and career
ruin. It's safer
for several reasons:
- Burglars often
steal or even kill the dogs.
- An alarm system
will also provide protection against fire.
- A really good
alarm system can be hooked into the police department, fire department
and a security company, all of which will send professional people
to your home in the event of a problem.
- Most dramatically,
out of 177 people killed by dogs, only 1 was a burglar, but 7 out
of 10 were kids.
A burglar alarm can
involve only a one-time cost, although alarms that make phone calls have
monthly fees and possibly per-use fees too. Dogs have to be fed and taken
to the veterinarian. Just as important, you have to spend time with your
dog every day, but not your burglar alarm. A
burglar alarm presents no possibility of financial ruin or career ruin,
but a dog does. If your dog bites someone on the face, the losses can
run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Your insurance might not
be sufficient to cover such losses. In fact, some people who own dogs
do not have insurance at all -- which is irresponsible, especially when
considering that a dog bite victim will often be a friend or family member.
If faced with
having to pay a large amount of damages out of your own pocket, you have
only two choices, both of which are life-changing:
- You either will
declare bankruptcy, or you will have to pay off a judgment for what
might be the rest of your life.
- In both cases,
you will be further impacted because people who declare bankruptcy
and have large judgments against them cannot borrow money easily (or
at all), cannot get funding to start companies, and frequently are
not promoted because of doubts about how they behaved or handled themselves
in the past.
If you are going to
use a dog for "protection," ask yourself whether it is reasonable to think
that these risks are worth the "protection." Many don't believe they are,
but the choice is yours. The
choice might not be yours forever. The government is getting tired of
the dog bite epidemic, and is beginning to take measures that take away
some choices for potential dog owners. For example, certain breeds are
outlawed in some places, and special insurance is required in others.
Furthermore, the insurance industry is making it harder to insure certain
kinds of dogs -- and in some parts of the country is trying to exclude
dogs from the usual insurance policies. The only way to reverse this trend
is for dog owners to be more responsible, and prevent dog bite losses.
This is why you are urged to make the right decision, which in your case
might very well be getting a burglar alarm rather than a protection dog.
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