Updated February 7, 2024 at 7 PM.
They are so adorable. They are fluffy, have big eyes, and can love you unconditionally. The warmth they share when they play with you or cuddle next to you is hard to beat. It is not like a human being where one may constantly wonder what is the angle. Dogs are our friends . . . well, most of the time.
However, there is another inherent side to owning or being around a dog. They are often trained to be our protectors and therein lies a potentially serious issue. Dog as enemy and liability.
Aaron Gordon, forward for the Denver Nuggets, owned a Rottweiler which bit him on Christmas Day. The power forward missed about a week after receiving 21 stitches between injuries sustained on his face and shooting hand. While Gordon stated he was at fault for the bite, he was lucky to walk away with only 21 stitches.
Yet, Gordon was not the only professional athlete who sustained injuries from a dog bite in recent years. In 2021, professional skateboarder, Brooklinn Khoury, lost a lip due to a dog attack. The late Diego Maradona, an Argentine professional football player and manager, had to have surgery on his face after being bitten by his dog. Tim Tszyu, a boxer, had to have surgery after a dog bite at a barbecue in May of 2023.
Source: Kayo Sports
While all of these injuries were non-life threatening, some injuries from dog bites can be quite the opposite. Even if the injuries are not critical, those injuries can be life-altering causing continuous medical appointments and other health concerns. If that’s the case and the athlete is the owner of the dog, the athlete can expect liability issues concerning his or her ownership of the dog.
Case in point, Ezekiel Elliott faced two lawsuits regarding his three dogs getting loose from his property and biting two different individuals. He was facing a lawsuit requesting more than a million dollars in damages. Considering his dog had already bitten a worker at a pet resort, Elliott already knew the dangerous propensity of his dogs so it’s good he settled over the summer with one of the victims.
But this underscores the importance of considering the type of dog an athlete may want to own. A dog known to have tendencies of aggressiveness increases the likelihood of a successful lawsuit against the athlete if the dog does bite someone. Damages can include everything from medical expenses to loss of consortium. Further, if the athlete wants to travel by air with his pet, he should consider what breed can or cannot fly with a particular airline.
According to Express Legal Funding, the top three dogs known to bite are Pit Bulls, Rottweilers and German Shepards. In the United States and Canada between 1982 and 2021, pit bulls killed over 500 people and that’s not counting the more than 5000 people they maimed. Other dogs known to be aggressive include Cocker Spaniels, Doberman Pinschers, Bull Mastiff, Siberian Husky, Presa Canarios, Chow Chows, Chiuahuas, Labrador Retrievers, Boxers, Jack Russells, American Bulldogs, Wolf dogs, Collies, Akitas, and Golden Retrievers. As such, many U.S. airlines at one point had banned these dogs from flying.
While the United States federal government overturned U.S. airlines who banned certain dogs and other animals on flights as service animals, that is not necessarily for international flights. For example, easyjets and Emirates are two international airlines that do not allow pets including cats and dogs. However, Air China and Qantas allow animals to checked in as cargo only.
There are few airlines that will allow international cabin flight of pets like Swiss and Turkish Airlines. But one should have them in a carrier and be respectful of fellow passengers unlike the lady in the video below.
Source: Inside Edition
Whatever dog the athlete chooses, she remember that no matter how cute and cuddly her little Snoop might not play nice with everyone. Further, there are lawyers like the Law Offices of Samuel Fishman who specialize in the scissor-like bite of German Shepard. Owning a dog is a serious responsibility like having a child. It can affect not just the athlete but everyone he cares for and doesn’t.
Source: Beckman’s Dog Training