On September 4th, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, a netizen claimed that a girl was walking her dog without a leash in her residential compound, which frightened a little girl playing there. The girl's grandfather, in a fit of anger, threw the dog to its death. The incident became a trending topic, sparking heated discussion among netizens.
According to witnesses, when the dog chased the child, the owner thought it was just playing around and did not stop it.
Street Office Notice:
Mediation is underway between the two parties involved.
On September 5th, the official WeChat account of Xintang, Xiaoshan District, released a situation report: On the evening of September 4th, a resident of a community in Xintang Street was walking their dog without a leash, causing the dog to chase and kill a little girl playing nearby. The girl's family subsequently threw the dog to its death, and the dog owner called the police. The street office, police station, and community are currently mediating between the parties involved. The full text is as follows ↓
Lawyer's Interpretation:
Did Grandpa overreact in self-defense?
Lan Tianbin, a senior partner at Jiangsu Fade Dongheng Law Firm, stated that in the event of a dog bite, injuring or even killing the dog to save the person constitutes emergency avoidance. Similarly, if a dog owner fails to leash their dog, and the dog chases a child, the child's family members, in order to protect the child, throw the dog to their death, this also falls under the category of emergency avoidance. "These are actions taken when one's personal safety is threatened, where the interests of the lesser party are harmed to protect the legitimate rights of the greater party, and no liability is incurred."
"This also serves as a reminder to all dog owners to remember to leash their dogs when taking them out for walks to prevent them from biting people," said Lan Tianbin. He added that the Civil Code stipulates that if a pet causes harm to others, the pet's owner or keeper shall bear tort liability.
Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, believes that in this incident, the dog owner's failure to leash the dog and fulfill their supervisory responsibilities were the main reasons for the child's fright, and they should bear the primary responsibility. While the grandfather's feelings and actions in protecting his granddaughter are understandable, self-defense must be measured according to the emergency situation. If the dog was killed afterward, it would not constitute legitimate self-defense, and whether it was excessive self-defense needs further investigation to determine. If it was legitimate self-defense, the girl's grandfather would not bear any responsibility. If it was excessive self-defense, he could provide appropriate compensation to the animal owner, and the animal owner who caused the girl's harm should also bear some liability for compensation.
