'AITA for not paying my friends $800 hospital bill after my dog bit her?'

"AITA for not paying my friends $800 hospital bill after she insisted on taking our aggressive dog and got bit?"

Four years ago my husband and I got a dog. He was great until we had a traumatic event at the vet, and after that he was never the same. When I got pregnant, he became extremely protective and started showing unpredictable aggression.

He bit me, my husband, and a stranger. Multiple professionals evaluated him and told us he likely had a neurological issue and that his aggression wasn’t something that could be safely fixed. We were told several times that euthanasia was the safest option. This was an incredibly hard decision, but with a one-year-old at home, we finally accepted it was what we had to do.

Here’s where the conflict starts: I have a close friend who loved our dog. When we told her our decision, she and her husband repeatedly said, “DO. NOT. PUT. THAT. DOG. DOWN.” and insisted they would take him instead.

We told them MANY times that we didn’t think it was a good idea and that we wanted to handle this ourselves. They kept pushing. My parents overheard some conversations and also thought it was strange how forceful they were being.

Emotionally exhausted and heartbroken, I finally gave in even though we were clear that we didn’t want responsibility once he was in their care. We dropped him off, and within 10 minutes her husband called saying the dog had gotten out and bit her. She had gotten in his face and put her hand near his mouth something we had repeatedly said not to do because of his trigger history.

We immediately turned around, called police and animal control, and got back there. The dog came right to us and we put him in our car. The paramedics looked at the bit and said it was a superficial wound and they recommended urgent care in the morning for antibiotics just in case. We offered to cover her visit. She said not to worry about it.

She and her husband decided to go to the ER anyway. They gave her antibiotics wrapped her up and sent her home. We took the dog to an animal hospital for overnight holding until animal control picked him up the next day. He went on a 10-day bite hold and was evaluated again. They determined the same thing past professionals had he was not safe to rehome. They euthanized him the next morning.

This was absolutely heartbreaking and not at all the way we wanted our last moments with him to go. After this, my friend and I barely spoke for months. Recently we sat down to talk, and she told me she thought she was “doing us a favor” and that we “could have said no.” We regret this decision everyday.

But I definitely think I would have lost a friendship if i didn’t take him to her. She also told me she was upset we never offered to pay the ER bill even though she told us that night not to worry about it. She brought this up right after mentioning my husband’s business was doing well financially.

I’m genuinely confused how we are in the wrong here. We disclosed the dog’s full aggression history. She witnessed and had heard all of our incidents over the 4 years. We repeatedly said we didn’t think she should take him. She insisted.

She ignored our safety warnings. She told us not to worry about the bill that night. And we were in the middle of grieving the loss of our dog. My husband and I regret it everyday and we wish for everyone in the situation that things had turned out differently.

AITAH for not paying her $800 hospital bill after she told us not to, or for feeling like she put us in a position where it was hard to say no?

This is what people had to say to OP:

Remruna said:

Nta. She wanted to play saviour, these are the risks you take when handling traumatized, possibly even mentally defective animals. She wanted to be able to the moral high ground and got bit. Her hybris and ego caused this so it is her fault. Alas the er bill is solely her responsibility.

badpandacat said:

NTA. They wore you down until you gave in. They were warned. I'm sorry your dog had to be put down. It's a hard decision, and I can tell you agonized over it.

universalrefuse said:

From an outsider’s perspective, I honestly think this friendship is worth losing.

Suspicious_Buy_4288 said:

Absolutely NTA you repeatedly warned her and her husband of the dogs aggression she FAFO her problem her bill

K_A_irony said:

NTA. HER dog bit her. You gave the dog to her. I am honestly mad that your poor dog had to endure a hold in a strange environment and then was euthanized when that could have been done way more peacefully.