C'mon, you can't even get people to buy a license
Under Plan, Every Dog Would Have His Insurance
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Careful New Yorkers probably have insurance to cover the chance fender-bender, house fire or surprise attack of the chicken pox. Now, if a Bronx lawmaker has his way, they will have to take out yet another policy - one for their dogs.
State Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera, a Democrat whose district is in the Bronx, proposed a new bill last month that, if passed, would require all dog owners in New York State to have liability insurance for their pets. The bill, which Mr. Rivera said would probably be ready for debate on the Assembly floor in a month, is called "Elijah's Law" for a 3-year-old boy, Elijah Torres, who was seriously injured in an attack by a Rottweiler in the Bronx last fall.
The law would circumvent the major sticking point in dog attack cases in New York City, Mr. Rivera said. Currently, an attack victim can take legal action only if a dog is documented as "dangerous," a designation assigned only after the dog has already bitten, he said.
"There's an old doctrine that says an owner is not liable until a dog is declared dangerous," Mr. Rivera said. "My legislation would require that any dog owner has to have insurance."
