Burgoyne v. Owen

A plaintiffs judgment entered in this case, an action under G.Lc. 140, §155, the so-called dog bite statute, which requires a plaintiff to prove that at the time of the biting he was not annoying, tormenting, or abusing the dog.2 In this appeal, defendants argue that the judge erred in finding that plaintiffs striking of the dog while terminating a dogfight did not amount to abusing the dog.

Teasing, tormenting, or abusing covers “the entire gamut of wrongful acts against dogs.” Kaller v. Duggan, 346 Mass. 270, 273 (1963). Wrongful acts are acts “designed to annoy or irritate the... animal…