A labrador retriever named Delilah was being a normal, playful dog when she toppled a professional canine photographer while romping with three other full-grown dogs, an upstate appeals panel has ruled. The panel granted summary judgment dismissing the claim of Mary Bloom that Delilah’s owners, Howard Van Lenten and Tom Carty, were negligent and strictly liable for the serious injuries the photographer suffered in 2010 when Delilah ran into her legs and knocked her to the ground. Bloom had photographed Delilah as a puppy in 2007 and returned to photograph new puppies owned by Van Lenten and Carty.
Writing for an Appellate Division, Third Department, panel in Bloom v. Van Lenten, 515606, Justice Leslie Stein (See Profile) said Bloom failed to show that the 50-pound Delilah had vicious propensities that would have triggered the strict liability standard. Stein wrote that "vicious propensity" does not necessarily mean that a dog is ferocious but, rather, has shown a proclivity to act in a way that puts others at risk of injury. Although the dog’s owners told Bloom that Delilah also had knocked them over by running into their legs, Stein said such behavior on the retriever’s part was "normal canine behavior that does not amount to a vicious propensity."
