Location: Florida
My family’s dog was abused while in the care of a pet sitter. After reporting the incident, the person was charged, tried, and convicted of a third-degree felony. Sentencing is scheduled for later this year. The dog has since passed away, but due to the incident, there were many complications, including medications, vet visits, supplies, and significant hardship on my family to care for the dog during recovery.
Is there any way for my family to obtain restitution to at least cover the vet bills and medical supplies we had to purchase for the dog?
TIA
Comments
You need to contact the prosecutor who handled the case so that the judge can include the order for restitution as part of the sentence.
Sounds like the pet sitter went through criminal court, now make her go through civil court. Are these vet visits and the death (sorry for your loss) of your dog because of the pet sitter?
If so, absolutely go this route. I would personally do vet bills at minimum, but since my dog or dogs are family I would go beyond that and try for emotional distress, although I don’t know the bar for that (like if you need therapist records, etc).