Scifo v. Haeger

Plaintiff, as mother and next friend of her minor son, filed a lawsuit against a husband and wife under the Animal Control Act after the plaintiff’s son was injured by the defendants’ dog. The trial court dismissed one of the defendants by finding that because the dismissed defendant was not physically present at the time of the dog bite, she did not have care, custody, or control of the dog. Plaintiff appealed and the appellate court reversed, explaining that under the Act an animal can have more than one owner and that the dismissed defendant did not relinquish care, custody, or control to her spouse when he took the dog for a walk in the park. (HUTCHINSON and JORGENSEN, concurring)