Somebody is waging a dog fight on Capitol Hill.
A woman named Elizabeth Crawford of West Virginia filed a lawsuit Friday against the House of Representatives over a dog bite she sustained on her finger two years ago, reports the Washington Post.
In January 2013, Crawford had an appointment with Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) in his office on Capitol Hill to discuss domestic violence issues. While in the office in advance of the meeting, Crawford dropped her pen on the ground, and as she reached for it, a dog named Who Dey belonging to a staffer in the office bit her right index finger.
According to the lawsuit, the dog did not have an up-to-date rabies shot.
Alas, Crawford, whose lawyer Benjamin Pelton alleges the dog bite cost $26,000 in medical bills, is suing the House of Representatives for $200,000.
Pelton said the additional $174,000 was tacked on to compensate for her “pain and suffering.”
The suit claims that Crawford endured “severe and permanent bodily injuries and mental anguish; she has incurred medical expenses attempting to cure herself of such injuries; and her normal, social and recreational activities have been curtailed.”
The dog’s owner, Chris Tudor, is described by the lawsuit as guilty of “negligence” and creating an “unsafe and hazardous condition” in the congressional office by allowing Who Dey to run wild.
According to Pelton, Crawford initially sent a damages claim to House counsel in July, after which she received a “ridiculously low [four-figure] settlement offer” in response and decided to file the suit.
The Post describes Who Dey — whose owner was apparently a Cincinnati Bengals fan — as a small black dog.
