The Ethicist: life's full of questions; he's got answers.

• Position: Liability of owners when their dogs attack people - Brief article

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Am I liable if my tied-up dog bites someone?

I tied my sister's Jack Russell terrier to a fence while I went into a supermarket. I returned to see a woman being loaded into an ambulance. Bystanders said she stooped to pet the dog, and he bit her on the lip. I untied the dog and left. Had I stayed, I would have had to pay her medical bills. Why should I, when she provoked the dog? L.R., Brooklyn, New York

Although that woman was foolish to pet a strange dog, here's what you should have done: Sit! Stay!

As it happens, you had no legal duty to stick around, according to Lisa Weisberg, formerly of the A.S.P.C.A.

And though laws for dog-bite victims vary from city to city, says Kenneth Phillips, an attorney who runs Dogbitelaw.com, almost every city has some type of "dog court" that hears victims' complaints and tries to determine whether the dog is dangerous. Did the Jack Russell meet that definition? I can't say-and neither could the lady in the ambulance, because you did not come forward.

The victim might also have wondered if the dog had medical problems, like rabies. You deprived her of...