In this case, we consider whether the owner of a dog not known to be vicious owes a duty to attempt to stop the dog from attacking a person after the attack has begun. Because we hold that such a duty exists, we reverse the court of appeals’ decision.
Genevia Bushnell was in the business of selling health and wellness products. Bushnell alleges that she went to Janet Mott’s mobile home to deliver some products that Mott had purchased. Bushnell knocked on Mott’s door and Mott’s dogs began barking. When Mott opened the door, her three dogs pushed open the door and rushed out. The dogs attacked Bushnell, biting her multiple times on her legs, arms, back, and shoulder. Bushnell claims Mott made no attempt to stop the attack, and that Mott did not assist Bushnell after the attack.
*452 Bushnell filed suit, alleging negligence, premises liability, and strict liability claims. Mott moved for summary judgment and Bushnell filed a response. A few days before the summary judgment hearing, Bushnell filed a supplemental response and affidavit, but Mott contested the filing as untimely. The trial court refused to consider Bushnell’s late filing and granted Mott’s motion for summary judgment.
The court of appeals assumed, without deciding, that the trial court erred when it refused to consider Bushnell’s supplemental response and affidavit.
An owner of a vicious animal can be strictly liable for harm, while an owner of a non-vieious animal can be “subject to liability for his negligent handling of such an animal.”
Marshall v. Ranne,
[Although the possessor or harborer of a dog or cat is privileged to ahow it to run at large and therefore is not required to exercise care to keep it under constant control, he is hable if he sees *453 his dog or cat about to attack a human being ... and does not exercise reasonable care to prevent it from doing so.
See Restatement (Second) of ToRts § 518 cmt. j (1977).
If we consider only Bushnell’s original affidavit, Bushnell testified that while she was being bitten, she “never once heard [Mott] scold the dogs.” Even if Mott did not know her dogs had dangerous propensities, Bushnell’s original affidavit indicating that Mott did nothing to prevent her dogs from continuing to attack Mott raises a material fact issue concerning whether Mott failed to exercise ordinary care over her dogs once the attack began. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings.
Notes
.
See Jones
v.
Gill,
No. 2-03-298-CV,
