Unfortunately, what you got caught up in is the "crying wolf" problem of tort law. When a really valid case comes along, you, the victim (or Rufus in this case) loses out. Or if your like me, you are too guilt ridden to pursue justice.

Personally, the huge 3x4 inch warning label, written in three languages, on my family hair dryer is an insult to my intelligence. I think they are made of Kevlar -- ever try to remove one? I can't count how many "B" detective movies I have seen that show the cops pulling the electrical appliance out of the murder victims tub (of course, I wonder if it was the electrical shock that got them or the head injury after panicking and slipping in the tub trying to avoid the appliance...) Or my personal favorite, spilling hot coffee in one's crotch while trying to drive, shave and read the paper on the morning commute...McDonalds really should have invoked Darwin in their case.

I have invoked Darwin many times in my 20+ years as a design engineer. My favorite was the boss that wanted me to put "transzorbs" across a rather large 3 Henry (yes, capital Henry) load coil that had some 3 amps DC running through it. You do the math (but it's still about an order of magnitude less than a defibrillator). The inductors (three of them) were put in the bottom of a test set -- probably to hold it upright as each one weighed in at something like 25 pounds. The boss was concerned that a technician might unharness the test set with power applied and create small lightning bolts that could harm him in the process. I told my boss that's where Darwin comes in. Any technician that STUPID deserved to be electrocuted and hence, removed from the gene pool. I finally had to give in when I convinced myself that even though our technicians were not that stupid, there were a few managers that were...not that they don't fit the same rules, it's that they just get more press. Heck, I have a mortgage...

In your case, I'd say that based on my Sister and Brother-in-law's Dogs and Pot Belly Pig (the smarter of the lot -- the animals, that is) that anyone that bought a collar for a big dog as you did would have expected it to function properly while wet. The only time their dogs are dry is when they want to come in the house or there is a drought in Sacramento. The dogs LOVE the water and even take winter dips in the Truckee River. That water is bone chilling cold and VERY wet even in the summer. I know that for a fact, but that's another story. The pig, as I said is smarter than that (and me, apparently) -- he prefers a sun-warmed mud hole for basking, but he's still wet most of the time, but does dry faster. Electrical conductivity of the water aside (hey, perhaps the rap the dog got would be a little bigger -- ask anyone that has survived touching a wet vs. dry electric fence what it was like), I'd expect and I believe logically, the collar would not MALFUNCTION, as in Rufus's case, it clearly did, when wet. This should be the ONLY kind of product liability case allowed by a court. That is to say when a product actually fails. A Victim of a gun fight should have no right to sue Colt -- but if that Colt blows up in his face, assuming it was properly handled, well, that's a different story.

Personally, I abhor confrontation and navigating the legal system and I'd take the settlement, much like I did from a Ford Dealership that sold me a real Lemon (again, another story). My blood pressure is way to high to mess around with stuff like that now. But it is a trade. My Sister and Brother-in-law treat their pets like their kids (that's a good thing). If it was my kid that was harmed, I guarantee the Company would pay not only for their defective product, be forced to recall the product and make a public apology for such stupidity in marketing, they'd also pay for my outrageously high blood pressure, as I'm sure it would be at that point. I would not be out to milk the system, just make sure that the pain inflicted on me was less than or equal to the pain felt by the Company that knowingly allowed a DEFECTIVE product to be sold. Hey, you know how many times I wore bell-bottoms on my ten-speed American Eagle? Just Once. No law suit, no defective products. Just stupidity on my part. And a painful lesson learned!

This brings us full circle, I believe. Any 'ol Luddite can sue the bejeeses out of a company for something just because they have a beef with that company. And win. They will look for ANY excuse to do it. The answer, I believe, is what I understand the British have -- if the Court finds that the lawsuit is frivolous, the Plaintiff PAYS ALL COURT and LEGAL FEES! In your case, I believe you would have no fear of that ever happening. Yeah, I sound two faced, but this goes back to the responsibility thing. If I take the safety fence off my table saw and cut an eighth inch groove in my thumb (man those carbide blades are sharp -- never even felt it 'till later), I'd say I was to blame. But, believe me, if that band-aid I used was contaminated by the manufacturer and I got a major, life threatening infection because of it, I'd find myself a good lawyer (I would not NEED a liar)!

Good luck to you and Rufus. Poor fellow. I know my sister has been knocked on her can more than once by their big dogs -- my Brother-in-law too (and he's a big guy!) No training seems to work -- they are just 120 pound kindergartners, full of energy and a'willin to burn it. What does seem to help is a lot of physical activity, like those winter swims in the Truckee. Oh, and so you don't report me to PETA, each dog gets a big warm towel and hand dried when they get out, not to mention that aromatic hour ride back to their house -- heaters blasting and smelly dogs drying. Hey, they're family.

BTW, thank you for printing my comments to you. I really enjoy it when that happens. It helps prove a point to my kids too: If you can't write, you might as well flip burgers. Too bad I never listened to my old College Writing Prof. "Could have been published with some effort", she said. Of course, there was that other English Prof that told me that the Writing Prof just liked me...boy, that sure burst my bubble. It's little things like this, however, that make me feel it's not just my good looks (cough, choke, gasp, wheeze...) that make me such a success (gag)!

P.S. Darren -- If I had sued Companies for all the pain caused to me because I used a perfectly good product the wrong way, I'd probably OWN CMP and have you fired for even bringing up the subject. However, I have stupid little morals that disallow my success at the cost of another. Call me weak, but I never lose sleep over it! Don't ever let any confusing moral conflicts keep YOU from doing what is RIGHT! I try not to. So, Sue the Beggars! I think a suitable punishment would be to stick those collars on their CEO and Liars and toss them in the Ocean (or other suitably conductive body of water). Oh, give Rufus the controller!