A shelter dog bit her 18 times. Now, Orange County is paying her a $450,000 settlement

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Emily Moncur had already snapped photos of more than a dozen dogs at OC Animal Care, a shelter in Tustin where she was volunteering, when she came to Blaze, a black-and-white Labrador retriever and beagle mix.Moncur retrieved Blaze, snapped his photo, and then attempted to return him to his kennel, when he attacked her, according to a lawsuit she filed last year over the August 2023 incident.Now, Orange County has agreed to pay Moncur $450,000 to settle the lawsuit that alleges negligence at the facility.Moncur sustained at least 18 bites across her body, on her arms, legs, buttocks and neck as she was pinned to the door of the kennel and suffered “severe and permanent injuries,” her suit said.

The lawsuit said the shelter failed to alert Moncur that the dog had a known history of aggression due to the cruelty of previous owners.The complaint alleged that Moncur’s injuries were greater because volunteers were told to handle dogs and complete tasks alone without prior training; and because of limited staffing no one was in the nearby vicinity who could respond to an emergency.

California The verdict is the third multimillion-dollar payout in dog bite liability for L.A.over the last two years.Employees at the facility did not hear her screaming during her struggle with the dog because they were encouraged to wear earplugs at work, according to the complaint.The county had previously pushed back against Moncur’s allegations, writing in a December court filing that all shelter employees acted properly and that any of Moncur’s injuries were as a result of her own “wrongful acts.”“Plaintiff willingly, voluntarily, and knowingly assumed each, every, and all the risks and hazards involved in the activities referred to,” the filing said.

But during a March 10 closed-door session, the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the proposed settlement of $45...