Who Stole The Cookie From The Cookie Basket?

Dear Vudes and Tus,

I was reading your latest blog post, "Louie Vuitton," and I remembered a refreshing anecdote that I couldn't help but share. I was once walking my dog and he saw a basket of cookies on a neighbor's porch. He sprinted over and ate all of the cookies. After he finished the cookies, he started eating the basket. I finally got to him and pulled him off before he could completely destroy it. I never really got a ruling on this story, so I figured I should ask.

Sincerely,

BasketChewer

Dear BasketChewer,

Rav Yehuda would would say that you have to pay for full damages on the cookies, but half damages on the basket. His reason for this is because your dog ate the cookies first and then chewed the basket afterwards, so it wasn't normal for him to do so. Had he chewed the basket while eating the cookies, however, it would count as normal and you would have to pay full damages for both.

A lot of people think this contradicts the Brayta that says that an animal that ate bread, meat, or a cooked dish would be obligated for half damages. However, this Brayta was dealing with an undomesticated animal. And while it may seem normal for an undomesticated animal to eat meat, it's unclear really what the details of this case are. It could be roasted meat, which is abnormal for wild animals to eat, or it could just be referring to a deer, which doesn't eat meat. Another option is that it is actually dealing with a domesticated animal, but only one that jumped on a table. I know this answer is kind of wordy, but I hope it's satisfactory.

Sincerely,

Vudes and Tus