Currently, pet owners externalize the costs of their pets bad behavior. Not only can animals get away with destroying property, but in the event that they maim or kill a human being, the owner’s home insurance simply goes up a few dollars a month. Hardly a fair penalty for a child whose leg has been bitten off.
Because of lax penalties, most animal crimes go unreported. Many animals are even allowed to commit multiple violent crimes without being put down.
However, if the pet owner was prosecuted as if they committed the crime, all of these incidents would go away completely. Either pet owners would properly train their pets or they wouldn’t get pets to begin with.