Question about a dog attack?

Well, someone is to blame and responsible for the bill. It sounds like it is his fault since the board you mention was on HIS side. If its on his property, he should be responsible.

I would take pictures w/ a digital camera if the damage is still intact. You need to talk to your neighbor, sort things out, and if it is his fault (in your mind anyhow), get him to pay for it. Otherwise, this is heading to small claims court, which given the 1000 dollar bill , may be worth it.

It does sound like your neighbor should offer to pay the vet bills if it was his fence that was damaged, thereby allowing the dog to get into your yard or if his dog tore through the fence to get in, however I have a question that I didn't see anyone else ask: why the heck are your dogs outside unattended when you're not home? Thank goodness your neighbor was home to witness the fight and to break it up! I hate to think what would have happened if his dog had broken into your yard with no owners around for hours.

I don't mean to suggest that you are at fault or that your neighbor is off the hook if his dog broke through the fence to go after your dog, but for the future, keep in mind that your responsibility toward your dogs is to 1) not leave them outside when no one is home, and 2) regularly inspect the fence to ensure that it's a safe containment area for them and from neighboring dogs that could break in. Now that this has happened once, I'm sure you'll want to be super vigilant to prevent this from ever happening again.

I hope your boxer recovers quickly. Bites injuries can be so nasty and painful -- I wish him speedy healing.

Here in CO, we have a law called the "Make my day" law.... If someone comes into my home, and I ask them to leave, give them ample opportunity to leave and they don't, I have every right to shoot them.

Translate your situation from Dog-ese to English.

The Pit was trespassing. Your dogs probably growled and their hackles raised ("Get out- this is our territory!... If you don't leave, we'll attack!"). The Pit stayed, ignoring the warning, and attacked. Your animals defended themselves.

Your dogs were completely within their rights both by dog culture and by human law to respond to your neighbor's dog in your yard.

A couple things your neighbor shoulda done...

1) Train his dog.

Pit bull dogs aren't a bad breed, but without training, ANY dog can be a royal pain. Sadly, there are many irresponsible animal-owners.... but training alone is not a fail-safe.

2) Contain his dog.

Fence, chain, kennel- whatever it takes to control his dog's access to the world. Sure, your neighbor had a fence, but dogs that wanna play Houdini will surely find a way out. He needs to keep better control of his dog. If he has to build something to contain his animal, then so be it.

3) Maintian his property.

The board was on his side of the fence.... Was it a patch? Has the dog gotten out before? If so, then this is becoming a behavior pattern in the dog that his owner needs to address, and fast! Dogs that get out end up hurt, or dead, or at the pound.

Well, all I have to say is that you are lucky your dog is alive. Any yes, I believe that as long as your dogs were in their back yard confined to a fence it is your neighbor's responsibility!

And people, please stop w/ the bad ownership deal. It is in a pit bull's blood to be dog aggressive, you must socialize them properly for them to not be dog aggressive. Even after proper socialization a pit can still become dog aggressive.

Like I said, you are lucky your dog is still alive. I love pit bulls and am an owner of 1...but I have learned to respect what type of damage she can do.(No I don't train her to be mean at all!)

What is your objective? If you just want compensation for damages, give the bill to your neighbour and ask him to pay. Then that's the end of it. If not, talk to a lawyer, and call whatever they call the animal control officer. Don't threaten to do it, just do it. Some cities and towns have special bylaws about "vicious" breeds. I'm open-minded enough not to consider any particular breed vicious (as long as there was inbreeding and no stupid owners), but you may have the law on your side with this one.

The neighbor will indeed have to pay.Take pictures of the dogs the fence and talk to your neighbors to find out if anyone saw anything also ask them to provide you with written statements about any complaints they have about these dogs.Then inform your neighbor that you want him to pay the bill if he refuses sue him.

Well, if the hole was on his side of the fence and he was aware of it, then he should definitely pay for the surgery. If he wasn't aware of the hole, then you should split the cost. If he has a dog that can possibly attack another dog, he should monitor his fences a little better so that the dog cannot get out.

Yes it's his fault. The dog should be properly contained and not able to escape. If they can jump over the fence, they must be leashed. It's also his fault for not making sure the fence was good enough to retain his dog.

I think it is. That is terrible; you need to buy a bigger fence. I also believe it is the owner fault for not properly training the pitt; pittbulls are not bad dogs, I have the sweetest pitt.

It was his fault for the faulty fence. Give him an opportunity to pay your bill. Make sure they fix the fence. If possible fix it from your side to ensure your dogs safety.