Some people GGGRRRRR!!

I have to rant im so sorry but its also a plea for advice on behalf of my mum,

My mum has a staff called meg, I've known her since she was about 2 (she came from a rescue home to a friend of a friend, then went to a ex friend of mine, then to my mum) she's a really good dog actually,
My mum full on baby's her as my mum is very much like that (you should see her with the cats )

Anyway about a month ago my sister took meg out on the beach and meg ran up to a Chi, this chi took a instant dislike to meg and attacked her so meg retaliated before my sister got to her, my sister is very mild mannered and was devestated this has happened especially as the Chi's owner was full on screaming (which you would i suppose) and pretty much all hell was breaking loose.
My sister took my lady in question back to her house with meg and Chi in tow, my mum rang the vets and both dogs were taken in, my mum had told the lady she would pay for the vet bill etc.
The Chi had to be sedated as it kept trying to attack meg and her owner, she had a bite wound on the top of her neck and near her ear, this was all sorted out.

My mum got a vet bill through the other day to find a large amount at the bottom, when she rang up to enquire what it was for she was told that the Chi had been back in on 3 more occassions as not only had it managed to rip its stitches out (HOW?????) but it had made the wound worse! everytime it came back into the vets it had to be sedated as it was trying to attack everyone and everything in its sights.

Now im all for sorting out problems your own dogs have caused but my mum is now paying for this womans vet care and i've told her she needs to have a word as this woman is quite clearly taking the pee.
Am i right in saying this, should my mum only have paid for the initial treatment or am i well out of line?x

Your mum should pay for the initial treatment - it wasnt your dog or your mums fault that it pulled it's stitches out and made the wound worse.

The woman should count herself lucky that your Mum is even paying for the initial treatment considering her dog attacked first. She certainly shouldn't expect to get further treatment paid for when it could have been avoided.

My mum was so worried because meg is of the dreaded staffy variety that she thought it would all go really badly, I explained that if meg had wanted to kill the Chi she would have done but she didn't.
It didn't really help with the woman screaming meg was a vicious beast and should be put down

I wouldn't be paying for the dog ripping its stitches out and making the wound worse. Why has the owner of the chi not taken measures to stop that happening? Especially as it's happened 3 times!

The lady is lucky your mum paid for the first trip to vets as it sounds like the chi took on more then it bargined for.

Its up to the owner to make sure the dog receives the proper aftercare and her failure to do this has resulted in more vets visits and cost. Therefor its not your mums fault or responsibility to pay for this.

I wouldn't pay more than the initial vet treatment on the day of the incident.

I think this woman has done very well out of your mum personally. From what you say two dogs were offlead, the chi attacked Meg, Meg defended herself....... the fact that the smaller dog was hurt is a fact of life....the trouble with small dog owners (I was one myself, I had a gobby little Cairn) they don't always train their dogs to be respectful and of course the day often comes when they get their come uppance and they invariably come off worse when they meet their Goliath. From what you say the chi sounds like a little monster and the vet seems to be having a hard time controlling it too. Personally before paying out any more money I would have a word with the CAB to see exactly where I stood on this one. Having a conscience and wanting to help someone is one thing but having the p..... taken is quite another.

I think it's the owners responsibility as well.

Definitely the chi owners responsibilityto pay for subsequent treatment, she should be making sure her dog doesn't rip the stiches out and make the wound worse, your Mum paid for the initial treatment, which was very kind of her considering her dog didn't start it, and she should not pay a penny for further visits because the chi owner isn't looking after her dog properly!!