This is for writing to a debt collection agency but if you could produce a similarly official sounding letter maybe this would put her off
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com...on-letter.html

Thank you all for your advice! Just to clarify some things.... both dogs were out of their yards and I did offer to pay for vet bills, even though there was no proof that it was my dog that inflicted it. The $5,000 amount is the max that you can sue for in Small Claims Court for our state and the judge can award compensation for pain and suffering, etc.I don't know about all states, but here in NC, these types of cases are often treated like personal injury lawsuits. I've been told to by the people I've talked to about this, that if we went to court she would have a hard time proving her case...but I choose to offer to pay because I know the reputation that pitbulls and their owners have AND the fight did happen in the other dogs neighborhood, even if it wasn't in it's own yard.

Today I went back to the Animal Control Agency to talk to the Officer that had responded to the incident. It turned out that the other owner had turned in a copy of her vet bills to them AND a few statements from her witnesses. The statements are pretty much irrelevant because they were written after I had responded to her threat and completely contridicted the Officer's report. Not to mention made 42 days after the incident.

Then I read the vet reports.
First.... all of her visits totalled $890, not the $2,000 she has demanded. Her first visit to the vet was $250 and it was for bite wounds. The big break for me was on her second visit, the vet actually wrote in the records that even though the dog had scratched his stitches out, she did not know if that was the cause of his injuries, because it was involved in ANOTHER dog fight while they were in the waiting room. The third visit was to a different vet for bite wounds and none of these listed any type of surgery. There was also two bills mixed in for her other dog!

I still have not recieved anything from the other owner, so I wrote a statement saying that even though I was now aware that her dog had been involved in another dog fight, I would be willing to pay for half of the first vet bill if she could drop the suit. Otherwise, we could just go to court. That was sent off this afternoon, so I should know within a week or two.

Even though I am probably be too generous giving the new facts, paying half is actually cheaper then paying the court fees and taking off of work to go through actual litigation.

Once again...thank you guys for your input. Dealing with dishonest people can make me question if I'm doing the right thing, so it was great to read your supportive comments!

The reason I haven't been working through a lawyer is because dog bite cases are treated as personal injury cases in my area. I called a few, and the cheapest one I could find was $300 AND that was just for the consultation!! I was having my correspondence notarized and delivered to help my case, but I was almost resigned to the fact that I was going to have to hire one anyway. I am so relieved that this new evidence came out

I imagine this must be pretty stressful and I commend you for keeping calm and insisting that the other party provide proof of vet's bills. And of course now that you have looked into it further, it seems that at the very least, their dog tends to get involved in scraps with other dogs!

I echo what someone else said: just in case it does go to court, start gathering a folder of 'evidence' for your dog, including if possible written support from a vet. That said, I gather that some courts won't accept written evidence in small claims and so if you have a supportive vet and this goes to court, you may want to ask them to go with you and testify as a 'witness' to your dog's nice nature etc.

You might also want to look at *how* your dog escaped - have you now altered and improved the security of your yard?

If yes, bring this up in any court case that takes place.

Best of luck and do let us know how you get on!

Just wanted to say well done for being the more mature one here and still offering to pay half of the first bill. Hopefully the other owner will realise you're not stupid and will leave it there, but at least if they do take it further, you can show that you've been very reasonable in your offer. Not to mention you can now show that they were trying to claim more than their entire vet bills, and that their dog has gone on to be involved in another attack since - not that you want to portray their dog as vicious, I'm sure, but it may work in your favour anyway if you've got statements from other dog owners saying how friendly your dog has always been.
I really hope that's the end of it and you can get on with your life without all this hassle now!

It really sounds to me like the other owner is trying it on a bit with you BECAUSE you have a pit bull. Basically trying to get as much out of you as possible knowing that pitbulls have a bit of a "reputation".
The fact that her dog had another fight in the waiting room at the vets should stand you in good stead though.
I think you're being really good about this and what you're offering is more than fair I think.
Good luck with everything....let us know how you get on xx

I don't know that this person has any case.

1. No one saw the dogs fighting. Your dog was picked up "because it was a loose dog in the area." Was the dog involved? Who knows? Maybe there were more than one dog. Maybe yours was only peripherally involved. Maybe it was instigated by the other dog. Or yours. Either way with no witnesses there is no proof it was your dog.

2. This person sounds like she's scamming you. Anyone who is NOT scamming you would produce a bill. She has not and does not seem inclined to produce a bill for you. Sadly, this is not the first time I've heard of this sort of thing. In one case someone paid without seeing the bill and then the person continued to try to get more money for "more bills" related to the injury.

DO NOT PAY IT. And I disagree wholly with Claireanddaisy that you should have given the lady $1300 without any sort of proof that the dog was injured in any way. Heck, if the dog DOES have internal injuries, it's potential the dog was hit by a car. It was, after all, out loose just as yours was. How can they blame YOUR dog when NO ONE saw the incident?

And reading the update, which I just caught, it does sound like she's scamming you. I'd almost say let it go to court. Once they find out that she asked for much more than the bill was, once they find out she included bills for dogs unrelated to the problem, and once they find out her dog has been in OTHER fights with other dogs, they may through the case out entirely.