Q: Are we legally responsible to pay for our dog attacking a neighbor's cat in our yard?
My son and his wife were staying with us. My son left for the opposite coast and left his dog. My husband walked the dog in our yard and it attacked our neighbor's cat which was in our yard. My husband got the neighbor who took the cat to the vet. She demanded that we get the dog out of the neighborhood. Most dogs attack cats, but to appease them my husband drove halfway across the country; our son drove the other half, both incurring tolls and gas. They slept at rest stops. I thought this would be enough to appease our neighbors but it wasn't.
Our neighbor came over and handed my husband the hefty bill for their cat. My husband said he doesn't think we're responsible for the entire bill since the cat was in our yard. She insisted the bill was to be paid by us and said they could take us to court and have the dog euthanized! I told them no matter what we do it isn't enough. I'm not sure we owe them anything more than what we've done.
A: It’s hard to answer without more facts. I would advise speaking with an attorney
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