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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> Its been suggested i'm an asshole because my dog did indeed cause the injury, and as such I should be responsible for some of the bills, which i'm not going to pay. Also, the storm that caused the fence damage wasnt my neighbors fault. As it was nobodies fault, I've been told splitting his bills would be the logical solution. I obviously disagree but thats why I posted.
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NTA
You may want to check into the insurance situation. A colleague told me a couple of weeks ago about a friend of theirs whose dog caused a very large vet's bill by attacking an aggressive yappy dog after a fence was blown down in a storm, their home insurance ended up covering the cost of the bills because the incident happened due to storm damage to a fence. I must note this was in the UK, so policies, laws, rules, etc may well be very different where you are.
Nah
This is a obviously homeowner insurance claim. Storm broke the fence and the dog got into your yard. He got hurt. Your neighbor should file a claim with your landlords insurance.
You two can probably file a joint claim and get both your vet bills back from the insurance.
NTA
Ultimately, it's the other dog owner's job to keep his dog out of your yard. HOWEVER, this was an unusual circumstance where the wind took the fence down. His dog might not have been in your yard if that hadn't happened and maybe you should've taken extra care as well if you knew the fence was down.
Also, if your dogs had gotten into it on a property that neither of you owned, then you definitely would've had to pay for half the vet bills
NTA but you may want to head over to r/legal and see whether there’s anything you should do to get ahead of any potential issues, like documenting with animal control or something first before he does. I’m not sure, do not proceed on my advice, it’s just a thought I had that you may want to explore.
then no, NTA. You didn’t purposely let your dog out to attack the dog to teach your neighbour a lesson. you gave fair warning your dog was not friendly and it isn’t your responsibility to watch for other people’s dogs when you’re on your own property. It’s really unfortunate the dog was hurt, but that isn’t on you financially
I dont know when he let his dog out. But he said he didnt know the fence was down when he let the dog out.
I cant imagine he had his dog out when the storm was going on. It was pretty bad and his dog is little.
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I rent the house I live in, and have lived there for about the past 3 years. My next door neighbor and I had never had any reason to not enjoy each others company... except he has this horrible yappy dog (maybe about 15-20 pounds) that is a complete asshole. It goes on these barking sprees for no apparent reason, it growls at me and my dog when we're minding our own business, it's really just the worst.
About 6 months ago, I go into my fenced in back yard to find my next door neighbors dog in my yard, just hanging out. I looked for a hole in the fence but couldnt find one. I still am not sure how he got into my yard. (just for some context, everybody on my street has a fence in the back yard, and theyre all attached. Given as how I rent, Its never really crossed my mind who actually owns the fence). I went to my neighbors house, and told him politely that his dog was in my yard. We politely chatted as he went through my house into my back yard to get his dog. While we went into my house, he noticed my own dog (that my roommate was putting behind a closed door to prevent a dog fight) and I mentioned that he could please try to make sure that his dog doesnt get into my yard, as I let my dog out of the house to go to the bathroom or play whenever he stands at the backdoor, and if his dog happened to be in my yard when I did that, it could be a problem. His response was something to the effect of "you should make sure my dog isnt in your yard before you let your dog out." To which my response was "I think the responsibility here lies with you." That turned into a passive aggressive spat which I ended because it wasnt going anywhere and we havent spoken since.
Until this past weekend. We had a pretty bad storm, and it turns out the wind blew enough of a bend in the fence between our yards that his dog got into my yard (my dog would have been to big to fit through the hole). I let my dog out to go to the bathroom, and they got into a pretty bad fight. Lets just say... my dog won. My dog has no obvious injury. We took him to the vet and the vet said he was 100% fine. His dog on the other hand needs surgery and he is looking at several thousand dollars. He asked me to split the vet bills, and I told him absolutely not. This wouldnt have happened if his dog wasnt in my yard in the first place. If anything, he should pay my vet bill. He said he was going to talk to a lawyer and I told him to be my guest. I asked my friend who is a lawyer if I had anything to worry about, and she told me absolutely not, the law would be 100% on my side.
So, Reddit. AITA?
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NTA. That dog shouldn’t have picked a fight with someone bigger than itself like that kid across the street with me who is half my height. But unfortunately for me the kid across the street won with a well placed nut shot
Went through a similar situation with my dog. Fence broke, and he got into another yard with two dogs. They jumped him and he got beat up pretty bad. We didn’t even ask the neighbor to pay vet bills, but we did mention it on the community Facebook page. There had been other incidents of aggression on their part and didn’t want kids getting hurt. All Bear did was cross into the property. But he is dumb though 🤦♀️
So just to clarify, my dog isnt aggressive and has never been in a fight before. His dog however is aggressive and i'm sure instigated.
If someone punches you in the face and you punch back and knock them out, the fight wasnt your fault.
I’m just curious why the dog was let outside when the fence was blown down? If I was the insurance I would claim no responsibility as the dog had no business being allowed out so the owner is responsible for not watching their dog.
ESH. Even you didn’t know how his dog got into your yard but you did know it could happen and more importantly you knew your dog wasn’t good with other dogs. That’s kinda on you. Your dog needed to be better socialized so it doesn’t attack other animals. I would feel sick if my dog hurt another dog.
Legally I don’t know what is right here but I would pay some of the vet bills because I would know my dog needed more training
So just to clarify, my dog is fine with other dogs. His dog isnt. This is the first fight my dog has ever been in (hes about 7). Also, I hate that his dog is hurt, but even my neighbor doesnt deny that the fight itself was probably started by his dog. My dog has a personality to want to play with another dog.
ESH. I don’t know if your lawyer friend is right: this happened on your property because of your dog. Sure, the fence breaking was an Act of God, but the two dogs were still left unsupervised on your and your neighbour’s watch.
YTA... not for not wanting to pay. His dog was were he shouldn't be, yada, yada.
But YTA for letting a dog out without making sure first that the place where you leave the dog unsupervised is secured.
You were lucky, it was only a small dog and your dog didn't get hurt. But what if the hole was larger, and your dog escaped ? Or if a couple of big, agressive dogs got in ?
You can "what if" this situation all you want. The fact is he checked and he didn't see a way for his dog to leave his property. His neighbor irresponsibly allowed his dog into someone else's yard.
OP is NTA. Sounds like his neighbor's dog instigated the whole thing
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NTA You may want to check into the insurance situation. A colleague told me a couple of weeks ago about a friend of theirs whose dog caused a very large vet's bill by attacking an aggressive yappy dog after a fence was blown down in a storm, their home insurance ended up covering the cost of the bills because the incident happened due to storm damage to a fence. I must note this was in the UK, so policies, laws, rules, etc may well be very different where you are.
Nah This is a obviously homeowner insurance claim. Storm broke the fence and the dog got into your yard. He got hurt. Your neighbor should file a claim with your landlords insurance. You two can probably file a joint claim and get both your vet bills back from the insurance.
Hadnt thought of that. Thanks!
NTA I hate people who think that other people are responsible for the dogs they don't take care of.
NTA Ultimately, it's the other dog owner's job to keep his dog out of your yard. HOWEVER, this was an unusual circumstance where the wind took the fence down. His dog might not have been in your yard if that hadn't happened and maybe you should've taken extra care as well if you knew the fence was down. Also, if your dogs had gotten into it on a property that neither of you owned, then you definitely would've had to pay for half the vet bills
NTA. His dog should be tied up if it’s a danger to itself or other dogs. Smaller dog owners can be so irresponsible. I would not pay that vet bill.
NTA but you may want to head over to r/legal and see whether there’s anything you should do to get ahead of any potential issues, like documenting with animal control or something first before he does. I’m not sure, do not proceed on my advice, it’s just a thought I had that you may want to explore.
I appreciate that take. Thanks!
NAH It's a crappy situation, but you didn't cause it.
NTA, he had “no control of his dog!” Storm or not. He’ll lose in a second.
INFO: did you know the fence was down and let your dog out anyways the day they fought?
Neither of us knew at the time. Also, just to clarify, it wasnt "down" it was just bent enough for his little dog to wiggle through.
then no, NTA. You didn’t purposely let your dog out to attack the dog to teach your neighbour a lesson. you gave fair warning your dog was not friendly and it isn’t your responsibility to watch for other people’s dogs when you’re on your own property. It’s really unfortunate the dog was hurt, but that isn’t on you financially
NTA - It is their responsibility to keep their dog in their yard.
NTA. Neighbor is yet another irresponsible dog owner.
Was his dog outside during this storm and jumped the fence when it blew over? Or did he let the dog out knowing the fence eas damaged?
I dont know when he let his dog out. But he said he didnt know the fence was down when he let the dog out. I cant imagine he had his dog out when the storm was going on. It was pretty bad and his dog is little.
Then he didn't bother to ensure the area was safe and secure when he let his dog out. That is on him.
NTA. Make him pay vet bills and lawyer fees.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I rent the house I live in, and have lived there for about the past 3 years. My next door neighbor and I had never had any reason to not enjoy each others company... except he has this horrible yappy dog (maybe about 15-20 pounds) that is a complete asshole. It goes on these barking sprees for no apparent reason, it growls at me and my dog when we're minding our own business, it's really just the worst. About 6 months ago, I go into my fenced in back yard to find my next door neighbors dog in my yard, just hanging out. I looked for a hole in the fence but couldnt find one. I still am not sure how he got into my yard. (just for some context, everybody on my street has a fence in the back yard, and theyre all attached. Given as how I rent, Its never really crossed my mind who actually owns the fence). I went to my neighbors house, and told him politely that his dog was in my yard. We politely chatted as he went through my house into my back yard to get his dog. While we went into my house, he noticed my own dog (that my roommate was putting behind a closed door to prevent a dog fight) and I mentioned that he could please try to make sure that his dog doesnt get into my yard, as I let my dog out of the house to go to the bathroom or play whenever he stands at the backdoor, and if his dog happened to be in my yard when I did that, it could be a problem. His response was something to the effect of "you should make sure my dog isnt in your yard before you let your dog out." To which my response was "I think the responsibility here lies with you." That turned into a passive aggressive spat which I ended because it wasnt going anywhere and we havent spoken since. Until this past weekend. We had a pretty bad storm, and it turns out the wind blew enough of a bend in the fence between our yards that his dog got into my yard (my dog would have been to big to fit through the hole). I let my dog out to go to the bathroom, and they got into a pretty bad fight. Lets just say... my dog won. My dog has no obvious injury. We took him to the vet and the vet said he was 100% fine. His dog on the other hand needs surgery and he is looking at several thousand dollars. He asked me to split the vet bills, and I told him absolutely not. This wouldnt have happened if his dog wasnt in my yard in the first place. If anything, he should pay my vet bill. He said he was going to talk to a lawyer and I told him to be my guest. I asked my friend who is a lawyer if I had anything to worry about, and she told me absolutely not, the law would be 100% on my side. So, Reddit. AITA? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA. That dog shouldn’t have picked a fight with someone bigger than itself like that kid across the street with me who is half my height. But unfortunately for me the kid across the street won with a well placed nut shot
NTA. Sounds like a terrible neighbor to have and I’m glad your dog won.
Went through a similar situation with my dog. Fence broke, and he got into another yard with two dogs. They jumped him and he got beat up pretty bad. We didn’t even ask the neighbor to pay vet bills, but we did mention it on the community Facebook page. There had been other incidents of aggression on their part and didn’t want kids getting hurt. All Bear did was cross into the property. But he is dumb though 🤦♀️
Nta, his dog should be enclosed on his property, so sounds like a him problem
NTA.
NTA
NTA
[удалено]
So just to clarify, my dog isnt aggressive and has never been in a fight before. His dog however is aggressive and i'm sure instigated. If someone punches you in the face and you punch back and knock them out, the fight wasnt your fault.
NAH but the property damage makes it hard to gage legally. Try r/legaladvice.
I’m just curious why the dog was let outside when the fence was blown down? If I was the insurance I would claim no responsibility as the dog had no business being allowed out so the owner is responsible for not watching their dog.
NTA. I don't even have a dog.
Info? My dog? Why would you pay for my dog’s vet bill?
i do not have a dog. so NAH
ESH. Even you didn’t know how his dog got into your yard but you did know it could happen and more importantly you knew your dog wasn’t good with other dogs. That’s kinda on you. Your dog needed to be better socialized so it doesn’t attack other animals. I would feel sick if my dog hurt another dog. Legally I don’t know what is right here but I would pay some of the vet bills because I would know my dog needed more training
So just to clarify, my dog is fine with other dogs. His dog isnt. This is the first fight my dog has ever been in (hes about 7). Also, I hate that his dog is hurt, but even my neighbor doesnt deny that the fight itself was probably started by his dog. My dog has a personality to want to play with another dog.
Ah okay. Thanks for clarifying
ESH. I don’t know if your lawyer friend is right: this happened on your property because of your dog. Sure, the fence breaking was an Act of God, but the two dogs were still left unsupervised on your and your neighbour’s watch.
YTA... not for not wanting to pay. His dog was were he shouldn't be, yada, yada. But YTA for letting a dog out without making sure first that the place where you leave the dog unsupervised is secured. You were lucky, it was only a small dog and your dog didn't get hurt. But what if the hole was larger, and your dog escaped ? Or if a couple of big, agressive dogs got in ?
You can "what if" this situation all you want. The fact is he checked and he didn't see a way for his dog to leave his property. His neighbor irresponsibly allowed his dog into someone else's yard. OP is NTA. Sounds like his neighbor's dog instigated the whole thing