Ask for vet bill to be paid or leave it alone?

[MendoDave]

My dog ran over and attacked a passing dog one day. The owner mailed me her bill from the vet. I think it was $125. I just paid her.
He might pay you. Getting bills from the vet is a strong motivator to keep dogs under control.

[derby]

Worn out from the drugs and drama.

i've been there before. 

[ducpainter]

i've been there before. 

lone ranger?

[lethe]

http://store.parsonspestcontrol.com/catchmaster-24grb-giant-glueboards.aspx

[hbliam]

I've gone back and forth on what is really a trivial deal (considering what IZ has going on) and I've decided to take the bill down to him and see what he says. Partly because it was one of those days where I was handing my debit card to everyone paying my own bills. While paying the vet, I felt like "why the heck should I have to pay for this too?" I already have to deal with a sick/injured pet (semi depressed, have to watch her closer, no walks, blood stains on her sheets).

[hbliam]

He told me to pound sand.

[ducatiz]

[The Bacon Junkie]

He told me to pound sand.

Then the gloves are off...   

[rgramjet]

Time to throw a steak over the fence.....not tainted or anything, just a big ole cooked steak.  If its anything like my dog, it should shit all over his carpet at about 3am. 

Sucky part is if you or anyone else  reports the dog to animal control, he will think its you.

Id probably wait a few weeks before the steak stunt....

[hbliam]

Then the gloves are off...  

I went back a few minutes ago and explained to him that I wasn't back to talk about the money. I told him I believed I had been patient with him for years in an effort to be a good neighbor. I explained that him telling me he wasn't responsible for his dogs actions was beyond belief and wasn't a statement that made me believe he was putting in the same effort to be a good neighbor. I then told him the thing that bothered me the most about our whole conversation was the fact that he never asked how my dog was.

He apologized for what he said and agreed that I have been more then patient. He agreed that he was responsible for the bill and seemed to be on the verge of crying. I let him know the reason I had never pushed the issue was because we have to live so close and because I like his dog. He showed me how the dog had got out and how he was going to fortify the yard.

I think I was on the mark from the beginning. I think it was a financial problem. I also remembered some neighborhood scuttlebutt about him having a problem with depression.

I left it at that. I'm supposed to give him a copy of the bill. In the future I'm going to call animal control to come get his dog if it's loose. I feel better that he made a 180 from the pound sand conversation.

[ducatiz]

I think I was on the mark from the beginning. I think it was a financial problem. I also remembered some neighborhood scuttlebutt about him having a problem with depression.

1.  you have balls
2.  you have patience

that's pretty cool.   good on you that you kept it up.

[red baron]

Ship the offending dog to Bakersfield. If you need a specific address pm me. 

[hbliam]

Ship the offending dog to Bakersfield. If you need a specific address pm me. 

I have that address actually. 

[redxblack]

big ups for being the kind of neighbor I'd want to have around me (and I generally hate people).

[IZ]

Buy him a dog chain, show him the bill, and tell him you're at the end of your patience and generosity

Agreed.  You can only be a good neighbor for so long.