My daughter and her friend(both 19 years old) were walking our Boxer and Pitbull. They turned down a paved alley way that backs to some homes. Each home is surrounded with block walls that have a decorative/drainage block about 2 feet off the ground about every 10 feet. Most of the neighbors have them blocked either with screening or dirt. As the girls were walking along, a dachshund suddenly stuck it's snout out the hole and barked, showed teeth, etc. My Pitbull panicked(doing his job as a protector)and was able to bite the nose off entirely(upper jaw included). He then, in his heightened anxiety, attacked my boxer. The entire incident could have been avoided if they just would have blocked their decorative block. However, my daughter did lose control of the leash, but only because it was so unexpected for both her and the pit. They are now sending us a vet bill for $9000. and hinting at a 1200 plane ticket to fly back early from a business trip, and lost wages for his wife who stayed home for 2 weeks. I believe dogs are personal property. Isn't that like putting $9000 into a $600 car? The police report does state that the dogs snout was outside of the wall. Where do I go from here. Would there be a limit to my liabilities? I don't have the money for this. Do I seek council? Notify my home owners insurance? I love dogs and walk mine 6 days a week. They know how to behave. I see how many dogs are aggressive towards them. And I know the difference between animals and humans. I would not have been so cruel as to keep it alive especially at that expense. My dog is not vicious. If he was, we would put him down. We are in Arizona.

Optional Information:
Country relating to Question: United States
State (if USA): Arizona

Already Tried:
Sending an email letting him know we need more than the 6/30/12-7/03/12 to respond to his letter and telling him it all could have been avoided if they would have been proactive in blocking the holes.