Arpie’s Ethical Dilemma

Arpie: Okay commenters and blurkers I need help with an ethics question: This morning on a walk to get the paper, My dog lit into and hurt a neighbors’ dog enough to need a trip to the vet. My dog is confined in my yard unless it is with me, which it was though not on a leash. The neighbors’ dog was loose and had been following the owner’s car along the private road we both live on. The car headed to town and a few minutes later, my dog hurt their dog. This happened on the road, not on either of our properties. The neighbor lives further up the road from us and I do not go past their house on my trip to the mail-paper boxes. Am I morally, ethically, and or legally bound to pay the vet bill? On the one hand, my dog hurt their dog. On the other hand, their dog was loose without, an owner present, on neutral terrain.

Arpie: Any thoughts would be appreciated.