Liability in case of dog bite incident | Legal aid centre

Questioner

Last Friday I went for a walk with my neighbour's dog and mine. The neighbour's dog grabbed a small dog when I wanted to put him back on the leash after a free run. This dog was on the leash together with another dog and the son of the owner of the dogs. The moment this happened was in a second and I didn't see the little dog and his owner at all because they came 'around the corner'. The dog was nearly bitten to death by the neighbor's dog. He wouldn't let go and I had to squeeze his jaws to get him loose. In the process I got a bite from the bitten dog. Result: The dog underwent surgery for 1000 euros and I received a tetanus shot and antibiotics and a painful inflamed finger. The neighbors are holding me liable. My question: Who is liable?

Lawyer

The owner of the biting animal, not you. That is certainly the case if the biting animal had to be muzzled or because it had a history of biting. The weak point is that the bitten animal was walking around freely.