family member’s dog bit mine. please help!
context:
me (25F) my partner (25M) his brother (26M) and his girlfriend (29F) all went camping this past weekend for brother’s gf’s birthday. we were camping from sat-Tuesday. we had four dogs with us, my two dogs which are ACD mixes and 7mo and 1.3yr respectively. they had their two dogs, which are also ACD mixes, one is 9 years old the other is 7mo.
all weekend dogs were fine. we know older dog is grumpy bc well she’s older. she’s a barker and very protective of her owner and space, but i was never told by owner that she had potential to bite. all of our dogs were off leash all weekend together, no issues.
last day, my dogs are up with us and then the other group wakes up, as the four of them (brother gf and their two dogs) exit the tent, mine went to go say good morning and greet them. i realized my i didn’t see my older dog, so i went to go grab him so they had space to get out of their tent without 4 dogs wagging around them. well… without any growl or bark or warning, the older dog lunged at my dog and does not let go. my dog didn’t growl, didn’t bark, didn’t fight back, he just screamed and cried until we got her off of him.
long story short, he is going to the vet today for antibiotics and possible stitches. i personally feel like they should be paying for those vet bills, whether my dog walked up to greet them or not. after four days of zero issue, and not being told this was a possibility, i do not feel like i am at fault for her dog attacking mine without warning because she wanted space or was cranky.
i just need advice. this is basically my brother and sister in law and the family dynamic with his mom (my bfs stepmom) is already very toxic. i just want them to pay for it and say sorry.