Considering Doing the Thing I Said I'd Never Do

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

I’m pretty sure we’d be liable if they were our dogs, but I’m not sure since they are the neighbor’s dogs. I suspect it could be one of those deals where we could be held liable and then be able to go after the neighbors later. That’s a question I don’t want to deal with though.

It looks like it depends on the state if they consider your fence a reasonable protection against the threat and enough to secure adequate safety. Basically, to secure your yard against known threats.

So if you live on a lake in Flordia you need to have an adequate fence to prevent alligators from coming on your property. This is going to mean buried/cemented in fencing. If you live in Maine this would mean safety from bears and proper precautions taken to secure the property. Everything I can find involves wildlife and not pets. That said since you know they are a threat and they have come onto your property (even just once) you should probably see if you can get a quick consult with a lawyer for free or low cost.

And again, all of this changes if you are determined to be an employeer. Might want to run a hypothetical by a lawyer, too.