Dog Scratched Neighbors Dog That Was Under Fence

Location: Oklahoma

My neighbor came to my house this evening and told me that she has a small dog that has been sticking its paws and nose through the tiny gap at the bottom of our shared fence. She told me that my dog has scratched her dog twice, which has resulted in $1000 (this seems exorbitant for scratches to me) in vet bills. She asked me for “restitution” and told me to file a claim with my homeowners insurance. I told her that I do not promise her restitution but that I would get cinderblocks to line my side of the fence, which I have and those will be put out in the morning. She has small decorative rocks (no bigger than a baseball) on her side of the fence. The fence was erected by her landlord, so the lack of soil fill is not on my part.

My dog is an Australian Shepherd with no prior instance of attacking another dog, but I’m aware that breed is known for being territorial. From my perspective, my dog did her job by protecting my property, though I am sorry that another dog was hurt.

Am I at all liable for this? I’m thinking the neighbor is responsible for keeping her dog from getting under our fence by asking her landlord to fill the soil, doing it herself, or putting cinderblocks out. She also did not tell me the first time it happened, and my dog has had no injuries, so I was completely unaware. They’ve always barked at each other through the fence, and I’ve always thought she was just excited to see the other dogs.

Thinking I could use this opportunity to make a good sized cinderblock raised bed along the fence line, but if I could be liable in any way I would rather hang on to the money for now.