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All right, time for a little dog bite action!

In general, a pet owner is liable for damage his dog causes.

The old maxim, "Every dog gets one free bite" is not true. It used to be considered that the owner wasn't liable if he was unaware that the dog was prone to biting. Not so anymore: some states impose liability if the animal has "known hazardous propensities," e.g. it is a fighting dog that has been beaten every day of its life and hates humans.

Now, you say this is the SECOND time that the dog has menaced you. You say you were alone the first time, did the dog attack you, or your dog?

Anyway, if you believe you have determinable DAMAGES there are attorneys specializing in dog bite cases in your area that can counsel you on what legal recourse you may have.

But I wouldn't recommend that, nor would I recommend turning fido into 100 pounds of bone chips and hamburger with a 158-grain .357 slug painted Aztec gold on the tip, which can subject YOU to potential civil penalties and is messy besides.

No, what you need to do is call up the owner and tell him, politely, that you want to come over and have a discussion with him about his dog. If he agrees, I would very politely tell him that if his dog is out in public, and not on a leash, there's a risk that the dog is going to hurt somebody, which would be tragic, and also potentially subject the owner to civil damages, which could be pretty big, and may not be covered by insurance.

Put it to him like this: the cost of an "invisible fence" system or a radio shock collar is, say, $500. Suppose it were not your dog but your daughter, (G_d forbid) that were bitten by his dog, and suppose further that you decided to sue him and the jury returned a verdict of $10,000. Now ask him: faced with having to take out a $10,000 mortgage on his house to pay you a cash settlement, would he rather pay $500 to you to forget the whole thing? If the answer is YES, then why not just spend the money now and avoid the tragedy of somebody getting hurt and the resultant legal process?

If you are calm, and he is rational, you might get somewhere. If not, you now are aware of TWO incidents in which the dog attacked, and you may someday have to act in self defense.

Good luck to you, this kind of thing can be frustrating but calm usually carries the day.