I will tell you what I was told by a lawyer. You are under no obligation to tell the dog owner how you arrived at the amount you are asking for. You may have to explain it to the judge in court, but not the dog owner. Here is the letter I used.
Jody B
XXXXXXXX
Waterloo, NE 68069
phone #
November 24, 2008
Mr. V
XXXXXXXXX
Waterloo, NE 68069
Re: Damages incurred from your dogs attacking my poultry
Dear Mr. V:
The purpose of this letter is to attempt to resolve the issue of damages arising from your dogs attacking my animals.
As you know, the incident happened on October 23, 2008 in the following manner. Your dogs left your property, entered mine, attacked and killed my birds. Thirteen birds were killed, a vet bill was incurred, I had to leave work early, a cage was damaged in the coop and a lot of feed was spilled. The information about the incident was confirmed by witnesses. You are responsible for this incident because your dogs were not contained on your property.
As a direct result of this incident, I have incurred losses in the amount of $xxx. In addition to my costs, I have suffered another loss that in many ways has been more hurtful. The birds were hand raised by my family and me. They were all healthy. Some were rare breeds that are expensive and difficult to obtain. Our birds have great sentimental and emotional value to my entire family. Their suffering and death has caused a great deal of pain in this house. Because you also are a pet owner, I assume that you understand the terrible ordeal that a pet owner incurs when an incident like this takes place, so I will not describe the details, although I could.
In order to avoid the time and expense of formal civil court proceedings, I suggest that we resolve the issue of restitution. You clearly are responsible for all of the losses that resulted from this incident. There is no question that my losses total $xxxxx. There also should be little doubt that my family and I have suffered greatly because of what happened. Instead of civil court proceedings, I propose that these damages be paid by you to me by December 5, 2008. I believe that this amount is less than what I am entitled to receive, but I would give up the rest if it were paid by that date.
If you intend to accept this settlement proposal, you must sign the bottom of this letter and send it back to me within one week from today. Should you need further information [or more time for payment], or if you have questions or comments, please contact me within one week from today.
Sincerely,
Jody B
Of course, the letter was just a formality. I knew that the idiot had no intention of paying. His dogs had been a problem for other neighbors. He claims to love them, but I guess he doesn't love them enough to keep them in his yard or take responsibility for them. My son was home when it happened. If I was home, they would have been shot.
