a) you still can and should file suit for the $50. And ask for a Jury trial. Sure it will cost you $10K+, but it will cost that other "owner" at least that much or more to defend. It will NOT be pleasant for them. They may have to capitulate and settle if they cannot afford a lawyer, if that's the cheaper option. The only reason not to is if they are so poor they don't even have $10K or so rich they won't care. Otherwise, the defendant in a lawsuit is already in a very weak position if they have something to lose. Would their homeowners/umbrella coverage pay anything?
b) oh yes, start with $50 for the animal + emotional trauma of say $100,000 (you) due to gross negligence including presumably violating a leash law. Such a cute dog! Dogs as cute as that can go on to have $1M modeling careers. See causing that incident +whatever other rubbish like that a good lawyer can dredge up is on top of the value of the dog. You will end up settling for a lot less, but you can sue for anything. You may not make a lot of money but you can definitely be seriously punitive to the "owner" and may (eventually) break even or better.
c) if you don't have the backing, do a gofundme to pay the fees
d) pester the fuck out of the DA to press additional criminal charges
e) get a representative and/or press interest. might even eventually change those laws
If you are serious about fixing those asshole "owners" who let this happen, you can take a pretty good crack at it.
I hate it when slimy lawyers use these tactics against the "good guys", but there are times like these that it would be useful.
AFAIU, Texas strictly limits the scope of negligent infliction of emotional distress claims. Negligent infliction of emotional distress is a fairly recent judicial invention. Being one of the first (the first, at least in the U.S., per Wikipedia) to recognize a claim in the absence of physical injury to the plaintiff, AFAIU it's much broader in California than many other jurisdictions. (EDIT: And even under California law this may be a difficult claim to make.) This is probably why Texas lawyers simply dismissed the possibility out-of-hand.
The point is not necessarily to win - the point is to cause the other guy to expend resources. Plus the crap-shoot of a jury trial. I'm guessing that nobody is going to take this case on contingency, but 100% that there's a clever ambulance chaser even in TX who can wreck people if that's what the author wants to do.
If you're paying for it, you can find a lawyer to wreck someone's life. Again, if that's what you want to do.
On the other hand, I have a family member who had this exact same thing happen. Except it was their other dog that did it, and that dog was also a beloved family pet. Rough is what that situation is. And what they did is feel really bad but get over it. They did keep the other dog. They won't be getting another toy breed for a long time either. Very sad all around.
So revenge is a great fantasy. If the author wants to do all that stuff, I'm positive 100% they could do something pretty nasty. But in the real world we often have to just ... get over it. Probably healthier, but me - I'd sue the bejesus out of them, just for spite.
a) you still can and should file suit for the $50. And ask for a Jury trial. Sure it will cost you $10K+, but it will cost that other "owner" at least that much or more to defend. It will NOT be pleasant for them. They may have to capitulate and settle if they cannot afford a lawyer, if that's the cheaper option. The only reason not to is if they are so poor they don't even have $10K or so rich they won't care. Otherwise, the defendant in a lawsuit is already in a very weak position if they have something to lose. Would their homeowners/umbrella coverage pay anything?
b) oh yes, start with $50 for the animal + emotional trauma of say $100,000 (you) due to gross negligence including presumably violating a leash law. Such a cute dog! Dogs as cute as that can go on to have $1M modeling careers. See causing that incident +whatever other rubbish like that a good lawyer can dredge up is on top of the value of the dog. You will end up settling for a lot less, but you can sue for anything. You may not make a lot of money but you can definitely be seriously punitive to the "owner" and may (eventually) break even or better.
c) if you don't have the backing, do a gofundme to pay the fees
d) pester the fuck out of the DA to press additional criminal charges
e) get a representative and/or press interest. might even eventually change those laws
If you are serious about fixing those asshole "owners" who let this happen, you can take a pretty good crack at it.
I hate it when slimy lawyers use these tactics against the "good guys", but there are times like these that it would be useful.