Dog Bite In A Dog Park

Location: PA

Looking for advice as a defendant.

My dog was involved in a dog fight at a dog park. The other dog’s owner was bit in the process of separating the fight, and now she’s suing me.

My dog and I were at a public dog park (technically must be registered, and we are, but it’s an honor system because there’s no barrier for entrance - I say this because there are clear rules and an assumption of risk). Another dog there was fixated on her ball and playing fetch with her owner. My dog isn’t super toy motivated but likes playing chase. So my dog was just chasing the other dog around, not even continuously, and at one point, the other dog dropped the ball near her owner, my dog motioned towards the ball to sniff it, and the other dog attacked my dog. My dog fought back, so they were going at it. Other dog’s owner was standing right there, so she immediately tried to break them up. I was watching from a bench about 15-20 feet away. I jumped up immediately and pulled my dog away (because I always keep my dogs in a harness at the park for this very reason). In the process of breaking up the fight, the other dog’s owner was bit. Now she’s suing me.

I already have a lawyer, but I’m concerned about the options on the table. It seems this is going to be very expensive, even if I did nothing wrong.

There is absolutely no way that I could be found negligent in this situation. 1) She can’t even prove my dog bit her. Her dog bit mine in this fight. I don’t know if hers was injured, but I assume not since it’s not mentioned in the lawsuit. Doesn’t that make hers just as likely as mine? 2) My dog had no bite history. He was up to date with vaccines. He was licensed with the city. We were dues paying members of the dog park. How did I neglect any care or knowledge regarding him? 3) We were at a dog park. The dogs are supposed to be off leash. There’s an assumed risk when you bring your dog to a dog park. There’s also an assumed risk of injury when you break up a dog fight. This park even has air horns on the fence to use if a fight breaks out rather than stepping in. 4) I immediately grabbed my dog and removed him from the situation. I put his leash on and kept him close to me. She didn’t even put her dog on a leash. And she was there with a partner, so it’s not like she couldn’t because just she was hurt. I stayed because she called the police and an ambulance. She was bit on the leg. It was serious enough to warrant an ambulance, but I can’t imagine it was a life-altering injury.

I apologize for the long rant, it’s just a frustrating situation. I want to take it to a trial because I really don’t think I did anything wrong, but even that is gonna cost me a good $10-15k. That is already a hard number for me, but recoverable. Any more than that, and it’s gonna be financially devastating for me.

ETA: My dog is a pit bull. Hers was not, though her size was comparable. There are no breed restrictions in this city or this park, but I fear he will be/is being unfairly prejudiced. I actually feel that is the only “bad fact” against us in this entire case.