Dog Bite To The Face. Can I And Should I Take Any Legal Action? (i'm In New Jersey)

Location: Tom's River, New Jersey

So I'm currently in a treatment center in Tom's River, NJ because my drinking got out of hand, and I decided to check myself into a PHP program that has its own separate housing apart from it's clinical building. Another client here had a pit bull/lab mix. The dog is a certified "trained service animal" supposedly. Specifically trained for the owners seizure disorder. The dog up until today has acted pretty friendly and hasn't shown any body language or behaviors that would make me think it's aggressive. I've also worked as a groomer before at a PetSmart, and also for a dog training camp, so I've gotten pretty decent at reading dog's body language.

Well today I was finishing moving some of my stuff upstairs to my room, cause I brought too many things with me, and it's been a slow process getting everything up here and I've been doing it little by little. I was downstairs in the living room of our housing where my belongings were and I decided to take a break and sat on the couch. The dog kind of happily came up around me and jumped up with his upper body propped up on me. Acting really friendly. Wagging tail, tongue out. Being really sweet, I pet him for like maybe 30 seconds to a minute, just enjoying the moment cause I thought it was a really cute dog. As I mentioned...there was no cues for aggression. I then decided that I was done petting dog and I wanted to continue and resume the task I was working on. I stopped petting him and motioned to stand up and that's when this stupid dog flipped a switch and lunged at my face. Luckily it didn't get my neck or a more vital part of my body like my eye or anything like that. It got my face really good. Big puncture wound in my moustache area and a nice deep gash in my beard area. I needed stitches, though they left the stitching loose since it's a dog bite and they said infection is a concern. They want me to be able to clean it well. I'm being prescribed antibiotics and told to keep it clean. I suppose the injuries are mostly cosmetic and I'm not gonna like die or anything or need any added hospitalizations but it concerns me. The dog could have gotten my neck. It could be a child next time. The dog is supposedly a certified trained service animals. I have the dogs paper work stating it's rabies vaccinated and that it's certified.

The center I'm at DID act swiftly and got rid of the client AND his dog. If I did go after anyone I wouldn't want to go after the center as they did require the owner showed them the paperwork I have stating the dog is certified. It isn't their fault.

So I guess my question is...do I have a case? And if so who should I be going after? Part of me feels bad suing anyone. I'm not typically the type of person to want to do anything like that against another civilian. The owner of the dog PROBABLY doesn't have a lot of money. I don't know. Can I sue? Should I sue? Part of me feels bad to go after him but I just don't know. I am at a loss. I'd appreciate any insight as to what I should do next.

I guess that's it.

Thanks to anyone who decides to read all this and reply. Just need opinions.