As I may have posted in this thread or in another recently, when I had a cycling accident due to two dogs running out at me, I was able to file a claim with the dog owners' homeowner's insurance co. and have ALL my expenses paid. The fact that our county has a leash law may have made a difference, though. And they did have to cooperate by providing me their HOI information so that I could file a claim. They never offered me to pay out of pocket (my claim was around $4000, so probably out of their price range anyway).

I don't know how much small claims court costs, but if it's a lot less than $500 to file a claim, that's probably what I would do. That was most likely going to be my next move if things hadn't worked out with the insurance co. And yes, a letter from a lawyer can indeed help at times, too.

I feel your pain, though, at having to go past their house every time you ride and worrying what they might do if you do file a claim against them. That really stinks. I might go as far as to consider moving. Very drastic, but so is being stressed out in your own neighborhood every time you ride. Even if they never seek any kind of revenge, it would freak me out just worrying about the chance that they might every time I rode past there.

Good luck - let us know what you do.

Emily