SAN FRANCISCO — John Meihaus Jr. says he was only acting in self-defense when a neighbor’s miniature pinscher ran onto his property and began barking at him. Meihaus grabbed a baseball bat and used it to “guide” the 12-inch-tall, 15-pound dog back onto David and Joyce Plotnik’s property.

The Plotniks sued Meihaus not only for their subsequent $2,600 in veterinary bills, but for the mental anguish they suffered over the injury to their beloved Romeo.