Question: Civil Litigation Research

Our client, John Smith, came to our office to discuss a recent incident involving his three year-old Pomeranian dog, Fluffy. Last week, when John went out to check the mail, Fluffy escaped through the front door. Fluffy ran into the next door neighbors' (Bill and Daisy Jones) yard and immediately attacked Daisy, who was gardening at the time. Fluffy bit Daisy's arm, just below the elbow. John was so shocked that he just stood there and did nothing until the incident was over. According to John, Fluffy has never attacked anyone before. Bill rushed Daisy to the Urgent Care Center where Daisy received ten stitches. As I can imagine, Bill and Daisy are very upset. John has asked for our opinion on possible civil liability regarding this matter. Please research whether John Smith can be civilly liable regarding this issue(s). Our jurisdiction is Texas state courts so please limit My research to Texas state courts. I may use any resources at My disposal (e.g. Westlaw, Lexis, Texas Code online). My assignment is to draft a memo after conducting My research discussing whether John Smith can be held civilly liable and cite the cases and statutes that I found to support My position. I MUST provide some legal basis for My analysis that is based in this jurisdiction.