AITA for “vandalizing” my neighbor’s dog’s winter coat?

Hey Reddit, thought I’d get your opinion on this dispute I’ve had with my neighbor over the last 3 months.

My neighbor (87F) and I (28M) live in a rural area and access our driveways through a wooded back road shared with 2 other houses. We live up north, and in the mornings it can stay dark until almost 8 am.

My neighbor is older, nearly blind, and very stubborn. She has a “support dog” (~4M) that helps her see, although he is not registered by any means. He is a friendly black lab and she has dressed him in a dog coat for warmth for as long as I can remember. The problem is, she lets the dog out in the morning to defecate and he has freedom to roam the shared road. Being a black dog and wearing a DARK BLACK COAT, he is almost impossible to see in the winter months. Between my neighbors and I, we have nearly hit this dog over 8 times in the past 2 months.

I have talked to the neighbor about getting him a new coat or fixing bells to his collar or something, but she is attached to his coat for some reason and refuses to go with bells as they are too noisy and would be difficult for her to remove in her condition. Eventually, I took matters into my own hands after nearly smoking this poor pup when backing onto the shared road in my truck. I took the coat off of the dog and doused it in reflective spray paint. He sticks out like a sore thumb in the woods now, and my neighbors agreed it is much easier to see him.

My neighbor had no idea for a few weeks until her step-nephew visited to help her with a plumbing issue and commented on the coat. She asked me about it, I owned up to it, and now she’s furious - talking about vandalism and lawsuits. I admit I could’ve got a separate reflective coat for him or used reflective tape or something, but I really think I helped more than I hurt the situation.

AITA?