Hayden Panettiere in legal dispute with dog sitter

Hayden Panettiere is embroiled in a legal battle with her dog sitter over allegations of an unpaid bill.

Tia Brooks is suing the Nashville actress, accusing the star of failing to pay $8,500 for her services.

However, Hayden's lawyer, Marty Singer, has fired back with a letter disputing the charges, claiming Tia continued to bill the actress even after she stopped looking after the pooches.

Hayden has rescued two canines, Zander and Xena, and was reportedly using Tia's services while she found a permanent home for them. Tia reportedly rehomed them by placing an advert on listings website Craigslist.com, but is said to have carried on billing Hayden for her work.

In Singer's letter, obtained by TMZ.com, he claims Tia cared for the dogs for six years at $30 a day, but the grand total of her invoice came to around $119,000 because she added on lots of extra costs for things like toys and sprays.

Tia insists her bills are legitimate and tells TMZ a portion of the fee was due to a pricey vet bill.

The lawsuit comes at a tough time for Hayden, who recently left rehab following a second round of treatment for postpartum depression.

She was then spotted smoking in New York City in early July (16), when her engagement ring was noticeably missing.

Hayden subsequently denied her engagement to boxer Wladimir Klitschko was in trouble by taking to Twitter to share a photo of the couple and its daughter, Kaya, who was born in December, 2014.

She captioned the shot, "Missing rings don't mean the end of relationships. Blessed to be with my beautiful family".

Hayden initially announced she was suffering from the baby blues last year (15), when she first entered rehab and took time out from her TV show Nashville. After a brief return, she revealed she would be heading back for more treatment in May (16).