Selectmen order doberman banished or euthanized
September 11, 2008 2:35 PM
By CINDY DOW
Associate Editor
LAKEVILLE — After a public hearing Monday night describing an attack on a neighbor's dog, the Board of Selectmen gave Ronald Brown and Darlene Costa-Brown a choice: surrender their five-year-old Doberman Pinscher, Drake, to Doberman Rescue and have him removed from town, or the dog will be euthanized.
"Send the dog over to the dog officer, at the shelter. He'll contact Doberman Rescue; if they don't want him, he'll be euthanized," Chairman of Selectmen Charles Evirs said.
The board also ordered measures to ensure that Brandy, a second Doberman owned by the Browns that was not believed to be involved in the attack, would not be able to escape from the fenced in yard.
The hearing is the first time in recent years that a dog has been ordered out of town or destroyed. Recent vicious dog hearings involving dog attacks on other dogs include Fatboy, an English Bulldog who attacked a neighborhood dog who was being walked on a leash in January. Fatboy was ordered to wear a muzzle while off of his property and take obedience training, with the muzzle order to be reconsidered once the training had been completed.
Another dog, a Great Dane owned by Keith Boucher, of Laurel Street, has been before the selectmen twice in the past year for attacking other dogs. In December, the board ordered a fence adequate to contain the dog constructed around the property. Until the fence was built, the dog was to be on a run and muzzled any time she was out of the house.
In May, a second hearing was held to address another attack, and the board learned that Mr. Boucher had not fulfilled the terms of the previous order. At that time the board ordered the dog "permanently restrained," ordered Mr. Boucher to construct a 20 foot by 20 foot kennel six feet high to contain the dog, requiring that the dog be on a run or chain and muzzled until the kennel was constructed, and to and from the kennel once it was constructed. Mr. Boucher was alerted that, "if another incident occurs with your dog, the selectmen will order that the dog be removed from the town of Lakeville and you will be fined $100."
The euthanasia order was a result of an attack on a North Precinct Street neighbor's miniature schnauzer August 21. Thomas Furlong said he took his two small dogs for a walk around 6:45 a.m., but noticed the Brown's two Dobermans loose down the street. He turned to return to his house, but one of the Dobermans ran "about 100 yards" toward them and attacked the schnauzer.
The schnauzer received eight bite wounds and had to undergo emergency surgery at Tufts Veterinary Hospital. Veterinary bills to date have totaled $4,597.
Mr. Furlong said he went to see the Browns the night of the attack. The Browns expressed their concern and offered immediately to pay the veterinary bill.
"My husband made an honest mistake, he left the gate open, and the dogs were out on the morning of August 21," Ms. Costa-Brown said. "When I noticed the dogs were out of the yard, I called them and they came"¦I was not aware at this time that anything had happened"¦we do not know what happened. We do not know if this incident was unprovoked, we were not present. Did the dogs bark at each other? Was there some sort of aggression on the part of the dogs? We don't know. All my husband and I know is that two dogs were in a fight."
Within days the Browns began installing a six-foot high stockade fence around the front and side of the yard, which had previously had kennel fencing around it. Ms. Brown said they did this because Mr. Furlong expressed his fear of walking past the house after the attack on his dog. They also installed an auto-latching gate to prevent a similar incident from occurring again. The Browns have already paid the initial veterinary bill of $2879.
The Browns adopted Drake from Doberman Rescue three years ago, when he was two. They also have a female, Brandy, who is three. There have not been any documented complaints about either of the dogs prior to this incident.
Mr. Furlong said that he delivered letters to 48 homes in the neighborhood to tell neighbors about the attack, and then met with 27 families to ask support before the Board of Selectmen for the dog hearing Monday night. About a dozen emails and letters were sent to the board, expressing fear of another incident and requesting that the dog be put down.
"My wife, Barbara, and I respectfully request that the Board of Selectmen, that you order humane euthanization soon, so that a child, an adult, or a family pet is not slaughtered, or maimed, or killed," Mr. Furlong said.
Neighbors crowding the room argued that human error cannot be ruled out in the future, and that once a dog attacks, it will do so again. They expressed fear for their children's and pets' safety if the dog was allowed to remain in its home.
Ms. Brown said she and her husband are responsible dog owners, and suggested that the additional measures they have taken would ensure the safety of the neighborhood. They do not feel that the dog is a danger.
"While I completely understand Mr. and Mrs. Furlong are frightened and upset"¦I don't think one honest mistake warrants death," Ms. Brown said.
Due to potential conflict of interest from the Furlong's house being listed for sale with the real estate company Selectman Derek Maksy's wife works with, Mr. Maksy recused himself from the discussion, leaving Mr. Evirs and Ms. Yeatts to determine sentencing.
Ms. Yeatts was not comfortable sentencing the dog to death. She suggested finding a way to get the dog out of town, but Mr. Evirs did not want to give a problem dog to another town. After determining to send the dog to the rescue organization, which will have record of the attack and take that into consideration when adopting the animal out again, the two turned their attention to the remaining Doberman in the Brown's home.
Mr. Furlong had explained that the second Doberman had not participated in the attack, but had held back toward its own property. Ms. Brown said the female dog was timid, which was a primary reason she believed the male to have been the one involved in the fight.
The board ordered that the automatically latching gate, which currently swings out of the yard, be changed so that it swings into the fenced area, to prevent the dog from being able to accidentally push the gate open if the latch were to fail. Selectmen also ordered the dog to either wear a muzzle, be on a run, or in a kennel inside of the fenced area, in order to have a "second layer of insurance" against another incident.
The Browns surrendered Drake Monday night after the hearing, and waived the ten-day appeal period. Doberman Rescue was to have picked the dog up from the shelter yesterday.
When questioned about the apparent arbitrary manner if which dogs are sentenced, Ms. Yeatts agreed that there did not seem to be a standard the board uses to determine how to decide a case.
"I can't disagree — I find it really hard. I know we're the executive board, but now we also have to be experts on dog hearings, and what to do if there's a problem," she said. "Maybe this is the beginning of setting a standard. I think we have been way too lenient in the past."
Copyright © 1995-2008 South Coast Media Grouphttp://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/...UB04/809110452
I have to say, it was just a series of little pink signs with clever rhymes, but seeing them day by day up and down Campbell Avenue definitely did a good job of intriguing me. I’d long seen bats flitting around at twilight in my neighborhood, and had wondered where it was they might sleep during the day. I definitely hadn’t been able to imagine any caves within the city, and I didn’t think they’d fly so far as to come from open desert…but under any of the bridges crossing the Rillito River? There was only one way to find out, and that was to attend 
Posts
