Gary McKeown, 55, of Narcissa Road, was sentenced to two years’ probation and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service after being approved for admission to Montgomery County’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program.
The program allows first-time, non-violent offenders the opportunity to clear their criminal records if they successfully complete the period of probation.
[This is similar to what's called "judicial diversion" in other states, basically a "get out of jail free" card. As long as he doesn't get himself into any misdemeanor or felony crimes in the next two years, this will get cleared off his record AS IF IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED.]
McKeown also must pay $2,244 in court costs under the terms of the ARD agreement.
McKeown’s trial on charges of recklessly endangering another person and violating state dog law safety and penalties had been delayed while the ARD application was under consideration.
The charges were filed in connection with the Oct. 5, 2009, dog attack at Maple Acre Farms, a business operated by McKeown in the 2600 block of Narcissa Road.
The dog attack occurred shortly before 4 p.m. as the Conshohocken girl and her mother visited the public farm stand to purchase pumpkins, according to police.
The girl’s mother told police that her daughter was picking at the grass and the dog, an 11-year-old German shepherd named Max, was sitting next to her. When the girl went to hug the dog, the animal attacked her throat without provocation, prosecutors previously alleged.
The little girl was transported by medical helicopter to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where doctors performed a five-hour surgery to repair her severely damaged vocal cords and a punctured larynx, according to court papers.
The injuries were so severe the girl required a tracheotomy and had to be placed on a ventilator during her hospitalization through Oct. 29, 2009.
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| After having been allowed to attack adults and children for NINE YEARS, authorities finally put "Max" to sleep |
At the time of the attack, Max was not leashed and was roaming freely on the property despite a previous order from the county health department that placed restrictions on the dog because of previous attacks, authorities alleged.
That 2006 “departmental order” declared the dog to be a public health nuisance and required that Max be restrained in a secured enclosure or be muzzled and leashed under the control of someone 18 years or older while in public areas, authorities alleged.
The health department’s order had been put in place because the dog had attacked three other people between May 2000 and May 2006, court papers indicate. Court documents say that previous attacks by the dog included:
- a May 14, 2000, incident during which Max attacked an 11-year-old girl who required stitches to her face
- a June 19, 2000, incident during which the dog harmed a 10-year-old boy
- a May 19, 2006, attack during which an 18-year-old woman required 17 stitches to re-attach her left ear and close lacerations to her jugular vein.
The investigation revealed that at the time of the most recent attack, McKeown did not have a current dog license for Max, a requirement under state law.
After the Oct. 5 attack, the dog was quarantined and ultimately euthanized, according to authorities.
(Reporter Online - November 23, 2011)
