RHODE ISLAND -- Two dogs, possibly pit bulls, have taken over the neighborhood on the Liberty Road extension in the Glasco section of the town, according to resident Gary Young.
Speaking at last week’s Town Board meeting, Young said the two dogs chased his 80-year-old father through the Young family yard and into the house and sat in front of the home’s front door not letting them out.
“They were holding my father and family hostage,” Young said of the incident.
Young said this is not the first time the dogs have menaced residents of the neighborhood. “They are following people and scaring them,” Young said.
“That’s terrifying,” replied Kelly Myers, town supervisor.
The two dogs are owned by a neighbor, and easily jump over their chicken-wire fence and roam the neighborhood unleashed, Young said.
He has called the police to handle the problem, but they have told him the town does not have a law against pets roaming free.
Late last year, the village, which at the time did not have a law either, passed one protecting residents and pets from “vicious animals,” but as of yet, the town does not have a similar law.
Young said the state agriculture department does have a law, which the town police can use to handle such a situation.
“The law says that police can handle dogs ‘that pose imminent danger,’ to people,” Young said.
Police would file a complaint, and rather than the matter being handled in justice court, it would be handled as a civil matter, Young added.
Myers said she would have the town attorney look into the law, and if applicable forward it to the police.
However, in the meantime, the Town Board will look into drafting a law that protects its residents from potential danger from these types of situations.
(Hudson Valley One - April 17, 2012)
