MASSACHUSETTS -- The Auburn Police Department plans to investigate a resident’s complaint about two dogs that caused a safety hazard for his family, after the Board of Selectmen approved the investigation at Monday’s meeting.
Michael Murphy of 15 Church St. wrote a complaint to selectmen and the Board of Public Health, requesting that the two pit bulls living at 19 Church St. be removed from the town. He said there have been four dangerous incidents with the dogs, including a June 27 situation in which the two dogs “attacked my wife and two children.”
As a result, the Board of Selectmen voted to send these complaints to police for an investigation, followed by a hearing in front of the board on Aug. 13 to determine the dogs’ fate.
“I would like to see this investigation start right away with the police department,” said Selectmen Chairperson Doreen Goodrich. “These are very serious complaints.”
Murphy said that on at least four separate occasions, the dogs have charged out of their yard in an aggressive manner at people – three of the times at children.
“When the two dogs saw my family in the driveway, they immediately broke into a dead sprint towards them in an aggressive manner – barking and showing their teeth," the June 27 complaint from Murphy stated. "My wife and children were petrified given the vicious nature in which the dogs were approaching.
“The dogs were in an aggressive stance with their head lowered and back-side raised, growling and barking and showing their teeth. My wife then threw a coffee mug at them to allow time for the sliding door on our minivan to close, as she feared the dogs would jump into the car after the kids. Once my wife and children were in the car, the dogs remained outside the car barking in a loud and vicious manner.”
Murphy said his wife and children were visibly shaken from the incident, and his children are afraid to go out in the yard because they are traumatized.
“Given the seriousness of the recent incident, as well as prior incidents involving the dogs, the dogs constitute a nuisance and safety hazard to my family and the surrounding neighborhood that must be abated,” he wrote in the complaint.
Selectman Denise Brotherton said that the complaints were really concerning, especially happening right next to Mary D. Stone Elementary School and with many kids living in the area.
The hearing is set for Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. in the selectmen’s meeting room.
(The Daily Voice - July 24, 2012)
