PENNSYLVANIA -- The Animal Control Commission declared two Rottweilers at 67 Lucia Drive dangerous after an attack on a neighborhood dog and biting a man on Feb. 28.
About 20 residents attended a Thursday hearing at City Hall and several described the attack. A man also was bitten trying to break up the [attack] and was treated at Berkshire Medical Center.
The owner of the Rottweilers, who paid the vet bill for the injured dog, said it was the only time his dogs behaved this way.
After the board's decision, 48 Lucia Drive resident Kelli Clark -- whose Golden Retriever was attacked -- called it a fair one. The overriding issue, she said, is that "residents just do not feel safe."
Clark's dog, Rita, required nine staples to close gaping wounds, Clark told the commission, later displaying a photograph of the injuries. Clark's husband, James, was walking the retriever when the attack happened, she said.
Anthony Robie of 12 Lucia Drive tried to separate the animals. He received bites and scratches, according a report by Pittsfield Police Officer Marc Maddalena, who responded to the call shortly after 6 p.m. Robie was taken to the hospital with injuries to his arms, while the retriever was taken to a veterinarian by its owners.
In addition, commissioners and Animal Control Officer Joseph Chague said they will notify the town of Lenox that the owners of the two dogs -- Jessica and Dr. Enrique Lopez -- say they intend to move to the town by April 15.
Chague said authorities in area communities routinely make such notifications.
After declaring the dogs a danger, commissioners accepted Chague's recommendations for strict conditions on how the dogs must be confined and muzzled and leashed when walked. Commissioners also recommended that the Lopezes be required to carry insurance of "no less than $100,000" for injuries or damage the dogs might cause in the future.
The matter will be referred to Police Chief Michael Wynn for review and implementation. Wynn could alter the recommendation.
Enrique Lopez and his attorney, Robert Fuster, attended the hearing. They said the dogs escaped a fenced-in area by accident Feb. 28 after a landscaper altered a gate to bring in lawn equipment. They described the training the male dog, named Tank, has undergone since the family adopted him from a rescue and adoption organization. Both described a one-time incident that was not typical.
"It looks like a fluke," Fuster said at one point.
Neighbors who commented disagreed.
Lopez also informed the commission that his family intends to move to Lenox, where they have found a rental property with a fence that once was the site of a pet-sitting business. Their home on Lucia Drive, off East New Lenox Road, also is a rental.
Lopez said he disagrees that the dogs are a danger but also doesn't want the neighbors to feel unsafe.
The female, Lola, was not described as aggressive, but commissioners were concerned she had joined in the attack on the Retriever, and they imposed the same declaration and conditions on both. A witness said the dogs "were ripping into" the retriever.
Ward 2 City Councilor Kevin Morandi, a member of the commission, said he agreed with the decisions.
"We have to think of the safety of the neighborhood. This should not happen again," Morandi said.
During the hearing, Fuster and Lopez said steps have been taken to confine and restrain the dogs since the incident, and Fuster said neither dog has a history of unprovoked attacks on a human.
However, a neighbor argued that the threat of attacks on other pets should be taken seriously as well and is becoming too common.
Neighbors said there have been other instances of the Rottweilers getting loose, and at least one other attack on a neighborhood dog being walked.
The Lopezes were praised for having paid the vet bills for the Retriever.
(Berkshire Eagle - April 5, 2013)
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