Brant Viner and Margaret Harling, of 85 West St., are petitioning Worcester Superior Court to reverse a Westborough District Court judge’s decision last year affirming conditions the town set regarding the dogs.
According to court records, a judge recently struck down an attempt by the town to have the appeal dismissed for procedural reasons. The town has spent nearly $16,000 in legal fees defending its decision, Town Administrator John Coderre said.
Selectmen in 2011 required the couple to double the height of their fence and keep their dogs muzzled after several neighbors told selectmen their dogs had been attacked by the couple's three Airedale terriers.
Viner and Harling appealed to Westborough District Court, and, after a two-day bench trial, lost.
"To take a walk or a jog around the neighborhood, the neighbors should not be put in fear or required to arm themselves," Judge Paul M. Yee wrote in his decision. He noted that some neighbors had taken to carrying weapons while walking past the house.
Yee wrote that the Airedales had attacked five neighborhood dogs since 2006. On Feb. 15, 2011, the terriers, assisted by heavy, drifting snow, hopped the fence and attacked Thomas Sullivan and his small dog, Yee wrote. The dog survived but needed stitches, while Sullivan was scratched in the face as he laid over his dog to protect it. Two people said they witnessed the attack.
"This is a very serious matter," Sullivan said. "At age 69, I'm laying in the road on my hands and knees with a dog trying to kill my dog. He has attacked my dog before. This is my neighborhood and I shouldn't have to live like this. Actions speak a thousand words, and people can come here and say anything they want. They can be sympathetic or sorry, but look into these actions. I would not put any credit to their words."
In addition to building an eight-foot fence, the couple, as required by the court-backed order, must supervise the dogs when they are inside the fence, muzzle the "most aggressive" dog, Phineas, when he is inside the fence, and muzzle and leash all three dogs if they are taken beyond the fence.
Coderre said Thursday the couple did install the fence as required. However, Vining and Harling in August filed an appeal in Worcester Superior Court alleging that Yee made a "substantial error of law" in his ruling and calling for a new trial.
The town in January filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying the couple did not have the ruling delivered to the town clerk’s office as required under civil procedure.
It provided affidavits from Town Clerk Andy Dowd and from Coderre’s assistant Diane Wackell, who was served the suit in November.
(MetroWest Daily News - June 8, 2013)
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