Holbrook officials order dog euthanized

MASSACHUSETTS -- Selectmen have ordered a dog that reportedly bit two people on different occasions to be euthanized.

“This is one of the toughest motions I even made,” Chairman Timothy Gordon said when his motion to euthanize the four-year-old mastiff was supported by his colleagues during a Nov. 5 public hearing. “It’s a difficult decision to make.”

At issue is a dog owned by Carl Mueller of West Shore Road that Animal Control Officer Laurice Hedges said is aggressive, has been loose in the neighborhood a few times, and bit two men unprovoked in two separate incidents over the past three years.

Citing a police report, Hedges said the mastiff is a rescue dog and opined that he might have been abused by its previous owner.

In one incident, Hedges said the dog bit an appliance service technician that came to Mueller’s house. The second incident occurred when the dog got loose and went after a man walking with his girlfriend on the street.

“The dog latched on the man’s hand,” Hedges said of the second incident.

Mueller said that the man punched the dog in the face three times when the he ran up behind him. Mueller said he wasn’t sure if the man’s hand wounds were the result of punching the dog’s mouth or from a bite.

“I don’t know if he got a tooth in the hand from the punching,” he said.

Hedges said the man was taken to the hospital by the fire department paramedics for treatment.

She said the dog seems to go after men and shows aggression.

“The dog should not have that propensity,” Hedges said.

Jim Taggart, who lives across from Mueller, said children and even his dog play with the mastiff and that he never witnessed the dog being aggressive.

Mueller offered to fence in his yard and place the dog in a secure kennel on his property.

“I’m for safety,” he said. “Give me more time to do something.”

Hedges said restraining the dog would make him more aggressive and pose even more of a danger.

The board agreed.

“I’m concerned the restrictions would make the dog more aggressive,” Gordon said.

After unanimously approving to euthanize the dog, Hedges told Mueller that he has 10 days to appeal the board’s decision in Quincy District Court. Mueller did not say if he was going to appeal.

(Wicked Local - Nov 16, 2014)