Just remember that this is a 7 month old dog - a puppy or juvenile. A PUPPY. Sometimes the media refers to dogs as puppies and you're probably thinking a roly poly chubby thing you could hold in your hand. Nope.
Mark Melanson said that contrary to what dog trainer Robert Clark Sr. told selectmen at a dog hearing Tuesday, he did not co-own the dog with his son, Alex.
Mr. Clark had been asked by selectmen and regional Animal Control Officer Daniel Chauvin to board Tyson for a week and evaluate the dog's behavior. Mr. Clark reported after working with Tyson that the dog did not seem inherently vicious but needed obedience training and should have all toys, which stimulate his prey drive, taken away.
Selectmen also ordered that Tyson be leashed and muzzled when out of the house until Mr. Clark, Mr. Chauvin and Millbury canine officer Daniel Daly, who will conduct the training, agree it is safe to remove.
Mr. Clark said in an interview, "I never spoke to Alex. I only spoke to his father. I assumed it was a family dog."
While researching Tyson's ownership, Town Clerk Jayne Davolio discovered Tyson was not licensed. State law requires dogs older than 6 months to be licensed. Ms. Davolio said that a dog's rabies shots must be up to date, which can be done when a puppy is between 12 and 16 weeks, for licensing to be complete.
Dogs in Millbury must be licensed annually, for a fee of $15. If an owner seeks an initial license between January and March, the fee until the April 1 licensing period begins is $10. There is a $15 fine for failure to license a dog by July 1.
Ms. Davolio said her office is starting to use a computer program that integrates vaccination certificates from veterinarians and will automatically send renewal notices. When license reminders were added to annual census forms two years ago, the number of licensed dogs increased to nearly 1,000 from the 700s. Under the new system, Ms. Davolio said she anticipated the number to go up even more.
(Telegram & Gazette - July 17, 2015)
Earlier:
How about this 'dog trainer' Clark, AC Chauvin, and K9 officer Daly be told that once they declare it safe to remove the muzzle from this pit mix, they'll be liable if it bites anything (animal or human) again. Let's see how quick they are then to coo that this pit mix is safe.
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