Massachusetts: Dangerous dog hearing held for two pit bulls which attacked Robert Cavanagh in his own yard

MASSACHUSETTS -- On Saturday, July 9, Robert D. Cavanagh was doing some yard work at his home on Anne Lane in Gray Gables. The 87-year-old was working with his electric weed-whacker when the tool suddenly lost power, requiring him to recharge its battery.

As he walked to his garage, he was suddenly greeted by two uninvited visitors, a pair of pit bulls from across the street that charged at him.

“I was in fear of my life,” Mr. Cavanagh said.

Mr. Cavanagh said that he was able to fight off the dogs by swinging his weed-whacker at them, until two people from across the street came over, restrained the animals and took them back across the street.

 

 

The incident left Mr. Cavanagh shaken enough that he requested a dangerous dog hearing with town officials to ensure safety and peace of mind for him and his wife.

“What do we do every time we go out: carry a weapon? How do you enjoy your property?” he asked.

Mr. Cavanagh was initially informed by Bourne Department of Natural Resources Director Timothy W. Mullen that the town would not hold a hearing on the dogs. In a letter to Mr. Cavanagh, Mr. Mullen said the reason no hearing would be scheduled was because his department had no history of the dogs being vicious or biting anyone.

“We have no record of any bite incidents or any other acts of aggression. We have been with the dogs on a few occasions now and have found them to be non-aggressive while in our presence,” Mr. Mullen said.

Mr. Mullen later learned that a change in state law now requires that a hearing, if requested, be held as part of the investigation into any incident involving an alleged dog attack. As a result, a hearing was held in the office of Bourne Town Administrator Thomas M. Guerino on Wednesday afternoon, November 2. Mr. Guerino acted as the hearing’s authority and heard testimony from both Mr. Cavanagh and Mr. Mullen.

The dogs’ owners, Christopher Macura and Janelle G. Wayman, also of Anne Lane, did not attend the hearing.

During the hearing, Mr. Cavanagh repeated his belief that the dogs are vicious. He said that he would like to see that the dogs are chained in their yard and muzzled at all times. He also said that he considered himself lucky to be alive.

“If my wife had been out there, she’d be in the hospital, or dead, by now,” he said.

Mr. Mullen said that he sympathized with Mr. Cavanagh and understood it must have been a traumatic experience for him. He disagreed with Mr. Cavanagh’s assessment of the dogs, however, and read from the incident report written by town Dog Officer P. Sharon Hamilton.

Ms. Hamilton wrote that, immediately following the alleged attack, she spoke with Christopher L. Kady and Melissa L. Benoit, tenants living across the street from Mr. Cavanagh. Mr. Kady and Ms. Benoit were the two people who retrieved the dogs after they ran across the street and onto Mr. Cavanagh’s property. The two said they were caring for the dogs for the owners.

The dogs, Minnie (female) and Haze (male) are Staffordshire pit bull terriers, which are commonly referred to as pit bulls. Ms. Hamilton said she advised Mr. Kady and Ms. Benoit that the dogs need to be restrained at all times. The dogs were also not licensed in the Town of Bourne on the date of the incident. The two were licensed by Mr. Macura on Monday, July 18.

In her report, Ms. Hamilton said that she met with Mr. and Ms. Cavanagh on Thursday, July 14, and explained that the Department of Natural Resources had no history of bad or aggressive behavior from either dog. She also said that the department did not have the authority to remove the dogs from the home, as Mr. Cavanagh had requested in a complaint to the DNR.

Following her meeting with the Cavanaghs, Ms. Hamilton went across the street to meet with Ms. Wayman and Mr. Macura. Ms. Hamilton said that she reminded the couple of the need to keep the dogs restrained at all times. She also wrote that, at no time, were the dogs aggressive toward her.

“Both dogs were very friendly and affectionate toward me,” Ms. Hamilton said in her report.

Under state law, if a dog is deemed to be dangerous, the hearing authority, in this case Mr. Guerino, can order one or more steps be taken. The dog must be humanely restrained, although not “chained, tethered or otherwise tied to an inanimate object, including, but not limited to, a tree, post or building.”

The dog can be ordered confined to the owner’s premises. Confinement is defined as “indoors or confined outdoors in a securely enclosed and locked pen or dog run area.” When taken off the owner’s property, the dog may be ordered “securely and humanely muzzled and restrained with a chain or other tethering device.”

The owner can be ordered to provide proof of $100,000 insurance to protect against any claim brought against the animal. In extreme cases, the animal can be ordered euthanized. Mr. Cavanagh said that it is not his desire to see the dogs killed.

“I don’t want to see that. I just want to see them removed,” he said.

Mr. Guerino said that no decision would be made in the immediate aftermath of the hearing. He said that he would examine the incident from both perspectives, Mr. Cavanagh’s and the DNR’s, and that he would make a decision relative to the disposition of the dogs within 10 days.

(CapeNews.net - Nov 5, 2016)