MASSACHUSETTS - Hadley police have filed a criminal complaint against Edward Gralinski, the owner of the pit bull terrier who [attacked] and seriously injured an 85-year-old man, for failing to abide by a Select Board order to put the dog down.
The board's ruling was upheld by both Clerk Magistrate William Nagle and Eastern Hampshire District Court Judge John Payne.
Gralinski was informed Oct. 4 that he had three days to have the dog euthanized.
In an interview this week, Gralinski said he has not followed the order because the town reneged on an agreement reached in court to keep Poochy alive while a civil case is pending.
"The agreement was the dog lives until the civil case is over, in case we need him for evidence," Gralinski said. "It sounded like they backed off their agreement."
Hadley Town Administrator David Nixon disagrees.
"If the judge required that we keep Poochy alive, we said we would cooperate with the court," Nixon said. "The judge did not require or reference that at all."
The incident in question occurred May 5, when Steven Bristol stopped by Gralinski's Mount Warner Road home to thank him for allowing Bristol to dump leaves on his property. Bristol said the dog attacked him while he was getting in his truck to leave.
The bite marks were so severe, Bristol said, that he was kept at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for three days after enduring a three-hour surgery.
Nixon said police sought charges against Gralinski on Oct. 11 in Eastern Hampshire District Court, though an arraignment date has not yet been set. The charges are considered a misdemeanor.
Gralinski has maintained that since the attack happened on private property and because Bristol had stopped by uninvited, the dog should not be put to death.
"He's not vicious. He's never bitten someone off private property," Gralinski said. "If this dog bit Mr. Bristol at his place, I'd have shot him myself."
Nixon said Gralinski had advanced that argument in the past, and it had been rejected each time.
"That information was presented to the Select Board, to Clerk Nagle and before the judge," Nixon said. "In all three instances that information was presented and considered."
(Daily Hampshire Gazette - Nov 10, 2011)
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