Selectmen order dog be put down

By Matthew Bernat
Turley Publications Staff Writer

STURBRIDGE – The gravity of the situation was unquestionable as selectmen considered whether or not to “humanely euthanize” a dog that allegedly attacked a woman and prompted numerous calls to police over a period of months.
After hearing two hours of testimony Monday night from the dog’s owners and their attorney, the dog’s trainer, Chief of Police Thomas Ford, the allegedly attacked woman and others, board members voted unanimously to euthanize the animal.
The board’s motion allowed time for the owners, Bruce and Yaska Pote of the Sturbridge Hills Condominiums, to file an appeal in district court. A designee of the Sturbridge Police Department is currently holding the dog, an 18-month-old Labrador, Pit Bull mix named “Pete.”
Ford spoke first to offer his formal recommendation based on the dog’s past behavior. Selectmen could not recall a time when board members were charged with such a decision.
Ford prefaced his recommendation by noting he has a “special fondness” for animals, having served as the department’s K-9 officer for 17 years. He also noted the burden of responsibility for the animal’s behavior ultimately fell to the owners.
“It is with the deepest regret I have to recommend the dog be humanely euthanized,” Ford said.
The alternative solution, banishing the animal, would only displace the problem to another community, he said. Should the animal harm anyone he would not want that on the community’s conscious, Ford said. This was the first time he has dealt with a case of this nature, he said.
In November, police received a report that the Pote’s neighbor, Sharon Nowak, had fended off an attack from the dog with a caulking gun as she was doing repairs outside her home.
Monday night, Nowak was present to recount the incident. She arrived with the caulking gun, which had been pierced near the tip with a hole about the size of a half dollar.
She described the incident as a “prolonged and sustained attack” where she received a “crush injury” to her hand.
On a separate occasion, Nowak said the animal got loose and attempted to get into her home, hurling itself against a door so forcefully it began to bleed.
She said she no longer felt safe outside of her home. “(Responsible dog owners) would have done the right thing and euthanized the dog already,” Nowak said.
Subsequent incidents saw the dog escape from the Pote’s home and run loose through the neighborhood, the most recent time occurred last Wednesday.
Mr. Pote said on those occasions where the dog became loose it was brought under control before officers arrived on scene. He said on one occasion responding officer John Paciorek interacted with the animal for about 15 minutes inside the home and concluded the dog was “mellow,” according to Mr. Pote.
The problem Mr. Pote said was the lack of direction from the police department. “We were receiving mixed signals,” he said. Members of the department, including the dog officer, would reassure him the animal was fine, he said. Mr. Pote was taken aback when the dog officer recently arrived at his home unannounced to confiscate the dog while Mr. Pote’s teenaged stepson was home alone. Against protests from his stepson the animal was removed, he said.
After about an hour and a half the board took a brief recess. When they returned the Pote’s attorney, Charles Proctor, offered a deal where the dog was to be cared for by the animal’s trainer, who lives in Paxton, under the condition it never return to Sturbridge.
Ford said he stood by his initial recommendation. He reiterated moving the animal would only displace the problem.
Selectmen also held reservations about the move.
Selectwoman Mary Blanchard said the fact the owners were unable to train the dog properly after the initial incident “showed a deep lack of concern for their neighbors and community.”
Selectman Chairman Ted Goodwin said he was sorry, but the board was “just trying to protect the rest of the citizens in our community.”
All selectmen, a majority of which own dogs themselves, said the decision was not an easy one to make, but had to make the vote in the interest of public safety.
The Potes said they would file an appeal with the court.