Animal Control Officer Michael McClay explained the situation to the Board of Selectmen on Monday.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Selectmen placed a series of restrictions on the owner of a German shepherd, after the dog viciously attacked a woman walking on the street.

 

According to the police report, Judith Rudd walked into the station on Nov. 9 saying she was attacked by the dog, owned by Anthony Plantier.

 

Rudd told police that she was walking down Prospect Street and the dog, Rocky, escaped the home at 30 Prospect St. and jumped at her.

 

Rudd was able to fight off the attack but was bit, through her jacket, on her right tricep. The police report characterizes the attack as "quite vicious."

 

"The dog got out, crossed the street and attacked her completely unprovoked," Animal Control Officer Michael McClay told the Selectmen on Monday night. "The part that worries me is that Mrs. Rudd was able to defend herself [whereas others wouldn't be able to]."

 

He added that Rocky was "quite aggressive" when he knocked on the door during his investigation. He believed the dog should be "deemed dangerous." 

 

Plantier, however, says the dog isn't a danger to everybody. He was just more aggressive in this instance.

 

"He's not a dangerous dog to everybody. It was just that situation. They were trying to catch him and he was hyped up," Plantier said. "But he was wrong. It was wrong that he did that."

 

More than a week after the attack, Rocky had to be rushed to Berkshire Veterinary Hospital for surgery. Veterinarian Keri Laporte wrote, in request to an inquiry from the town, that he had bitten her hand before the surgery.

 

"Rocky, however, was in a lot of pain and was being manipulated in such a way that it is not surprising that he might bite," she wrote.

 

The dog was bloated and his stomach had twisted, according to Laporte's letter, and had to be repaired. Because of the surgery, drugs and having no prior experience with Rocky, Laporte said she could not determine his normal behavior and therefore could not assess whether he was dangerous or not.

 

Plantier's elderly father is unable to handle the dog on his own. Plantier said he has now made a house rule that the door can't be opened unless the dog is caged. "I put in the provision that no one is to enter the front door."

 

"I really felt sorry for Mrs. Rudd. I called her up Monday and told her how sorry I was," he said, extending an offer to pay Rudd's medical bills.

 

All attacks need to be reported to the town and the state. If the dog attacks again, the town could be liable for damages. McClay outlined a series of actions the board could take, which includes euthanasia.

 

"I don't like to seen any dog euthanized," McClay said.

 

The Selectmen required a number of actions: the dog must get a microchip planted in it to track it if he gets out again; signs warning of a "dangerous" dog must be posted on Plantier's house and on the kennel; the kennel has to be equipped with a roof and a locking mechanism; the dog must be muzzled during the times when Plantier is not home; and insurance coverage must be obtained for the dog that will cover the town's liabilities, too.

 

"The big concern I have is that since he was able to get free from the house and attack somebody. That could happen again," said Selectmen Robert Ericson, who was the sole vote against the conditions and instead urging Plantier to get rid of the dog.

 

"I wouldn't have a dog that attacked anybody. I just wouldn't have it," Ericson said.

 

Ericson, however, was outvoted by John Goerlach and Henry Sayers.

 

"I would like to see it stay in its home," Sayers said.

 

McClay said that if another incident occurs, he will return with an euthanasia order.