Adams Board Dismisses 'Dangerous' Case Against Penny
Penny was mostly behaved during the session. The board voted unanimously to drop the complaint but reminded dog owners their animals must be leashed. Selectwoman Christine Hoyt recused herself from the hearing.
However, all board members emphasized that dogs should always be leashed or fenced in when outside.
Complaints had been filed against Penny and Mason, both Catahoula leopard dogs, for "aggressively" charging at a family out walking with their dog.
The dogs' owner, Jonathan Moffat, was unavailable at the hearing held in February, so the board voted to continue it to Wednesday.
After meeting Penny, Animal Control Officer Kimberly Witek withdrew her recommendation to classify the dogs as a nuisance and to require them to be muzzled and leashed when outside the home.
"The original recommendation was to put a muzzle order in place. I would like to withdraw that, because the dog that was the biggest aggressor is no longer in the picture. Moffat brought the dog to me at the police station so I could meet her, I do not know how she is around other dogs," she said.
"My recommendation is, when he's taking his dog from his house to his car, to have it on a leash or have a harness and just have a good hold in case there's another dog coming by, because I don't know how she is with other dogs."
Moffat submitted the dogs' vaccination and licensing records, although Penny is not spayed.
Brianna Shepherd, at February's hearing, stated that last November, two dogs chased her, her children (ages 1 and 4), her sister, and her own dog.
On Wednesday, the board reopened the February hearing on dangerous dogs. After reviewing the case, they dismissed the complaint because of uncertainty about the events in question and concluded that neither dog was a nuisance or dangerous.
Mason was recently euthanized because of progressive epilepsy that could no longer be controlled with medication.
The day of the incident all dogs involved were off-leash, which is a violation of the town's bylaws. All parties paid the fees associated with this.
The penalty for dogs not physically restrained by leash when not on the owner's property is $50 per citation. Hunting dogs when being used for hunting or training are exempt.
Shepherd claimed they were four houses down from the owners' property on Grandview, when the dogs, left their yard, "aggressively" charged at them unprovoked, and began to bite her dog.
She provided the board with a written affidavit of her experience, letters from neighbors who expressed similar experiences of the dogs leaving the property unleashed, and photos of cuts on a neighbor's dog, allegedly from an incident in 2023 involving Mason and Penny.
Moffat claimed that Penny and Mason ran up to the petitioner's off-leash dog in the driveway to play and had "quite a lot of energy."
He stated he remained in his truck and observed the entire incident, explaining that leaving the vehicle would encourage the dogs to run around and avoid getting in, as they often treat it as a game when both owners are outside.
"Penny is not dog aggressive, nor is she person aggressive … she still has quite a lot of energy and was wanting to play with a dog who just did not want to play with her. That's really what this boils down to–Penny wanted a friend, and that dog did not want to be her friend," Moffat said.
"It's an unfortunate situation, but no one was hurt, and I certainly don't think it's cause to bring this board together and set a finding of nuisance or dangerous dog."
The complainant and respondent presented conflicting accounts of the November incident, which could not be independently verified, and no physical evidence was provided.
"Essentially this situation comes down in my mind to it, 'he says, she said,' in terms of what actually, truly happened," said Selectman Jay Meczywor.
"[It's] similar type stories, but in terms of the outcome and who's the aggressor, it just seems like there's a lot of gray area here."
Although the board dismissed the complaint, Meczywor cautioned that the owners be mindful of their neighbors, noting concerns raised in the numerous letters submitted.
"Even if we do find that this isn't a dangerous or nuisance situation, this is on people's minds," he said.
Tags: dangerous dog, dogs,
