Pittsfield Animal Commission Deems Nuisance Dogs
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Animal Control Commission deemed two dogs as nuisances on Wednesday and placed sanctions on them.
Adam Street resident Debra Laframboise brought her neighbor Jarvis Chadwell's two bully mixes to the commission for being off-leash and reportedly defecating on her property and growling at her.
Montanna, a 3-year-old pitbull mix, and Opie, a 2-year-old American bulldog, must be humanely restrained when off their property, be licensed, and their owners are ordered to find a solution to a damaged fence on their property.
"We're not looking to have the dogs taken away. We're not looking for any of that," Laframboise said. "Keep them on the leash. Keep them off the property. It's been too long."
Her husband claimed that they have videos of the dogs on their property and deck at various hours. The Laframboises said they asked the dogs' owners to keep them off their property and were sworn at once.
Chadwell said Laframboise is "obsessed" and it seems like there is no pleasing her.
"She comes banging on my door like she's the police because my dogs were chained up in my yard barking at 3 o'clock in the afternoon," he said. "That's my first encounter with her ever since I moved into the neighborhood."
He admitted to walking his dogs off-leash but said they are well-behaved and have never had an incident of biting or aggression. The bulldog's alleged growling was attributed to an overgrown palate, which is said to be in his medical records.
"If my dog is not near your house I just don't understand what problem is of hers," Chadwell said. "Her property is one thing, I understand that but if I'm not even on my street and I'm way over here in the neighborhood and she's following me in her car to take pictures of me. She is obsessed."
His wife said there are dogs of other breeds who have been off-leash in the neighborhood and a resident of Fourth Street said there is an another dog that roams the neighborhood and wondered why this isn't being brought to the commission.
"I just feel like if we're complaining about dogs, you should be complaining about all the dogs in that neighborhood, not just the ones that are a bigger breed, shall we say," the Fourth Street resident added.
"I just feel like there is a bit of an issue with that."
Chair Renee Dodds reminded the neighbors that the commission does not deal with neighborhood disputes after the petitioners attempted to speak out of order.
"We're not going to argue in here. This is not what this is for," Dodds said. "We're just here about the dogs and anything else that's going on with you guys."
The city's animal control officer had notified Chadwell that the dogs needed to be leashed and that she had seen the dogs off-leash on her own. He had felt that the officer was harassing him and cited the civil issues with Laframboise.
"I think from my point of view, I understand everything you're saying, but the bottom line is that is the leash law," Commissioner Emily Chasse said.
Commissioners also pointed out that leashing protects the dogs as well as people and that many cases of aggression, they have seen as a panel would have been prevented by a leash.
It was pointed out that the pups are not being deemed dangerous dogs, which is a more serious determination that has conditions going beyond standard law.
The dogs were also ordered to be licensed, as they were not at the time but the owners reported that they would be licensing them soon.
Tags: dogs,
