EASTHAM — The owner of two huskies designated as “dangerous dogs” by the select board last month is seeking to overturn that ruling and the accompanying requirements in Orleans District Court. A hearing on the appeal has been set for June 28.
Richard Moore, who lives at 20 Boreen Road and owns the dogs, also asked the court to put the requirements imposed by the select board on hold until the appeal is settled.
Barkus, a two-year-old husky, and Fernando, a one-year-old, have frequently escaped from the penned area in Moore’s yard and have histories of biting other animals and people without provocation, according to more than 100 pages of documents produced by the town’s animal control officer and testimony given at an April 1 hearing.
The hearing was prompted by a Feb. 9 incident when the loose dogs covered more than four miles over three hours, killing chickens belonging to a Meadow Drive family and then attacking an elderly mare belonging to a woman on Barrow House Road.
In addition to determining that Barkus and Fernando are dangerous, the select board approved a list of conditions Moore must comply with or face fines of $500 for the first offense and $1,000 for the second. If the dogs get loose again, they would be impounded by the town until a hearing in district court could be held to decide their fate.
Moore was given until April 30 to install an enclosed and locked kennel with a roof and fencing sunk at least two feet into the ground. That has yet to be done. The select board also required that the dogs be muzzled and securely restrained on leashes whenever they are off Moore’s property.
Attorney Emir Sehic, whose office is in Dennis, represented Moore at the hearing and filed the appeal on April 22. In his complaint, Sehic said the select board did not allow him to cross-examine witnesses who offered testimony on the dogs.
“During the hearing, the board failed to maintain order,” wrote Sehic. “The members of the public were moaning and groaning throughout, made exclamations and even threats” against Moore.
The attorney argued that the select board improperly considered “instances of yard escaping and injury to another dog as basis for finding the dogs dangerous.”
The requirement for muzzling the dogs when they are walked off the property “is not necessary nor appropriate,” Sehic wrote.
Sehic asked the court to reverse the select board’s decision, issue an order that the dogs are “at worst” nuisance dogs and not dangerous dogs, and provide relief from the conditions imposed by the board.
The construction of a kennel, Sehic wrote, is a substantial financial hardship for Moore and couldn’t be accomplished by the April 30 deadline. Moore has gotten quotes to construct “a high and deep fence around the property” instead of a kennel, according to the attorney.
“There is substantial likelihood that Mr. Moore will succeed on the merits of the case and would need to endure additional expenses of removing and disposing of the unwanted kennel,” Sehic wrote.
In a phone interview on Monday, Sehic said he had not yet been notified of a hearing date for his request for a stay of the select board’s requirements, but he believed that filing his appeal served to put the deadline for compliance on hold.
He said the town’s hearing was “one-sided,” and the board’s decision was made prior to the hearing’s opening. “It was more of a political show than it was an actual hearing,” Sehic said. “That’s why we’re appealing. The judge will take testimony and allow cross-examination in an ordered way.”
Select board member Jamie Demetri supported her panel’s ruling in an email to the Independent. “It is unfortunate that people come to our community and treat their neighbors, pets, and town at large with a lack of concern and respect,” she said. “It creates dangerous situations that, as a member of the select board, I will not tolerate.
“We will stand by our determination and continue to advocate and act on behalf of our residents and staff who have overwhelmingly stated their concerns regarding the owner and the dogs,” Demetri said.
Ross Silva, whose wife and four-year-old son were home when the huskies killed the family’s chickens, had been told of the appeal by Animal Control Officer Stephanie Sykes.
“I just feel like the dog owner has no grounds for an appeal, and I would hope, if it’s possible from a legal standpoint, that maybe even more strict regulations would be put in place by a judge,” Silva said on Monday.
The fact that the hearing date is nearly two months away was a concern, he said, since nothing has been done about constructing the required kennel.
The delay resulting from the appeal “is just leaving more chance for something bad to happen,” Silva said.
