By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — After hearing more than two hours of emotional and contentious testimony Monday night, the Select Board ruled that a rescue dog name Floyd owned by Michael and Kaysea Baker of 103 Main St., Unit 12, is a “dangerous dog” per state law and must be euthanized within seven days of the official findings.
Under state law (MGL Ch. 140, Sec. 157) the Bakers have 10 days to appeal the board’s findings to Woburn District Court. The vote to euthanize Floyd was 4-0 with Chairwoman Liane Gonzalez and Select Board members Kate Manupelli, Stephen O’Leary and Rich Wallner all in agreement. Select Board member Vincenzo Stuto was unable to attend the August 21 meeting.
The evidence presented against Floyd, a black mouth cur, provided by Animal Control Officer Jerry Berg, includes three attacks/bites over the past 10 months, two against other dogs and one against a human. One dog attack resulted in the death of a much smaller and elderly dog.
Floyd is estimated by Michael Baker to be about 2 1/2 years old based on information provided to him when he adopted the dog from the Northeast Animal Shelter, although he could be a few months older or younger. He stated he was also told the dog had been abandoned, there was evidence that his tail had been “unprofessionally cut” and he had shown some signs of having been abused prior to his adoption.
But Baker also described Floyd as being very loyal, especially toward Kaysea, and said the dog serves as an “emotional support animal” for his wife, who was not present at the hearing. Floyd was recently enrolled in obedience training at K9 Performance in Reading where he has completed five one-hour sessions to date and Baker planned to continue these lessons. The board did not accept as legitimate a letter stating that Floyd is an emotional support animal.
The first attack occurred on Sept. 30, 2022 at the Crescent Village Mobile Home Park where the Bakers live. Floyd is accused of being off-leash when he bit Jessica Graham of 103 Main St., Unit 4 and her dog, Beagle. The bite to Graham occurred while she was attempting to separate her dog from Floyd. She was bitten on the left thumb and right middle finger, drawing blood to her right middle fingernail bed. “Mr. Baker refused to accept quarantine paperwork and citation when I arrived with Ofc. Ryan Haggerty. I explained rabies protocol to Mr. Baker, who informed me he would comply with the order,” Berg wrote. The dog was quarantined for 10 days.
The second dog attack occurred about three months later in the parking lot of PetSmart in Woburn on Jan. 6, 2023 and resulted in the death of a 14-year-old dog name Mr. Pope owned by Jennifer Darfoor of Andover who was taking her dog to be groomed.
The details of this attack were far more gruesome, based on the police report prepared by Woburn’s Animal Control Officer and forwarded to Berg. According to the report, Mrs. Baker had both of her dogs with her in the parking lot as the Bakers also own another much younger black mouth cur named George who is not implicated in any of the attacks.
According to both the written report and the oral testimony Darfoor provided via Zoom Monday night, she was holding Mr. Pope in her arms when Floyd ripped the dog from her. He had severe internal injuries to his midsection and intestines.
Darfoor stated that she had noticed Kaysea did not have control of either dog so she decided to carry Mr. Pope into his appointment to be groomed when he was attacked. She testified that the staff at PetSmart tried in vain to save her dog and that the dog was later transferred to a “state hospital” where he was pronounced dead, but she believes he had already died prior to be sent there. She added that her two children are also devastated by the loss of their pet, including her daughter, who has cerebral palsy and is legally blind. Darfoor further stated that as a result of this experience she will likely never again own a dog.
Mr. Baker stated that he had viewed the videotape of the incident and combined with statements made to him by Kaysea he surmised that Mr. Pope had approached Floyd and that Floyd was protecting Kaysea, stating she was also traumatized by the incident. He apologized to Darfoor and her family for the loss of their dog. Darfoor requested to get a copy of any such video.
Following the death of Mr. Pope, Floyd was put on a strict 45-day quarantine, according to Berg’s report, which also stated that the Bakers had not responded to door knocks or phone calls in the delivery of this quarantine order so it was affixed to their door and a photo was taken of it in the presence of a police officer as proof.
The third incident occurred three weeks ago, on Monday, July 31, when Floyd was again off leash at the mobile home park. Floyd attacked a 14-year-old German shepherd named Wendy owned by Jacquelyn Rudder of 103 Main St., Unit 4, who testified in person and in the paperwork provided by Berg that due to Wendy’s arthritis she was unable to get away from Floyd. She was bit on the ear, head and neck, which drew blood from puncture wounds and required three staples in her ears at the vets. Again, Berg stated that Michael Berg was uncooperative with the police when they arrived.
The dog was put on a 14-day muzzle order whenever it was out of its house following this incident. The Select Board voted to re-instate this muzzle order the night of the meeting.
Berg recommended that Floyd be confined to the premises of 103 Main St., unit 3; that when he leaves the premises he must be muzzled and restrained with a tethering device with a minimum tensile strength of 300 lbs. and not to exceed 3 feet in length and that the Bakers maintain a minimum of $100,000 in liability insurance plus affix “beware of dog” or “vicious dog” signs on their property.
“If all attempts above fail or are not complied with, the law allows for the Select Board to order the dog be euthanized, which I concur with,” Berg wrote.
The order mailed to the Bakers on Tuesday, Aug. 22 states that the Select Board has issued the order to euthanize Floyd “in order to protect public safety.”
The Bakers must provide written proof that Floyd has been euthanized and until such time as he is euthanized, he must be “securely and humanely muzzled and restrained with a chain or other tethering device having a minimum tensile strength of 300 lbs. and not exceeding three feet in length.” If these conditions are not met, the dog “shall be seized” as “permitted by law.”
Lastly, “in the event of an appeal of this Order, the Dog Floyd shall be surrendered to the Town and all costs of kenneling shall be borne by the owner/keeper as permitted by law.”