By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — A trial originally slated to be held today, February 1, regarding the fate Floyd, a dog the Select Board declared last summer to be a “dangerous dog” and must be euthanized, has been averted after the owners opted on their own to have the dog euthanized.
The Select Board had made the ruling based on the evidence presented to them that three unprovoked attacks by Floyd, including one which had resulted in the death of a much smaller 14-year-old dog in the parking lot of pet store in Woburn last year, another attack against a neighbor’s older dog in their mobile home park on Main Street, and a third in which a dog owner in his neighborhood was bitten on the hand by Floyd.
His owners, Michael and Kaysea Baker, disagreed and appealed.
Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto read the following statement regarding Floyd at the Select Board’s meeting on Monday, January 29:
“As the community knows, on August 21, 2023 the Select Board held a public hearing to determine if a dog (Floyd) owned by Michael and Kaysea Baker was a nuisance or dangerous dog. Based on the evidence introduced at the hearing, including evidence of attacks by the dog on other dogs and an owner, and the killing of another dog, the Board unanimously voted to declare Floyd is a dangerous dog.”
“The Board ordered Floyd to be euthanized by August 29, 2023. The owners exercised their right to appeal to Woburn District Court and on October 2, 2023 a Magistrate affirmed the findings and order of the Select Board,” Gilleberto continued. “The owners then appealed for a full trial which was scheduled and then postponed multiple times to the most recent pending trial date of Thursday, February 1.”
“In accordance with an impoundment order issued by the court, Floyd had been in the custody of the Town since September 14 and was being cared for at an out-of-state kennel. At the direction of the owners, Floyd was euthanized by a veterinarian on January 11,” Gilleberto said.
“The town continues to pursue steps to recover the $8,000 in costs associated with Floyd’s care during the appeal from the owner. While nothing can bring back a lost pet or erase the memory of a violent attack, we hope that the owner’s compliance with the Select Board’s euthanasia order will bring closure for the victims and witnesses to the attacks by this dangerous dog,” Gilleberto concluded.