MONTAGUE — A complaint about a dog put the Selectboard in the position Monday night of deciding whether the animal should be euthanized, or if a safe situation could be guaranteed with strict rules for the owners.
Complicating matters, Selectboard member Mike Nelson recused himself due to his personal relationship with one of the involved families. So the two remaining members, Rich Kuklewicz and Chris Boutwell, needed to agree to make any decision. And at first, they disagreed strongly.
After hearing testimony from family members, the town attorney and even an animal behaviorist, Kuklewicz and Boutwell spared the dog from euthanization, settling on strict conditions that include requiring the dog to be kept inside and away from people ages 18 and under.
The dog is Garrett, an 11-year-old Basset Hound mix owned by Josh Hoffman and his girlfriend of three years, Marney Brunelle. The complaint came from Brunelle’s brother, Curtis Brunelle, and his wife, Zsa Zsa Brunelle.
On Oct. 19, Curtis and Zsa Zsa Brunelle’s 4-year-old son, Jace, was being babysat by Curtis and Marney’s mother, Cina Brunelle. She was also watching the dog, Garrett, for Marney.
At some point, Garrett bit Jace in the face, tearing his cheek open, Zsa Zsa Brunelle explained. Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield could only clean the wound, and had to send him to Boston Children’s Hospital for reconstructive plastic surgery, which took nine days. He will likely require more treatment throughout his life, Zsa Zsa Brunelle said.
The board’s job was to determine whether Garrett needed to be legally classified as a “dangerous dog” or, less severely, a “nuisance dog”; and then decide what action would be needed to prevent future problems. Anything up to and including euthanasia is within the Selectboard’s authority. Zsa Zsa Brunelle specifically asked for Garrett to be euthanized.
The board heard from Curtis and Zsa Zsa Brunelle, Josh Hoffman and Marney Brunelle regarding the incident itself and Garrett’s behavior in general. There was also expert testimony from the town Animal Control Officer Calin Giurgiu and an animal behaviorist who evaluated Garrett after the incident, Elise McMahon.
While no one saw what happened when Garrett bit Jace, Josh Hoffman suspects that because Garrett is an old dog who sleeps most of the day, Jace probably startled him awake by accident.
Assuming that was what happened, McMahon said Garrett’s response was normal for a dog, and would not characterize him as behaviorally abnormal.
“Jace could have done anything. Bent down to give the dog a kiss, reached to pat him,” McMahon said. “It’s not aberrant behavior. But it’s obviously not a behavior that’s acceptable around small children.”
The issue of the dog’s intent was especially relevant, explained the town’s lawyer, Gregg Corbo. A “dangerous dog” is defined as one that attacks without justification, or that behaves in such a way that a reasonable person would believe it to be a threat.
But there is a caveat in the law, Corbo said. A child under 7 must be presumed not to have provoked the dog, unless there is reason to believe otherwise. Jace is only 4, but no one witnessed the moment of the bite.
Here, the two Selectboard members were split.
“I can’t consider it a dangerous dog, not knowing that one little piece of information,” Boutwell said.
Kuklewicz hedged on the other side. He favored euthanizing Garrett.
“I’d rather have people be really angry at me for the decision I did make, than have people angry at me for the decision I didn’t make,” he said. “I don’t come to that lightly.”
“That might be the safest thing to do, but is it the right thing to do?” Boutwell asked. “I definitely don’t want it to happen again. But I take taking a dog’s life seriously.”
“Can any of us sit here and say this will never happen again?” Kuklewicz said. “I really feel the dog represents a clear and present danger to others.”
Corbo reminded Kuklewicz and Boutwell that, with only two members able to vote, they needed to agree to make a decision at all.
Eventually Kuklewicz accepted that sufficiently strict conditions could be safe enough. They decided that Garrett must be kept indoors, and he can’t be at other properties except for a commercial kennel. He can only be outdoors on a leash and only with Josh Hoffman or Marney Brunelle. He can’t be around people ages 18 or under, except for Hoffman’s daughter. And he must be insured for at least $200,000.
“In these situations, there’s no winner. There’s only losers,” Kuklewicz said. “Everybody pays a price.”
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 261.