SHUTESBURY — The owners of a dog that twice attacked a neighbor’s dog on Leonard Road, causing about $1,000 in veterinary bills, must pay the remaining costs and take steps to prevent future attacks.
The Select Board voted 2-0 on Oct. 13 to declare Roxy, a black-and-white Australian shepherd mix, a dangerous and a nuisance dog.
The board ordered owners Kristin Mattocks and Kim Callicoatte to better restrain Roxy. On June 8 and Sept. 2, she got loose on the street and attacked Lucia, a 22-pound dog owned by neighbor Christine Marglin.
Marglin described the first incident as a “horrific attack.” She said Roxy ran up to Lucia and seriously injured her. Lucia needed veterinary treatment, including antibiotics and painkillers, and a long recovery. The bill was $800.
“It’s a miracle that she survived,” Marglin said.
The second attack, less than three months later, came after Roxy escaped a harness her owners had been using to better secure her. Marglin said she used her own body to shield Lucia.
“I knew from the last time that if I didn’t protect her body, this dog would kill her,” Marglin said.
Lucia’s minor injuries from the second attack led to a $200 bill.
“Now we walk her exclusively the other way, or on the property,” Marglin said.
Animal Control Officer Kyle Dragon said Roxy is vaccinated but had not been licensed. “We were able to confirm the incident did occur,” he said.
Mattocks, one of the owners, confirmed both incidents. She said she paid the $800 bill, accepting responsibility for what her dog did after slipping her collar and charging at Marglin’s dog.
“To this date, I do not know what she heard,” Mattocks said.
Mattocks said she had not been told how serious the second incident was or about the $200 bill. She said she does not deny how horrible the attacks were, and Roxy will continue working with a behavioral therapist.
The attacks followed an incident in early spring, when a dog walker hired by Mattocks and Callicoatte was walking Roxy in Marglin’s apple orchard. Marglin said the walker smoked cigarettes and left the butts there. Roxy approached Lucia then but did not injure her.
The Select Board order stipulates that Roxy be humanely restrained when removed from her premises, that she be securely and humanely muzzled and tethered, that a dog safety plan with a behavorial therapist continue, the dog be licensed and that the $200 veterinary bill be paid.
The order can be appealed in court.
