SOUTH HADLEY — After an emotional two hours of testimony Monday night from witnesses of a local dog’s three attacks from the past year, the Select Board deemed the dog dangerous and unanimously voted that it be humanely euthanized.

“What’s really difficult for me is figuring out how do we protect other animals while still giving Boone a good life,” Select Board Member Reene Sweeney said.

South Hadley Animal Control Officer Steve Mailhott requested a dangerous dog hearing for Boone, a pit bull mix owned by Alice and Matthew Jeznach, after Boone dug under the fence around the backyard of his home on Pynchon Road and attacked a white Maltipoo named Harper. The small white dog was on a walk with its owners, Stephanie Wall and her daughter Georgia Wall, and the Walls’ other dog Scarlett. The attack on June 24 resulted in Harper’s death.

“We’re not people that wish death upon other animals, we don’t do that. We just want to keep [the neighborhood] safe so it doesn’t happen to our other dog or to us,” said Georgia Wall, her voice trembling. “I can’t even drive down the street without re-seeing the whole thing. I know it affected my family the way it affected me.”

Jeremy Cohen, an attorney with Boston Dog Lawyers in Swampscott who is representing the Jeznachs, said the couple takes full responsibility for what happened and have voluntarily taken extra precautions to keep Boone contained since the incident, such as muzzling the dog at the vet and keeping him on a short leash in the yard. The Jeznachs also finished a rebar fence surrounding their backyard by installing an iron rod gate 18 inches into the ground.

The couple also complied with quarantine orders from Mailhott after he discovered Harper was not caught up on rabies shots.

Cohen said the Jeznachs have been subject to a lot of scorn from the community, but he also noted that they have taken steps to address the concerns.

“This can be fixed because they’re human beings who are smart, and know how to get educated and we’ve taken steps to prevent this from happening again,”  Cohen said.

In describing the attack, Georgia Wall said that once Boone had his teeth on Harper, the two women began screaming and attempted to pry the pit bull off. The Walls’ other dog, Scarlett, ran home during the attack.

The noise caught the attention of the Lumb family who live across the street, and Kevin Lumb and his son Colin ran out to help separate Harper and Boone, whacking the attacking dog with an umbrella. When that didn’t work, Kevin Lumb said that he grabbed Boone’s collar but could not hold on when the dog shook him off. Lumb said he went “flying,” tearing his rotator cuff when he landed on the pavement.

Colin Lumb continued to smack Boone and chased him home until the dog released Harper from its mouth near the driveway of the Jeznachs’ home.

“The Lumbs’ 15-year-old son is a hero to me,” said Ed Wall, the husband of Stephanie and father of Georgia. “There are no words to explain my gratefulness.”

During the hearing, several witnesses from the neighborhood described the scene after the attack and recounted images of Stephanie and Georgia in hysterics. Since then, there has been less activity in the neighborhood.

Neighbor Chelsea Beaudry said her daughter has had continuous nightmares about dog attacks since the incident, and she no longer allows her children to walk to their grandparents’ home near Pynchon Road.

“I received a call from Georgia screaming. She was screaming, ‘A dog killed my dog. I’m covered in blood. He just wouldn’t stop ripping her throat. He keeps fighting Harper. Please find Scarlett please let’s start with you,’” she said.

Three attacks

Boone had two other reported attacks from August and December 2023, the latter of which resulted in $14,000 worth of surgery, according to Ginger Moore, the dog’s owner, who testified at Monday’s hearing.

The sister of the owner of the first dog attack last August, Terry Kosiba, also testified that Boone bit their dog.

After the most recent incident in June, Mailhott said he checked on Boone twice for any signs of rabies and to ensure the Jeznachs were following the 45-day quarantine required by state law, as Harper was several months behind on rabies shots.

The animal control officer confirmed that the couple had reinforced their fence and followed all his suggestions during the quarantine. He also saw a photo of the four yards of soil added to where Boone dug under the fence.

In the Jeznachs’ defense, Cohen noted that Boone has never bit a person and only gone after small dogs, a behavior associated with high prey drive and not aggression.

“Being hit on multiple occasions by canes, by umbrellas, by people, being this dog has never bit a person,” he said. “And that’s an important step because there’s dogs who bite people and there’s dogs who bite dogs. So I understand the fear, what if this was a small child, but unless it’s a small child who’s wearing a furry Halloween costume and on the other end of the leash, probably we’re not going to see your child get attacked by Boone.”

Cohen called on Alice Jeznach to confirm several of his statements, from the improvements to the fence to identifying the muzzle Boone wears whenever he leaves the house.

“I believe that I can handle the next step. I know that this is his last ditch effort. I am aware that, attorney Cohen like you said, this is our one representation, and to the community I am greatly sorry,” Alice said.

Alice also added gates and procedures around the house to prevent her two pit bull mixes from escaping out the garage door. Boone’s first dog attack occurred when the garage door was left open.

The Jeznachs’ defense, however, did not sway the Select Board to allow Boone to remain under their care. Select Board Member Nicole Casolari noted that the couple’s dogs have jumped a fence separating two yards before, and a shorter retractable fence into the garage might be easy for the dogs to jump over.

“When I’m thinking about those restraining options, I just I really worry that we’re still not restraining the dog in a way that would be safe,” she said.

Select Board Chair Andrea Miles expressed concern that the Jeznachs did not take these precautions in their new home when they moved to the neighborhood three years ago to prevent these incidents.

“One of [the Select Board’s] charges is for public safety, and so we’re being asked to do that very specifically right now,” she said.

Ultimately, the board chose to order Boone be euthanized. The Jeznachs have 10 days to appeal the board’s order in Hampshire District Court before they are required to put down Boone.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.