[nagdu] Following attack, Williamsburg directs owner to curb dog's aggressive behavior

[Ginger Kutsch]

Following attack, Williamsburg directs owner to curb dog's aggressive
behavior

By FRAN RYAN

Gazette Contributing Writer

http://www.gazettenet.com/2011/06/30/following-attack-williamsburg-directs-o
wner-to-curb-dogs-aggressive-behavior

June 30, 2011

WILLIAMSBURG, MASS -Selectmen are keeping a close eye on a local dog after
complaints that the animal attacked a neighborhood dog and its owner and was
also involved in two acts of aggression towards dogs in Goshen.

 

On May 19, Dog Officer William Turner told selectmen that a small cattle dog
owned by Cosimo Ferrante of North Street had attacked a neighbor's dog and
bit its owner on the hand. Selectmen were later alerted by Goshen's Animal
Control Officer that Ferrante's dog was also involved in two separate
incidents where it acted aggressively towards dogs being walked beside a
field where Ferrante's cattle are pastured.

 

These encounters with Ferrante's dog have left the other dog owners fearful
for the safety of their dogs and themselves.

 

"The people who own the dog that was attacked (in Williamsburg) say that
they are petrified and they won't walk their dog in the neighborhood. They
don't even like to be out in their yard anymore," Turner told the Board of
Selectmen on June 16.

 

However, Ferrante told selectmen that his dog, a two-year-old female named
Wookie, was never meant to be loose outside when the incident occurred.

 

"This was an accident," Ferrante said. "She was in my house when a gust of
wind must have blown the door open and she got out."

 

Ferrante said that he has owned Wookie since October and is now working with
a canine behavioral specialist on correcting behaviors she displays towards
unfamiliar dogs. 

 

"I am very attentive to her and she is with me constantly. She is a young
dog, and her behavior is getting better and better. I am now working with a
trainer because ultimately the only way to resolve this issue is through
training," said Ferrante. 

 

The first incident occurred in mid-May. In a letter to the Board of
Selectmen, Diane Levine, of North Street in Williamsburg, said she was
walking her small dog in her driveway when Ferrante's dog attacked and she
was injured while trying to protect her dog.

 

According to Levine's letter, her dog suffered "multiple deep puncture
wounds and abrasions" and that Levine was treated at Cooley Dickinson
Hospital for a "bite on my left pinky." Her letter also included pictures of
her dog's injuries.

 

Ferrante's dog "didn't just nip this dog," said selectman Jeffery Ciuffreda.
"Those pictures were definitely not pretty."

 

Shortly after, Goshen Animal Control Officer Kyle Meservey received two
separate complaints regarding Ferrante's dog.

 

Richard Briere of Spruce Corner Road in Goshen said his 24-year-old
wheelchair-bound son, Jeremy Cote, was out with his service dog, when
Ferrante's dog ran from the pasture in Goshen where Ferrante was tending his
herd and began nipping at the dog.

 

In a second incident Briere was walking their family dog on a leash in the
same area and Ferrante's dog aggressively charged at him.

 

"I understand that this is the farmer's cow dog and it needs to be loose to
chase the cows, but we were on a public street," said Briere. "I carry a
walking stick now because if he can't control his dog, I will protect myself
and my dog if I have to."

 

According to Meservey, neither incident involved actual bites or injuries to
the other animals or their owners.

 

Ferrante has recently appeared before Goshen Selectmen for being unable to
adequately contain his cattle in that town. Selectmen in Goshen are hoping
that Ferrante has resolved that situation. 

 

Williamsburg selectmen are equally hopeful that Ferrante will succeed in his
dog training efforts. The town does require that dogs be leashed when
outside. 

 

"Well, it sounds like he is trying to do the right thing," Ciuffreda said.
"But it is what triggers the dog that is what concerns me."

 

Denise Banister Chairwoman of the Board of Selectman said " We are really
hoping this will be taken care of and nothing else happens. Nobody wants to
have to take someone's dog away."