Live free or there (again)
A Foxborough man was arrested and charged Wednesday after shooting his neighbor’s Siberian husky dog, Kato.
[feel good info about the dog and its owners snipped]
Wednesday, Kato wandered to East Street where Frederick Grossmith, 48, lives. He said Kato and his own dog started fighting and, he told police, when he tried to break them up, Kato bit him. He then got his gun and shot Kato in the head.
[feel good info about the dog and its owners snipped]
Grossmith called 911 and EMT’s treated him for minor dog bites. He is not known as animal hater. He owns the most recognizable herd of animals in Foxborough. Now, however, he’s been charged with animal cruelty and weapons violations. He was arraigned in Wrentham District Court Wednesday and the judge ordered him to stay away from Kato’s family. Police confiscated all his weapons.
If the facts are as presented (and I think they are since he was treated for dog bites), why was he arrested, charged and why were his guns taken? And what are these weapons violations? I’m as dog-friendly as they get but an unrestrained, wondering animal is potentially dangerous. If that animal is not on its own property and is fighting other dogs, I think said action is justified.
April 14th, 2006 at 11:04 am
Considering the “right” to own firearms and ammo is left up to local cops, they can revoke the license at any time.
April 14th, 2006 at 11:37 am
If the facts are as presented (and I think they are since he was treated for dog bites), why was he arrested, charged and why were his guns taken? And what are these weapons violations? I’m as dog-friendly as they get but an unrestrained, wondering animal is potentially dangerous. If that animal is not on its own property and is fighting other dogs, I think said action is justified.
Uh, I think you answered these questions in the title of the post. Massachusetts.
In Utah, he’d be off scot free. The cops would have cited the other dog’s owner.
April 14th, 2006 at 7:52 pm
as you say, all dogs need to be restrained and controlled.
siberian huskies especially so. they’re not a particularly aggressive breed, but they _are_ dyed-in-the-wool small game hunters, and have an instinct to start running and just not stop before they’re thoroughly lost. letting one wander is asking to lose it, in any of dozens of ways, shooting being by far the least likely to occur.
April 15th, 2006 at 9:50 pm
I once spent a summer in a remote Alaskan village (accessable only by plane, boat, or sled) where many of the residents kept sled dogs. Needless to say they held dogs in high regard, and some families had large investments in their sled teams.
The rule in that village was; Any dog found on the loose was killed. Period. End of discussion. Problem solved. This was to protect all the other dogs, which as I say were highly prized, and which were usually kept tethered but otherwise in the open. It was to protect people too, though that (killing animals to protect people) would no doubt anger some. I did know a small kid there who had been mauled by a whole pack – he barely survived and had deep scars all over his body to prove it. He fell down among them and they went nuts.