Politics & Government

UPDATED: Mansfield Selectmen Vote to Euthanize Dog: His Family Says They'll Appeal

The Mansfield Board of Selectmen held a public hearing for a dog that allegedly attacked a six-year-old boy Wednesday night.

UPDATED Wednesday, 10:30 p.m.-The Mansfield selectmen voted to euthanize a three-year-old dog Milo, a pointer/hound, who bit a boy in January. Milo's family says they will be appealing the decision. Check back with Mansfield Patch for more details.

 

Original Story: The fate of a dog accused of attacking a six-year-old boy will be determined tonight when the Mansfield Board of Selectmen hold a public hearing on the incident. The public hearing will be opened at 8 p.m. according to the agenda for tonight’s meeting.

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According to a complaint to animal control, the owner of the dog was babysitting the boy at their home on Jan. 3 when the boy tried to walk over to the three-year- old pointer/hound mutt to pet it. The dog then allegedly attacked the boy and left the child in need of over 400 stitches to recover from the attack.

“It’s turned my son’s life around. He can’t even go out to recess, he can’t participate in gym, he can’t participate in karate classes -- he went weekly. He can’t do hockey,” the boys’ mother Dawn Herbert-Miller told WHDH.

Find out what's happening in Mansfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The dog has remained inside the home of its owner since the attack. The owner called the incident “a terrible accident” but stressed that the dog has not caused trouble before and is "not a dangerous, vicious dog."

Selectmen Chairman Olivier Kozolowski said the hearing will be run like a “mini-trial,” where the selectmen will review the investigation of the incident.

The dog could be ordered to be confined, banished from town, or euthanized according to WHDH. If the selectmen vote to euthanized the dog, the owners can appeal the decision in court.


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