SOUTH HADLEY — Neighbors complaints will be answered after the Selectboard set a dangerous dog hearing for Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Senior Center, 45 Dayton St.
During the Selectboard meeting on July 9, residents filled the room and took the time to address their concerns after a dog attacked and killed another dog during an incident in June.
Kevin Lumb is a resident in the neighborhood and talked about an incident that occurred on June 24 while he and his family were having dinner.
He said two small breed dogs, Scarlett and Harper were being walked on a leash by their owners, the Walls, in front of his house when his wife noticed “a loose pit bull bolt down the middle of the street heading from behind the Walls.”
Lumb and his son ran out to help when he heard the two women screaming. He added, “I wasn’t sure if the pit bull had attacked the women or the dogs.”
Lumb said after he got closer, he saw Harper was in the pit bull’s mouth and tried to free the dog by hitting the pit bull with an umbrella, but he didn’t budge.
“I grabbed its collar and it shook me off and threw me to the pavement causing scrapes to my knees, hands, elbows and injury to my left thumb and right shoulder,” Lumb added.
Lumb, who was wearing an arm sling due to a full torn rotator cuff and detached ligament from the incident, said the dog was finally released after Lumb’s son chased after the dog and struck it with an umbrella a few more times.
It was unfortunately too late as Harper was found dead at the scene.
Police officers were called to the scene and Lumb said the trauma that was endured by everyone that night will be hard to overcome.
Lumb said the neighborhood should not be held hostage by a dangerous dog who has already harmed several dogs.
There have also been two previous reports of incidents involving the same dog where it bit two dogs in August 2023 and December 2023.
He added, “My son and I will never forget the sound of the screams, we’ll never get them out our minds. So many of us didn’t sleep that night as these traumatic events shook our neighborhood. The Walls lost their beloved Harper. People are afraid to walk their dogs, moms are fearful of walking their children, our elderly neighbors are apprehensive, its eerily quiet on Pynchon Road.”
Chelsea Beaudry said she lives on the street above Pynchon Road where the incident happened. She said her kids usually walk or ride their bikes to their grandparents house on Pynchon Road but says they can’t since this incident.
She added, “Everyone in the neighborhood is talking about this. The amount of trauma that we all have felt and we weren’t even there is unbelievable. This should not have happened, the dog has attacked in our neighborhood as well and we all wanted to be here to say we’re not messing around, this is serious.”
A few more residents took the time to discuss similar instances they witnessed with the dog.
The dog has been placed in quarantine until the dangerousness hearing.
Selectboard Chair Andrea Miles explained the process for the hearing. She said the animal control officer, victim and other confirm parties can testify as witnesses.
There will also be time for the dog owner or attorney, if they have one, to speak if they wish. The dog owner may also submit records and call their own witnesses as well.
The Selectboard will let residents know of the evidence they have as the meeting starts like police reports.
When the hearing is concluded, the board will deliberate and decide whether to label the dog as a nuisance dog or dangerous dog.
If they are deemed a nuisance dog or dangerous dog, there is a list of remedies for each designation that the Select Board can adjudicate on that night.
