The Select Board unanimously voted April 23 to designate an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois that regularly stays in Marblehead as a dangerous dog after two separate biting incidents, including one that hospitalized a teenager.
The board’s action requires the dog’s owner, Joshua Hopkins of Enfield, New Hampshire, to implement strict safety protocols mandated by state law, including muzzling the dog in public and securing $100,000 in insurance coverage.
The February incident involved a teenage boy, attacked on the Rail Trail, who required hospital treatment for puncture wounds. A separate incident last fall involved a postal worker on May Street who wasn’t seriously injured but had a confrontation with the animal.
“It was a significant enough puncture wound injury that resulted in a hospital stay,” said Police Chief Dennis King of the teenage boy’s wounds in a March 12 Select Board hearing.
The dangerous dog hearing, mandated under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 140, Section 157, took place April 17 at 2 p.m. after King initially requested the proceedings on March 12.
Assistant Animal Control Officer Dan Proulx conducted the investigation and recommended the dangerous dog designation after hearing testimony from multiple witnesses, including the teenage victim and his parents.
Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer’s April 23 memorandum stated the dog, named Wiatt, meets the definition of a dangerous dog under Massachusetts law, which includes animals that “without justification, attacks a person or domestic animal causing physical injury or death.”
According to hearing testimony, the teenage boy’s attack was unprovoked. His mother was with him immediately before and after the incident.
Attorney Jeremy Cohen of Boston Dog Lawyers represented Hopkins at the hearing. The dog owner did not appear due to work-related travel.
“I think everybody had to give a little bit. Everybody got something as well,” Cohen said. “Josh gets to keep his dog. He gets to come back to Marblehead, but the neighbors get to know that he’s taking it serious.”
The Salem-based attorney praised town officials for their handling of the situation.
“It worked because everybody was so reasonable, including the victim,” Cohen said. “We all got in a room, we all had a chance to talk. That team of Thatcher, Animal Control Officer Betsy Cruger and Dan Proulx — we’ve worked together a few times now. They get through the emotion, and they just get right down to what the law says and what the facts are.”
Town officials confirmed jurisdiction over the case because the dog is regularly housed in Marblehead, though not on a full-time basis.
“We believe that under the jurisdiction, we have the ability, because it’s consistent and housed here,” King explained.
The five specific safety measures required by the board’s declaration include keeping Wiatt humanely restrained; securing the dog indoors or in a properly constructed locked outdoor enclosure; muzzling and restraining the dog when off the owner’s property; providing proof of at least $100,000 insurance coverage; and ensuring the dog is neutered, microchipped and properly registered.
