Leah the dog on death row

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on October 09, 2009

A nuisance dog in a North Amherst neighborhood that bit three people over a three-year period will be euthanized following allegations that its owner violated the terms of an agreement with the Select Board she signed in January.

Town Manager Larry Shaffer told board members Monday that the dog, named Leah and owned by Karen Eddings, of Blackberry Lane, will be put down.

"I have no intention of recommending anything but euthanization," Shaffer said.

<h4>‘Callous disregard'</h4>

A letter was sent to Eddings on Tuesday from Animal Welfare Officer Carol Hepburn, alerting Eddings to the decision and giving her 10 days to take court action.

"Your disregard of requirements you agreed to demonstrates your callous indifference to the welfare and safety of your neighbors and the well-being of the dog," Hepburn writes.

Eddings, in an email, cautioned that what town officials have said and the press has reported have not accurately reflected what has happened. "Beware if you believe all you read and hear," Eddings said.

Shaffer said his decision was based on violations of the stipulated agreement crafted by the Select Board, which Eddings signed Jan. 5. The agreement gave the town manager the authority to handle any violations.

Eddings' complete disregard for the signed agreement will only lead to more people being hurt, Shaffer said.

It has been determined that at least two of the five conditions were violated, he said.

The first was that the dog is not allowed to walk on any streets while living in Amherst. This violation was discovered following a complaint lodged by a neighbor, who saw one of Eddings' children walking the dog through the neighborhood.

"There doesn't seem to be any contention about that," Shaffer said.

More startling, Shaffer said, was that the required animal behavioralist assistance was not followed through on. It was to include three training sessions and then six months later a follow-up evaluation to see if Leah had improved.

Also, Eddings never contacted the behavioralist, Elise McMahon of Canine Head Start in Montague, Shaffer said. "In callous disregard to that recommendation, no training was ever scheduled," Shaffer said.

Shaffer said he and Hepburn had a discussion with Eddings of voluntary euthanization, but she rejected this.

Eddings made a counterproposal that the dog be taken to a community in Putnam County, N.Y., where one of her brothers lives. Shaffer said liability issues, being discussed with the town attorney, are too great, and he would not support this.

The dog, part herding and hound dog, was rescued by Eddings off a chain from a rural area in Heath. But after bringing the dog to Amherst, two people in 2006, an adult riding a bicycle and a child on his skateboard, were bitten.

"Unknowingly, she entered a highly stimulating area with bikes and kids galore," Eddings said.

In September 2008, Leah bit a 7-year-old girl in the neighborhood, which prompted the board to take action. Eddings, though, argues that the girl had previously been warned about Leah and said she feels the girl was actually playing chicken with her dog.

Leah has been staying at the town's kennel since the town took custody of it last week. The dog is not expected to be released back to Eddings.

Shaffer said Leah showed how dangerous a dog she is when she bit Hepburn when Hepburn tried to brush her. Eddings said Leah has a phobia about being brushed.

Kevin Eddings, a brother of Eddings who lives in Amherst, said the family was surprised by Shaffer's decision.

Leah, he said, is not an attack dog, does not pin people when it has bitten them, and has only caused minor injuries in the biting incidents.

Kevin Eddings said his brother's house is an ideal location, remote and with an electrified fence, and he would prefer that Leah lives there.

"We feel like the dog is being punished, rather than the owner," Eddings said.

Karen Eddings agreed that the punishment should fall on her and not on her pet.