WATERVILLE, Maine — Having a pet around the house can be a joy unlike any other for a young child, especially a dog they can run and play with.
But certain breeds of dogs aren’t as playful as others, and in the wake of two pit bull attacks by the same dog in the same home, Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey is on a mission to keep dogs that are known to be aggressive, such as pit bulls, Rottweilers and German shepherds, away from kids.
“I’ve always had an issue with having a dog or families that have dogs that are not well-suited for the family,” Massey told the Bangor Daily News in a telephone interview Monday. “They don’t do research.”
Massey’s mission kicked off after a 2-year-old boy was bitten in the face by a pit bull in his family’s home on Sept. 1 and had to be taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland for surgery.
The dog was euthanized after a 10-day quarantine, according to Massey. The boy since has been released from the hospital.
That wasn’t the first time that dog had attacked a family member. A 6-year-old boy in the same home was bitten, and the dog was quarantined for 10 days after that incident.
The dog’s registered owner, Norman St. Michel, 42, was issued a summons for keeping a dangerous dog, Massey said.
Massey has worked in law enforcement for more than three decades and believes large dogs in homes with small children are a problem.
“Over my 34 years, unfortunately, I’ve seen dozens and dozens of maulings, and they’re quite appalling,” he said. “The damage they do is terrible.”
Suzan Bell, director of the Bangor Humane Society, acknowledged that dogs such as pit bulls and German shepherds can be great pets, but it’s up to the owners to properly train them.
“All the responsibility, 100 percent of the responsibility of the pet, falls to the owner of that pet,” Bell said Tuesday, “whether it be their health, sociability, manners and most importantly, managing their home. If you know your pet will bite a child, why in the world would you ever leave that pet alone with a child?”
Many police agencies use German shepherds on their K-9 units, so Massey is certainly aware of the damage those dogs and other large breeds can inflict.
“Their bites are devastating; they’re ripping wounds,” Massey said.
Bell said that all breeds of dogs have potential to attack when provoked.
“Every dog has the potential to bite, every dog has the potential to be a great pet,” Bell said. “It’s really up to the owner. You have to manage your home appropriately. Manage your home, manage your environment the pet will be in.”
Massey wants police officers to do everything they can to protect children from large dogs.
“Although any breed can bite and, because dogs have instincts, you simply cannot predict the behavior of a dog all the time,” he said. “I’m just sick and tired of hearing the old argument, ‘We have a right to a dog.’ I’m at the point where if I had the authority, I think I would ban very aggressive dogs from the city.”
Massey said he is watching some other communities around the United States that are trying to ban certain breeds of dogs from their towns to see how effective their efforts are and whether the ordinances hold up in court. If those communities are successful, Massey said he would consider presenting such a proposed ordinance to the Waterville City Council in the future.
More than 4 million cases of dog bites are reported in the United States every year, the chief said.
