After two fatal dog attacks in less than three weeks, the Waitsfield Select Board wants the public to know that dogs must be physically leashed when not on private land in the town.
During an Aug. 10 hearing, board members reviewed an ongoing investigation into the Aug. 7 attack in which a loose dog killed three goats that were being used to control invasive knotweed on town-owned land at the former fairgrounds. The discussion followed an earlier incident in which an unleashed dog fatally attacked another dog on the Mad River Greenway.
Board chair Brian Shupe stressed that Waitsfield strengthened its ordinance earlier this year, replacing language requiring dogs to be "under the control" of their owners with a requirement that dogs be under physical restraint by leash while on public property. The change took effect in May.
BROKE ITS LEASH
"We made a change to say that it had to be under physical control. It had to be leashed," Shupe said, noting the amendment was intended to eliminate ambiguity and bring Waitsfield into alignment with neighboring communities.
Town officials also said they are withholding the identity of the person who was walking the dogs until animal control officer and select board Fred Messer completes his investigation. Mary Beth Herbert, the goatherd whose animals were attacked and killed said the woman walking the dog that attacked the goats identified herself to her and she shared that information with Messer.
She said she was told that the dog owners were in Iceland at the time of the attack, and it remains unclear whether the husky-type dog broke its leash or chewed through it before attacking the herd.
MORE QUESTIONS
Messer said he has attempted to contact the individual who identified herself to goat herder Mary Beth Herbert but has not received a response.
Herbert told the board she discovered the attack during her routine evening visit to check on the herd. She first found an adult goat suffering from severe bite wounds before encountering a young goat lying in the grass while the loose dog continued circling it.
"We were having a really hard time," Herbert said of trying to drive the dog away. "I ended up getting rid of the dog with rocks."
She said the people accompanying the dogs tried unsuccessfully to regain control of the husky.
Herbert ultimately chased the dog away herself while caring for the injured animals and coordinating with a veterinarian.
LOOSE DOGS
Two goats were euthanized that evening because of the severity of their injuries. A third goat, missing overnight after the herd scattered into nearby woods, was found the following day by volunteers but also had to be euthanized because of extensive wounds.
Herbert credited dozens of community members for helping search for the missing animals.
"People are just amazing," she said.
The attack prompted renewed discussion of off-leash dogs throughout Waitsfield's public trail system. Larissa Darius, speaking on behalf of Neck of the Woods childcare center, said children and teachers have stopped using the Mad River Greenway after an unleashed dog killed another dog on the trail several weeks earlier.
She told the board that children as young as infants regularly use the trail as part of the school's outdoor curriculum and that encounters with loose dogs have become routine.
"We've had dogs rush us almost every single time they're on the trail," Darius said. "Now to the point after the first attack, we haven't even let anybody go to the trail because our employees and parents feel it's unsafe."
NOT TODAY
Susan Burbank, also representing Neck of the Woods, said losing access to the trail has significantly impacted the program.
"There are lessons to be learned on the path for our students that we can't teach in the classroom," Burbank said. "Every day one of my kids will say, 'Can we go on the path?' And I'm like, 'Not today.'"
Chris Austin, a longtime dog owner, urged the board to distinguish between irresponsible owners and those whose dogs are highly trained. Austin said he supports holding negligent owners accountable but argued that requiring every dog to be leashed on public trails unfairly affects owners whose dogs reliably respond to voice commands. Board members responded that the ordinance had already been adopted and that public safety outweighed individual circumstances.
Moretown resident Dan Zucker, whose miniature poodle was killed by an unleashed dog on the Greenway in late July, thanked the board for addressing the issue but urged officials to discourage suggestions circulating online that people carry bear spray or firearms to protect themselves from attacking dogs.
CHAOTIC SITUATIONS
"I think in the messaging that the select board engages in, it would also be to everyone's benefit to completely unanimously discourage either carrying firearms or ... pepper spray," Zucker said, arguing that such measures could worsen already chaotic situations.
The board took no formal action Monday but directed staff to continue investigating the goat attack while developing a public education campaign emphasizing the leash requirement.
Members also discussed replacing outdated signs along local trails, working with the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce to educate visitors, coordinating outreach with neighboring towns and increasing enforcement through patrols and public awareness.
