Dog on Death Row: Attorneys Join Testy Hearing as Family Fights to Save Pooch Simon
Supporters of a pit bull mix named Simon gathered at the state Department of Agriculture building Wednesday to attend a hearing to determine whether he lives or dies. The dog has bitten two people.
August 16, 2018 at 03:32 PM
6 minute read
Emotions ran high in a Connecticut Department of Agriculture hearing room Wednesday as attorney Thompson Page tried to make his case about why Simon, an 8-year-old pit bull mix, should not be put down by the town of Guilford. While about a dozen supporters carrying "Save Simon" signs attended the public hearing in Hartford, the town's attorneys argued the dog was a danger because he had bitten at least two individuals and had a fight with a neighborhood dog. But Simon's family, led by Dr. David Young and his wife Deanna, maintained that their pet is a peaceful dog. They noted the incidents in question occurred within their yard and that the bites were not made with malicious intent. But Page told the Connecticut Law Tribune that he was not expecting a fair shake. "This is a kangaroo court," he said. "My client's due process and rights do not even exist." The hearing took place over six hours Wednesday, without a decision by Wayne Kasacek, the Department of Agriculture hearing officer for the case. It still hadn't finished when the meeting adjourned at around 4 p.m., as not all the testimony had been given. The department is set to schedule another hearing soon.
Slideshow: Simon's Fate is on the Line
Guilford Animal Control Officer Danielle Borrelli gave the order to put Simon down over an incident in August 2017, when the dog bit a teenager who had entered the Young family's yard to retrieve a lacrosse stick and a ball. The Young family maintains the boy was holding the stick over his head in a menacing fashion, which led the dog to bite him. Graphic photographs showing three bites, including a 3-by-1-inch bite to the boy's thigh, were shown at the hearing. The boy needed 11 stitches to his thigh and two to his ankle. Borrelli made the "kill order" soon after the incident, but the dog remains locked up at the Guilford Police Animal Shelter. The hearing was often tense, as Page, a solo practitioner from Hartford, tried to hone in on the reasons behind Borrelli's kill order. The attorney also sparred on occasion with Kasacek, the man who will ultimately recommend to the state Department of Agriculture Commissioner Steven Reviczky whether Simon should live or die. The hearing officer took issue with some of the questions Page had for Borrelli, saying the attorney was asking the same question over and over. On one occasion, Page responded: "I'm not getting straight answers. I'd like to get my questions answered. I'm trying to get testimony out and I have a right to ask a question and have a right to a responsive answer." Page then twice objected to the hearing officer conferring quietly with Department of Agriculture staff attorney Carole Briggs, while he was speaking. With regard to Borrelli, Page questioned her training and ability to issue a kill order, even though state statute empowers the town's animal control officer to order the death of a dangerous animal. Borrelli said she issued the kill order after first saying the dog would not be put down, based on several factors: complaints by neighbors about Simon; the bites to the teenager boy; a fight with another dog; and a mild bite to Guilford State Rep. Sean Scanlon while he was walking door to door for votes several years ago. She said her original determination that Simon should live was a "mistake," and added that she had not been initially able to determine the depth the wounds the teenager suffered. "This was not one bite, but several bites," Borrelli said during the hearing. "Seeing a bite that deep from a large dog is not as common as you might think. This one [bite] showed viciousness on the part of the dog." Page asked Borrelli, who testified for at least three hours, several times what the criteria was for a disposal, or kill, order. Borrelli said the determination is made by her based on the circumstances of each case. When asked by Page what the standard was, Borrelli responded: "There is no standard." The dog's owner, David Young, told the Connecticut Law Tribune after the hearing he believes the teenager's parents have a "vendetta" against the family, and is pushing the matter for monetary reasons. "He wants money and has filed a lawsuit," Young said. Scanlon, the state representative, spoke at the hearing for about 30 minutes. He said Simon had "mildly" bit him and that he has perforations on his foot. Scanlon said the incident occurred in May 2016 and that there was no blood and he made no police report. After the incident with the teenager, Scanlon said he heard from at least four of Young's neighbors who said they feared walking by the Young house because of Simon. Some neighbors said they walked by the Young house with sticks because Simon allegedly gets out of the yard, Scanlon said. He also said some neighbors told him they were "harassed by the dog." With regard to the dog-on-dog incident, the owner of the dog attacked by Simon claimed it happened in the street, while Young maintains Simon never left the yard. Young also disputed the neighbors' claims that Simon had ever left his yard. Page also pressed Borrelli on the veracity of the neighbors' complaints against Simon. "They had no reason to lie?" Page asked. "What if they did not like Dr. Young. Then, they may have a reason to lie." When pressed on whether there was a potential the neighbors might not be telling the truth, Borrelli said, "Yes." While Page tried to punch holes in the reason for the kill order, the town attorney, Michael Dorney of New Haven-based LeClairRyan, often interceded when he thought Page was badgering Borrelli. Before Borrelli spoke, Guilford Police Chief Jeffrey Hutchinson, who oversees Borrelli, got in testy exchanges with Page. When Page repeatedly questioned Borrelli's qualifications for making a kill order, asking whether she had special training with dogs, Hutchinson said, "I know she is qualified and a certified animal control officer. I don't supervise her training specifically." When Page continued on that line of questioning, Hutchinson responded sternly, "Are we having an English lesson here?" Borrelli said she either met or exceeded the six hours of animal behavior training required annually. She said she had taken 42 hours of training in dog and cat animal behavior in 2017. After the hearing, Page said he'd file an immediate appeal for a stay on Simon's death sentence, if the Department of Agriculture ruled against the dog. Meanwhile, Young said he's received more than 14,000 signatures on a Change.org petition to save Simon. He's also collected more than 400 signatures from local residents asking to spare Simon's life. Young said he will be giving those documents to town leaders.
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