Decision follows Montgomery court ruling
By: Jake Uitti
MONTGOMERY A Montgomery Woods resident was found guilty in municipal court Dec. 20 of possession of a potentially dangerous dog and failure to control her dog following a Nov. 8 incident in which a smaller dog was killed.
Jane Nackman, the dog’s owner, decided to have the dog put to sleep, according to Stephanie Carey, the Montgomery Township health officer.
On Nov. 8, the dog, a shepherd-pit bull mixed breed named Buster ran from its house and attacked two dogs on Brookline Court being walked by their owner, Sandy Favilla of Montgomery Woods.
One of her dogs, a 16-pound terrier mixed breed named Mattie, fell out of the pouch she was being carried in and was attacked. It died two days later, according to Ms. Favilla, who told police she sustained a puncture wound on a thumb, requiring a tetanus shot. Her other dog, Pete, also sustained puncture wounds requiring medical attention after Buster’s attack.
According to Mattie’s regular veterinarian, Christine A. Newman of the Harlingen Veterinary Clinic, Mattie sustained broken ribs, a diaphragmatic hernia, severe shock and muscle tears. These injuries, Ms. Newman said, "suggest that the attack was very aggressive."
The Friday before the fatal attack, Buster bit another neighborhood dog named Edgar, according to a statement that police attributed to Ms. Nackman. In that report, Ms. Nackman also said that Buster had never been aggressive before that week in any community.
Ms. Nackman was charged Nov. 17 by the township’s animal control officer, Ryan Giordano.
Ms. Carey said "the witnesses described what they saw at the attacks, how the small dog died in the second attack, and the animal control officer testified to the quarantine period for the dog. The judge, on hearing all the evidence, felt the dog met the requirements of being a potentially dangerous dog."
According to state law, a dog is determined to be potentially dangerous if the court finds "by clear and convincing evidence" that the dog "has caused bodily injury to a person during an unprovoked attack and poses a serious threat of bodily injury or death to a person," or if the dog has "severely injured or killed another domestic animal, provided that the dog injured or killed was not the aggressor."
Since the judge found the dog to be potentially dangerous, a series of restrictions in accordance with state law had to be put into place to ensure the dog would not harm other members of the community, Ms. Carey said. In addition to these restrictions, Ms. Nackman had to pay a fine of $200 and court costs.
The restrictions, if a dog is found to be dangerous, require the dog owner to put up a 6-foot fence around the property, put up signs that are visible from at least 50 feet away, and acquire a special license so that the municipality can keep track of the dog.
Ms. Nackman, because of the type of townhouse she lives in, Ms. Carey explained, could not meet these restrictions and because she could not find a home for the dog decided to put the dog to sleep.
"The community has been protected," Carey said. "There are lots of dogs and children in the neighborhood. It’s good to have it resolved, but its unfortunate that it had to come to that."

