We Need A First Selectman Who Cares
To The Editor :
In August 2024, a horrible thing happened in our neighborhood. The stepmom of one of our neighbors was taking a peaceful walk around our loop with her husband and stepdaughter. All of a sudden, a dog ran off of its property and attacked her for no reason. They were nowhere near the dog’s property when she was attacked. She was knocked to the ground and the dog latched onto her breast and broke her collarbone. She has had to have plastic surgery and extensive physical therapy and obviously all three were traumatized. The news of this incident spread through the neighborhood very quickly and several of us called Animal Control to find out what was going to be done about this obviously vicious dog.
Animal Control told us that the way Newtown handles something like this is to quarantine the dog for 10 days in their home and then after the 10 days, all goes back to normal. The dog is able to be unchained on their property and could attack someone else. There is and never was a physical fence around the front of their property; I have no idea if they have or had an electric fence. Needless to say, we were all horrified by this supposed “solution.”
In addition, there are young children who live directly across the street from this dog. Does someone have to die before the town takes more action than a 10 day quarantine? Animal Control said that many dogs in Newtown have bitten people and that these dogs are not necessarily vicious and deserve another chance. I own two large dogs. I understand that dogs can get overly playful and sometimes nip people. In this instance, however, this was not playfulness. There was a level of viciousness that we in our neighborhood felt was inexcusable.
I called our First Selectman several times when this incident first happened and never got an answer back. Then I actually met him in town a few months ago and confronted him about this issue and he said he did not remember getting any phone calls from me, and in fact then said he would look into it and call me back. He never did. Isn’t the First Selectman supposed to be the leader of our town and shouldn’t he be responsible for the safety of our neighborhoods?
Most of the people on my block do not walk past the house with that dog anymore. My husband and I used to walk all the way around the block every day with our two dogs (on leashes, of course). We now walk our dogs halfway around the block and then turn around and come home so we can avoid passing by the house with that dog.
I have lived in my home for 28 years and I no longer feel safe in my own neighborhood. I am writing this letter because I feel that the people of Newtown should know that this is the way our current government handles situations like this and that our current first selectman, Jeff Capeci, did not take any action to keep us safe.
Lynn Hungaski
Newtown
Lets remember this happened last year? There’s no doubt the dog attack was terrifying, traumatic, and unacceptable. No one should ever have to experience that kind of violence in their own neighborhood. But in responding to that situation, we need to be honest about what local officials are legally allowed to do.
It’s easy to demand action. It’s much harder to act within the bounds of state law. The suggestion that our First Selectman, Jeff Capeci, doesn’t care simply because he didn’t personally remove the dog stretches into the absurd. The town is required to follow state animal control laws.
We all want to feel safe. In a past neighborhood with an aggressive dog, I too adjusted how I walked and carried protection. All Americans have the right to defend themselves. It’s a rational response when the law isn’t designed to act with the speed or force our emotions might demand. But we shouldn’t turn that frustration into misplaced blame.
If Ms. Hungaski believes the existing law is too lenient, that’s a concern to take up with our state legislators. Local government can’t rewrite state statutes on the fly to satisfy our anger, no matter how justified that anger may be. Implying that the First Selectman is indifferent simply because he abides by the law is unfair.
Let’s push for better laws if they’re lacking. But let’s also be honest about what we’re asking of our local leaders: not to act above the law, but to work within it to make change.
There has been a rash of dog attacks, at least three that I know about on the sidewalks in town. Owners of pets need to be more attentive and respectful of their neighbors. Aggressive dogs need to be watched carefully to protect all. This is a serious issue and should be addresses not swept under a rug.