The Select Board revisited an ongoing dangerous dog hearing in which the canine in question has gone on the lamb at the board’s July 12 meeting.

The dog, owned by Adam Bruneau, severely injured an older neighbor in an October 2021 attack. The board voted in November that the dog should be euthanized — a decision Bruneau appealed in District Court. 

In March, the board reported that they didn’t know where the dog was and that Bruneau’s family had dropped off a letter claiming that the dog was “out of the jurisdiction.”

On July 11, the board received word that the dog was “no longer in the Commonwealth,” Whiteside reported.

Town Council Richard Bowen said Tuesday that he recommended the board affirm it’s order that the dog be euthanized with the understanding that “you won’t be able to enforce that unless the dog reappears in town.”

Whiteside added that a constable was unable to serve papers to Bruneau to inform him that he needed to be present at the meeting.

Board member Jared Chadwick asked how the town could verify that the dog is actually out of the town, and whether they could do anything to prevent it from injuring someone in its new location.

“We’re in a bit of a pickle there,” Bowen said. “We can deal with it if the dog is within our borders. The gentleman has removed the dog from our reach. What we can do is within our borders and within our own power.”

However, if there was a report that the dog was back in town, Bowen said that the Department of Natural Resources could take action.