By Jennifer Mann
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Jun 23, 2009 @ 05:36 AM
COHASSET —
A pit bill named Tyson has been spared his life, but only through a promise that he will leave the state and never return.
Cohasset selectmen agreed at a Monday hearing to have Tyson sent to Mariah’s Promise, a no-kill sanctuary in Colorado that specializes in rehabilitating dogs.
Tyson will join the likes of Leo and Sweet Jasmine – two of several pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting club and placed in the care of the sanctuary.
“I think this is a very good option,” Selectman Karen Quigley said. “It takes into consideration the concerns of the neighbors and the town, while also being sympathetic to the family.”
The dog, less than a year old, had been a growing source of concern in its Highland Court neighborhood after allegedly attacking another dog and biting a young girl in the face.
The dog’s 18-year-old owner, Logan Chase, faces several assault charges after reportedly hitting two animal control officers with a rabies pole in an attempt to save his dog’s life.
The alleged assault occurred outside All Four Paws kennel on Route 3A, where the dog was about to be destroyed. Chase is out on bail and due back in Quincy District Court on July 6.
The alleged assault was enough to delay the dog’s death because it raised a question of ownership: Chase said he bought the dog, and therefore was the rightful owner, not his mother, who had agreed to have the dog put down.
Cohasset selectmen had the option of ordering the dog euthanized Monday.
But while they deemed the pit bull “a nuisance and a danger by reason of vicious disposition,” they unanimously agreed to the option of the sanctuary, which Logan Chase and his mother, Amyra O’Connell, pleaded for.
Selectmen agreed that if they ever find out Tyson has returned to Massachusetts, he will be put to death. Since the incident at All Four Paws, the dog has been staying in shelters in Brockton and Norwood, and spent time at the Animal Rescue League of Boston, where he received a behavioral evaluation.
“We’re grateful; we’re happy,” O’Connell said after the hearing.
O’Connell’s neighbors are putting together a collection to help the family pay to send the dog to Colorado.
Neighbor Nan Roth had suggested the move, which she said could help in “restoring some congeniality to this neighborhood.”
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Jennifer Mann may be reached at jmann@ledger.com.
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