RANDOLPH — The Selectboard has ordered a Randolph resident to surrender his Great Pyrenees named Snow White to a nearby animal hospital, after the dog bit another dog in violation of a town ordinance.
Pet owner Ethan French has until Wednesday to relinquish Snow White to Country Animal Hospital in Bethel for impoundment, and a month to appeal the decision in Vermont Superior Court Civil Division, according to the Selectboard’s order.
“He is expected to relinquish the dog whether he appeals or not,” Selectboard Chairman Larry Satcowitz wrote in a Friday email.
Police will seize the 85-pound white dog and have her euthanized if French refuses to comply, the decision stated. Euthanasia is also a possibility if the hospital cannot find a home for Snow White within the appeal period.
French, however, said he would refuse to comply with the order, which police served him two weeks after the board held a public hearing to determine Snow White’s fate.
“She’s not going to the pound,” he said Friday by phone.
French said he intends to take the issue to court to get his dog back, but in the meantime, he wants control over where she’s kept.
“I’m not out to play games,” he said. “I’m not out to be malicious. I deserve to keep my animal.”
While the decision required that French bring the dog to the hospital as opposed to rehoming her himself, there is no penalty for non-compliance of the order aside from impoundment, said Satcowitz.
“The police are not going to search for the dog,” said Satcowitz. “The dog will be impounded if the owner relinquishes the dog or if it’s caught running loose in Randolph by a representative of the town.”
On April 19, Snow White escaped her Elm Street property, ran across the street and bit a German Shepherd named Onyx, who needed stitches on his leg as a result.
The Selectboard convened on April 27 to hear testimony and determine whether or not Snow White’s behavior violated Randolph’s dog ordinance, which states that no dog shall run at large in the town, and that no dog shall harass or attack other animals or people if off its property.
Animal control officer Milo Cutler outlined several incidents regarding Snow White running at large, and Josh Blanchard, Onyx’s owner, spoke to his experiences with Snow White entering his property.
French and his family members, including Town Clerk Tammy Munyon, who resides at the same Elm Street address, spoke in Snow White’s favor. They said that she is a loving dog who simply made a mistake and that she escaped that day because the battery in her shock collar had died.
But it wasn’t Snow White’s first Selectboard hearing.
Four years ago, Snow White escaped from a Hale Street property she frequented and reportedly caused injuries to a dog belonging to neighbors Charles and Donna Weaver. At that time, the Selectboard ordered that Snow White be fenced at the property, muzzled outside of it and registered with the town of Randolph.
Part of the Selectboard’s 2022 decision also stated that additional incidents in Randolph “will lead to the immediate removal and impoundment of Snow White,” according to meeting minutes.
At the April hearing, French and his family asked for another chance to keep Snow White within the property moving forward, but ultimately, the board determined that this incident violated the ordinance for the second time.
While the Selectboard made its decision the evening of the hearing after over an hour of deliberation in executive session, it was not made publicly available until over two weeks later. Board member Stephanie Tyler said the delay was due to the time it took for legal review.
Randolph Police served French with the decision on Wednesday, said Judy Powell, executive assistant to the town manager. The full order is available on the town’s website.
French, who said that he anticipated the call for Snow White’s removal, plans to find a lawyer and file an appeal.
“I’m going to let the system handle it and I have to pay for my dog like I’d have to pay to save my child,” he said.
In the event that Snow White is impounded, Country Animal Hospital will likely coordinate with a foster organization to rehome her temporarily, said Monica Clark, a receptionist at the hospital. The hospital does boarding as needed, but prefers to coordinate foster home situations, she said. Adoption is typically determined based on the best interest of the dog in question, said Clark.
While the order does not speak to where Snow White would go after the 30-day appeal period if French chooses to take the town to court, Satcowitz suspects she’d remain in hospital custody.
