HARTLAND — Daisy Murphy is scared to walk around her property without a shovel in hand.
The problem is the neighbor’s dog, which recently killed Murphy’s toy Aussiedoodle, Phyllis, at her front doorstep.
While the local animal control officer deemed the dog “vicious” and issued a ticket to the owner, Hartland Town Manager John Broker-Campbell says the town’s hands are tied.
“Erring on the side of caution here is prudent, in my opinion,” said Broker-Campbell. “Meaning I don’t believe we should be the type of town that is going around and impounding animals.”
On Aug. 20, Daisy Murphy, 76, opened her front door because she noticed her neighbor’s large German Shepherd-Husky, Dani, jumping on her car. As she tried to shoo Dani away from her porch, Phyllis stepped out between Murphy’s legs.
Murphy said Dani knocked her down when she tried to pick up Phyllis to protect her before the first bite.
The attack was caught on video that Murphy shared with the Valley News. In the recording, Dani can be seen running up to the house, biting the 7-lb. dog and carrying her off. Murphy used a broom to hit the large dog, which dropped Phyllis, but only momentarily.
“I’m screaming and hollering, as I reached down to pick her up, the dog came back and grabbed her and went off over to there where there was a puddle of blood,” said Murphy.
Murphy rushed Phyllis to the animal hospital, but it was too late.
“I knew she died by the by the time we got down there,” said Murphy.
Murphy and her family have called on the town to take action, as she continues to fear for the safety of herself, her grandchildren and her other dogs with Dani living nearby, she said Thursday at her home off Shute Road.
Broker-Campbell asserts that the town is limited to the ordinance currently in place, and what happened to Phyllis is a “very uncommon occurrence.”
The ordinance, enacted in 2010, defines a vicious dog as one that “attacks any person or causes any person to reasonably fear bodily injury or attack from such animal” and “any animal that, while running at large, attacks another domestic pet.”
The ordinance calls for enforcement by a police, animal control or humane officer of the Town of Hartland. When a dog presents an “imminent danger to people or other animals,” they have the option to impound the dog.
While Murphy and her family contacted Vermont State Police and the Windsor County Sheriff’s Office, both entities informed them it’s a local matter, she said. Hartland does not have its own police department or designated humane officer, so it’s all up to the town’s animal control officer, Jim Armbruster.
Armbruster has the authority to fine the owner, order the dog be muzzled, order the dog be physically confined to the property by some means, order the dog be removed or order the dog be put down. He opted to issue two municipal tickets and deemed Dani “vicious.”
“The owner was advised to keep the dog on the property and that if it was caught running at large again it would be impounded,” Armbruster said Friday by email.
Two years ago, Hartland enacted a new ordinance that would have put the onus on the selectboard to decide what happens to a dog that’s considered vicious. There would be an investigation, public hearing and recommendation from the animal control officer.
“I would think that the board would want to have some say,” Broker-Campbell said in an Aug. 19, 2024 meeting recording, the day the Selectboard approved the new ordinance.
Randolph has similar measures in place, and a vicious dog hearing back in April sparked a decision to impound a Great Pyrenees that bit a German Shepherd, following testimony from those involved and an executive session over an hour long.
Hartland’s changes to its ordinance turned out to be invalid after town officials realized that it was never properly posted in five locations. As a result, the town reverted to the 2010 policy.
Dani’s owner, Chayse Wood, who lives across the street from Murphy, said that she rescued the 3-and-a-half-year-old dog back in December and that she’s never had behavioral issues aside from barking.
The recent attack was a result of Dani slipping her collar while tied to a leash outside, but Wood has since purchased a harness, she told the Valley News Thursday at her property.
“She can’t get off it now,” said Wood.
If the dog is currently confined to the property, it’s not an imminent threat, according to Broker-Campbell.
Murphy and her family said they have seen Dani off the property several times starting Jan. 2, and contacted Armbruster around four times about the dog’s behavior and living conditions.
Murphy’s daughter-in-law, Emily Murphy, warned the animal control officer in an email that she was scared Dani would attack or kill a child or other dog.
“And this was a couple weeks before the Phyllis incident,” said Emily’s daughter, Nevaeh Murphy, who lives next door with her mother.
Daisy Murphy’s four-year-old great-grandson, Ryder Richards, witnessed the attack from right behind the door.
“The dog ate Phyllis’ neck,” Ryder said Thursday.
Murphy said Ryder was anxious for the other dogs and couldn’t sleep at night.
“All I could think of was what if he’d come out through the door?” Murphy said of Ryder. “They were always going in and out.”
While the town intends to update its regulations, Murphy and her family likely won’t see further action beyond a fine unless the ordinance is violated again.
“We will be addressing it at future board meetings, but adopting a new ordinance takes time,” Broker-Campbell said.
Editor’s note: This story includes video of the dog attack described above shared by the Murphy family. The footage shows the moments leading up to and the beginning of the attack, which we felt was important context for readers, but it does not show any injuries. Viewer discretion is advised.
