An effort to break up an attack by two pit bulls on a smaller dog in Wiscasset sent an individual to the hospital for treatment of a bite the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 7, Wiscasset Police Chief Jeff Lange said.
The owners of the pit bulls, Nicholas Martinez, 39, and Robin Standring, 50, have since been summonsed on two counts each of keeping dangerous dogs and allowing dogs to be at large, both civil violations, according to the Bangor Daily News.
The two pit bulls escaped the yard of a Ward Brook Road home after seeing a smaller dog across the street, Lange said. The gate on the property was apparently not closed correctly, he said.
The pit bulls attacked the smaller dog, which was later transported to a veterinary clinic for treatment, Lange said. The bill for the dog’s treatment was $575.25, according to a relative of the smaller dog’s owner.
A neighbor, not the owner of the smaller dog, attempted to break up the attack on the smaller dog. The 32-year old woman was bitten on the wrist by one of the pit bulls and transported to the hospital for treatment of lacerations, Lange said.
Martinez and Standring were summonsed after an investigation by a Lincoln County animal control officer, according to the BDN.
A civil violation of keeping a dangerous dog is punishable by a fine of $250-$1,000, according to state law.
The court can order the dog in question to be euthanized, confined to a secure enclosure, or muzzled and restricted to a 3-foot tether under the direct control of the owner when off the owner’s property, according to state law.
A civil violation of allowing dogs to be at large is punishable by a fine of $50-$250 for a first offense and $100-$500 for two or more violations.
In an interview with WCSH 6, Standring said she had never seen her dogs act the way they did the evening of the attack and that the pit bulls had always been good with people.
Standring said she has made an effort to apologize to the woman who was injured and the owner of the smaller dog, and is willing to cover the veterinary bill for the smaller dog.
