Dog bite dispute elicits emotional response
Some believe dog was euthanized unnecessarily
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer

WOODBRIDGE - Mary Lamp said that all her disabled 65-year-old father, William Legeny, wanted was a dog when he was at home alone.

Legeny received his wish when he and his wife, Patricia, adopted Zeena, a female German shepherd with short black hair, four months ago from the Linden Animal Shelter.

However, on May 5, Zeena was euthanized. On that day, she bit William Weiss, 31, of Woodbridge, at the intersection of Crampton and Watson avenues, unprovoked. The bite left Weiss with five puncture wounds to his left arm and left leg, along with severe bruising to his left leg and groin area.

After this, Legeny thought that putting Zeena to sleep was the only option.

The wounds required medical attention by emergency room staff at Perth Amboy Medical Center on that day. As a result of the bites, Weiss developed an infection and was required to undergo a series of tetanus vaccinations and other medical treatments.

Family members and friends said what happened after the fact was not appropriately handled by the Woodbridge Township Department of Health and Human Services and the Animal Control Unit.

"I feel that my father was taken advantage of," said Lamp, wiping away tears, at the Township Council meeting on June 10. "It was a stupid mistake for Zeena to get out of the gate, but my mother and I should have been there with my father…he did have a brain aneurism a few years ago and may not put things into sequence, but my father would not lie about what happened."

Lamp, who said her father called her the day of the incident, but did not tell her about the 4 p.m. appointment to euthanize Zeena, attended the council meeting along with about 20 residents to express their disappointment on how the case was handled and the state Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (SPCA) findings.

The Law Enforcement Division of the SPCA conducted an independent investigation on behalf of the dog owner's family and found that township Animal Control OfficerMercedes Lopez followed state and township procedures at the incident on May 5. They sent their findings in a report to the township on June 5.

"We started our own investigation when the incident was brought to our attention on May 20," said John Hagerty, the township's director of communications. "Then we were contacted by the SPCA and were informed that they were conducting their own independent investigation, and at that point we ended our investigation and cooperated with their investigation."

Dennis Green, township director of health, noted that the state SPCAinvestigation represented a completely unbiased review of the facts and circumstances surrounding the dog owner's decision to euthanize the animal after admitting to authorities that the dog could not be controlled.

The report by the SPCA included interviews with Lopez, Woodbridge Police Officer Matthew Carney, veterinarian Le Smith Jr., D.V.M. of St. Georges Veterinary Hospital, and members of the veterinary hospital staff, dog owner William Legeny, and Weiss.

Lamp said her father was given three options by Lopez after the incident: pay a $6,000 fine, put up a 6-foot-high fence (Legeny had a 4-foot-high fence) within 48 hours, or euthanize his dog. Lamp added that two days after the incident, she spoke to Lopez over the phone and asked how she could find the information that Lopez gave to her father.

"She [Lopez] told me that she made it up," said Lamp. "She told me how [Zeena] mauled the man and he suffered extensive injuries. I asked her if we were talking about the same incident."

Lamp added that her father even suggested that Zeena be quarantined.

"But it was not an option given to him … none of the options [Lopez] gave my father should have been given," she said.

Lamp said her father and mother had Zeena for four months prior to the incident and that her children, ages 4 and 2, had spent time around the dog.

"My kids would play with Zeena since, God forbid, something happened to my parents and we would have to take Zeena … I would have not let my kids around Zeena if she was vicious," she said.

Vincent Garibaldi, of Woodbridge, asked township officials if they could confirm that those three options were given by Lopez to Legeny, but township officials said the only people who could confirm what was said would be Lopez and Legeny.

Michael A. Azzarello, agent at the state SPCA, conducted the investigation.

"[Lopez] stated to me at no time did she force the animal to be euthanized or make this the owner's only option," Azzarello said in the report. "She also stated that she never deemed the dog vicious, knowing only a judge can do this. She was concerned over the safety of the children, since a local bus stop was across the street from the house that the dog lived [in]. She informed the owner that he could quarantine the animal for 10 days, although this would require placing a fence of greater height around his backyard. She did note, however, failure to quarantine the animal could lead up to $6,000 in fines. The owner stated to her that he has a hard time controlling the dog and feels his only option is euthanasia."

In Azzarello's report, Carney, who was at the scene with Lopez, said he felt that at no time did Lopez force or persuade the owner to make any decisions, and all choices by Legeny were made under his free will.

The report revealed that Lopez had to make the appointment for the dog to be euthanized at St. Georges Veterinary Hospital, after an attempt made by the owner. The receptionist said Lopez stated that "a dog needed to be put to sleep after viciously attacking someone earlier today."

Legeny told the hospital's receptionist what had occurred and was told he would have to wait 10 days before euthanasia could be done. Smith informed Azzarello that he was originally reluctant to do the procedure, but after speaking with his receptionist who spoke to Lopez, the dog was humanely euthanized.

Legeny told Azzarello he did not understand why he had to have his dog euthanized. He stated that he did have a hard time controlling the dog, possibly due to his age. He asked Azzarello why he could not have had the dog brought back to the place where he adopted it, instead of having it euthanized.

Azzarello concluded that due to Legeny's medical condition, there could have been a communication lapse between the parties.

Pam Myers, of Colonia, said if the dog viciously attacked someone, then why was the dog left on the premises?

"I understand the concern [about] the school bus stop, but if the animal control officer felt the dog was vicious or acted in an aggressive way, then [Lopez] should have immediately taken the dog if her intention was to protect the public," she said. "Also, even thoughMr. Legeny had a hard time controlling Zeena, he had to have some control if he did bring her to the veterinarian for her appointments."

Susan Davis, of Colonia, who is a volunteer at the Linden Animal Shelter, asked why Zeena's veterinarian file would have no stickers on it if Zeena was an outof control dog.

"Stickers would be labeled on her veterinarian file from the start … this was her first offense," she said. "I think no statements should be made until 24 hours later, so no rash movements could be made."

Myers, who said she went through a similar situation 20 years ago where her dog bit a child, said she was terrified when police and animal control came to her home.

"However, the animal control officer was very polite to me and said I needed to quarantine my dog for 10 days … I can't imagine how a senior citizen who had a brain aneurism would feel like," Myers said. "I am very sorry about what happened to the dog, but I am more concerned about the abuse of the senior citizen by the animal control officer."

Davis said that it is beyond an animal control officer's realm to assess the mental capability of a person on whether they understand their rights or not.

"It's important to have a cooling-off period, and also I think it's important to educate before, not during, an incident," she said.

Stacy Afandor, of Fords, who has known Lopez for a very long time and had volunteered at the animal shelter, spoke on Lopez's character and her love of animals.

"She always puts the animals first," she said.

Township officials said they acknowledged and understood that the incident is a highly emotionally charged issue.

"It is truly unfortunate for what happened, but there have been misstatements and facts that have been said [surrounding the case]," said Robert Landolfi, the township's business administrator.

Landolfiadded that even though the report findings concluded that they did not find any wrongdoing, that wasn't to say that things couldn't have been done better. The township has implemented suggestions that were made in the report by the state SPCA.

"We are planning to implement a consent form that animal control would provide the animal owner, which will include options for the animal owner, so there would be no questions on what options were given or not, like we [have] in this case," he said.

The written information on the form would detail state and township regulations and ordinances that clearly inform pet owners of the requirements and available options following dog-bite incidents. Both the animal owner and animal control officer would fill out the form.

Current procedures include the filing of a Dog Bite Incident report, Notice of Bite ofAnimal report, and Request for Rabies Examination report to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. Lopez had followed all procedures.

Landolfiadded that the township's animal shelter will have the ability to quarantine an animal. There are currently two quarantine cages at the shelter.

"We hope that these procedural changes will help avoid any confusion in the future," he said.

Myers said the paper form is a step, but more is needed.

"What if a dog owner does not understand what is being said to them?" she asked.

Ward 2 Councilman and Council President Richard Dalina said they would take all the comments made by the public into consideration.