SWAN’S ISLAND, Maine — After being told not to bring his dog to work anymore, this island’s police chief has verbally tendered his resignation, according to a local official.
The reason town officials told Police Chief Jerry Michaud not to bring his Rottweiler to work is because, on Oct. 30, the dog attacked and killed a smaller dog on Mount Desert Island.
Dexter Lee, a Swan’s Island selectman, said Tuesday that Michaud lives in the Mount Desert village of Hall Quarry but stays on Swan’s Island five nights a week in an upstairs apartment in the town office building. For a few years now Michaud has been bringing his dog out to Swan’s Island, which has about 350 year-round residents, keeping it with him in the apartment at night and taking it with him in the police cruiser out on patrol, Lee said.
Some residents on Swan’s Island have been uneasy about the dog, according to Lee. He said that, to his knowledge, the dog never has bitten anyone, but it has snapped at people.
“You had to be careful approaching it,” Lee said.
After the Rottweiler attacked and killed a papillon that belonged to one of Michaud’s Mount Desert neighbors, Swan’s Island officials felt it confirmed some of their fears, according to Lee. They told Michaud that, next time he came out to the island for work, he had to leave the dog at home.
“He said, ‘If the dog has to go, then I’m going, too,’” Lee said.
Michaud told selectmen that his last day on the job would be Dec. 31, according to Lee.
Attempts this week to contact Michaud have been unsuccessful.
According to the police chief in Mount Desert, Michaud is not going to face any charges as a result of the Oct. 30 dog attack.
James Willis said Wednesday that he and Sgt. Kevin Edgecomb, who serves as Mount Desert’s animal control officer, looked into the matter. He said the town does not have its own dangerous dog ordinance and so relies on state law about such complaints. State law says that anyone who wants to file a dangerous dog complaint has to do so within 30 days of an alleged incident. As of Wednesday — 29 days later — no such complaint had been filed or was expected, Willis added.
The Mount Desert police chief said that Michaud apparently has given the Rottweiler to the Hancock County SPCA in Trenton, which plans to find a new home for the dog.
“We did some follow-up work and confirmed that,” Willis said. “We didn’t feel there was any future danger.”
Lee said that even though Michaud has given his dog to the shelter, he still plans to leave the post at the end of December. Swan’s Island has received some inquiries about the police chief opening but has not yet advertised it, Lee said.
Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.
wait so did he leave because of the dog??? He quit then gave the dog away? If that was my dog and his dog attacked and killed my dog he would be civil court !!
Papillons are cute.
Noisy , pesky and neurotic , but cute.
350 pound dog attacks and kills a 5 pound dog.
He is a photo of a papilion dog:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/RileyPapillon.JPG/220px-RileyPapillon.JPG
How about having the 350 pound dog meeting a 700 pound bear.
I doubt it’s a 350lb dog. That seems highly unlikely.
o, i misread the story.
Funny… I had to double take on the article too, because I first read it as 350 pounds too and thought, what… wait, that can’t be. That’s what you get for skimming!
Blame speed reading.
Not to be mean, but even if you “skim” an article, shouldn’t our common sense tell us that the likelihood of 350 pound dog is ridiculous?
Same here,I thought,wow,Thats a GIANT dog! lol
…..
They don’t get that large. Mine is 2 1/2 and is 125lbs. and stands 6ft high when he is on his back legs. He is a gentle giant.
He clearly took his job very seriously.
“He said, ‘If the dog has to go, then I’m going, too,’” Lee said.
Jaysus — what is it with Rottweiler owners and their blind loyalty to their dogs?
This is not blind loyalty to a dog, as he has given the dog away.
This is obviously a dog in serious need of training. It killed a smaller dog and it has been known to “snap” at people. Rotties are very large; a snap can be very dangerous.
I feel badly for the dog and hope that he finds a home with someone who understands the breed and can rehabilitate and socialize him so that he can be a good member of the community.
Maybe his initial statement was meant to cover his embarrassment. Hard to be part of an island society after a painful, high-profile incident, I bet.
if the dog is an adult, and is acting like that, regretfully, it needs to be put down.
I’m glad you aren’t in charge of criminal justice in this country.
On the other hand, a couple years under your rule could really put a dent in the overpopulation problem.
As much as society loves to view dogs on the same level as human beings, anyone who has even a rudimentary understanding of basal canine behavior knows better. Dogs rule in packs with a well-established hierarchy. A human has to establish him or herself as “Alpha Dog.” In other words, the human is supposed to rule the pack not the dog.
Sadly, many people who have dogs don’t get this concept, and the dog becomes the boss. This is not good when it is a dog capable of killling someone in a blink of an eye.
It’s not the dog’s fault – it’s the owner. It doesn’t matter if it’s a lap dog or a guard dog. The rules of the pack remain the same. The number one reason there are so many pit bulls in shelters is because clueless people who want a ‘cool dog’ bring them home without even the basic knowlegde of dog training and behavior. Then too, there are dogs who are simply agressive and no amount of retraining will fix them. It’s a sad fact of life, but there are truly those animals that need to be put down if all else fails.
of course it is not the dog’s fault.
That’s my point.
we are talking about a dog. this is not about justice, it’s about safety.
I have a Rottweiler and if, heaven forbid, he killed another dog, I would take the right steps. Any dog can be a killer – it is all in how you raise them. I am sick and tired of people like you stating that Rottweilers are killers. I have a Jack Russell Terrier that lives next door and is the most vicious thing – it bit the owner’s adult daughter’s fingertip off when she was dog sitting it. I have seen very ugly and vicious labs and retrievers as well. Just like the saying goes, a dog is only as smart as its owner.
Well, let’s hope that the future Chief can take a bite out of crime in that town.
I find it odd that after snapping at people the dog was still allowed to roam the island with the chief. I’ve been out ot Swan’s many times and always thought how scary a serious medical situation would be. Small annoying dog….small annoying baby…. (as in crying, fussing which seems to set some dogs off). Scary thoughts.
I fail to see why he ever would have been allowed to bring his personal dog to work in the first place! What town would assume that liability? Sounds like a bunch of people were asleep at the wheel here. I guess if he was so willing to resign over such a stupid matter he wasn’t much of a chief, I don’t think I ever met the man.
if the dog killed another dog, why isn’t it being put down?
It isn’t fair to kill a dog for acting on its natural instincts. This dog needs training and a new owner who will show some discipline.
Mr. Michaud never should have owned a dog — especially a large, powerful one — in the first place if he was unable to train and control it.
“Mr. Michaud never should have owned a dog….”
***
I agree 100%. Unfortunately, he does/did. It would be consistent with his so far irresponsible behavior, for him to have given the “large, powerful” dog to someone who probably does not understand what they are getting in to.
Great. Let’s just pass around ‘large, powerful’ dogs around the neighborhood and hope someone gets it right.
No thanks. It’s already killed. Put it down. It is the humane thing to do.
Not all animals should be domestic pets. A rottweilers blood line is to protect and that they do. They are very strong and their jaws have many pounds of crushing power. You have to be the alpha dog if you have one of these animals and then only the alpha is safe. They should be viewed like a trained bear at the zoo. Everything will be OK until it isn’t ok. Once a rotty decides he/she is going to attack you have two choices. You can kill it or get out of the way. It’s not the dogs fault, it is who they are.
I have loved and cuddled the heck out of my Rottweiler and he has been around many other dogs in his 2 1/2 years of life and have yet to see him growl or snip at another dog. If anything, he shies away when another dog comes around. Any dog can be vicious if taught to do so or not trained. Yes, they are strong dogs, but not all are mean and please do not generalize this type of dog. I have a friend that has had multiple facial surgeries because of a lab attacking her and chewing on her face. I also have a neighbor with a Jack Russell Terrier that would, and has, attacked. As I said before, a dog is only as smart as its owner.
The individual or group that hired the chief and makes policy decisions needs a kick or a bite in the A*&S-whichever is more convenient. Are you kidding me?
It seems pretty obvious that the majority of the fault lies with the owner. I can’t understand why an officer of the law would think it was acceptable to endanger the public. I am not focusing my attention on the dog but, the human. This was irresponsible action on the part of the officer. If he knew the dog was a problem, why have the dog? Why no continued training?
Rottweilers require training, just like every other dog. Rottweilers are thinkers so reinforcement of training is required. The announcer for the Westminster Kennel Club, Roger Karas, used to say “To own a Rottweiler, one should be at least as smart as the dog.” It’s pretty obvious that advice wasn’t followed. As far as Rottweilers being aggressive: These dogs run the spectrum from couch potato and lapdog to dangerous and this is true of many breeds but, when you have a 10 pound aggressive dog, it comes off as cute and not deadly. When your dog is hovering around 100 pounds, your responsibility increases exponentially.
Aggressive dogs are a people problem not a breed problem. It means that the human is either ignorant, unwilling to address the issue or, in the worst case scenario, likes the behavior of the dog and thinks of it as an ego boost.
I still think people should be licensed to own dogs and not the other way.
Oh! Let me say one more thing that may be construed as unkind. Where was the little dog that the big dog could get to it? Small dog owners have the responsibility of protecting their pets. Keep them on a leash. Show them social behaviors. Remember that dogs are dogs and they are giving messages to each other when they display certain behaviors.
Thank you for this statement – I was wondering when someone else would come to the defense of this breed. Mine is the biggest baby you will ever meet and I trained him to be so since he was 8 weeks old. The only time that I would think he would be vicious, is if someone broke into my house and tried to harm one of us – that would be the only time. He is very good with other dogs and wants to play with them right off the bat!