I came home from the mail today to find an overfed, irate Chihuahua mix in my yard, and when I got out of the car it was growling and barking at me. I started to walk to my house, and it chased after me snapping its jaw with its hair standing on ends. Shaking, I called the Oak Bluffs Police Department and told the secretary.
She replied repeatedly, “I’m sorry maam, but there is nothing we can do. We do not have an animal control officer.”
I told her I don’t want to hear it and they can come up here and tell them there is a leash law and to keep it on their own property. I was then told, “Maam, the voters voted to not have an animal control officer.” I then told her I need to speak to the officer in charge, which she repeatedly denied me until I raised my voice and told her it is my right to be able to speak to an officer. Officer Morse told me I needed to call the selectmen with a vicious dog complaint. Which I have done.
I have a question. Back in August, there was a complaint of a loose pit bull to which Officer Marchand responded. This animal was captured and put into a cage by the complainant. So obviously this dog was of no threat to anyone if it was gentle enough to be put into a cage. Why was that call any different than my call?
My call was a vicious dog chasing me into my house on my property. Why is it different that this was a small dog and the pit is a notorious breed? For one thing pit bulls are all different, and if they are brought up correctly there is no threat to anyone involved. They always get a bad rap by those irresponsible owners who bring them up bad. This dog that chased me was more vicious than the pit but the call was ignored.
I called the town clerk to find out if this dog was licensed. It’s lived nearby for at least four years now. No, the dog is not. No collar, no license, which tells me it most likely does not have shots. Isn’t that comforting?
I then sent an email to Chief Blake telling him of the incident and explaining that if anyone in my house gets bit by this dog on my property there will be a full fledged lawsuit on the town of Oak Buffs.
You tell me why a police officer did not come here and tell these people to keep this dog restrained. Whether there is an animal control officer or not, they could at least do that.
While I’m on the subject of animals, I might as well tell you of our most recent encounter with the new trend of hanging farm animals in trees then proceeding to skin, gut and mutilate them for all to see. One month ago, about 8 pm, we heard what sounded like knives being sharpened outside our window. Not being able to figure it out, we ignored it until my granddaughter was going up to bed and yelled down the stairs that there was a dead animal hanging in the tree outside her window.
Appalled, we ran upstairs to see some kind of animal strung up by its back legs and four men standing around it cutting it up. You could actually hear the hacking of the animal with the cleaver. We also had full view of it because they were kind enough to illuminate it with not only truck headlights but also a very bright spotlight pointing at our house. We called the police to no avail. When the men were through with their blood bath they washed off their own bodies of blood and carried two large trash bags over to the woods on the other side of the house. Why on God’s earth they would do this in the open, on our side of the house, is beyond us. They have full woods on the other side and back of the house but they chose to do it on our side.
I have lived here for 33 years and know many hunters, including my husband and his family, and have never witnessed anything like this. It was horrifying. All the hunters I know clean their deer inside a shed, garage, or the woods. Certainly not illuminated in the open for all to see. Imagine this being the last thing your child sees before they go to bed at night. Can’t exactly say sweet dreams, can you?
I just can’t understand what goes on around here. Why have people become so inconsiderate of their neighbors? Why is this town so broke when we pay such high taxes. I mean, if I am paying $4,800 a year and there are much higher than myself, what is being done with it that you can’t even feel protected by your police department that you fund? Here’s an idea, why don’t you get rid of that waste of money info booth that I understand costs us $15,000 a year?
Today, most visitors to any destination have already researched where they are going, know of the accommodations and restaurants. If they don’t OB town is not that big that the day-trippers cannot find food or t shirts-Take that money and put it to use for a part time dog officer. The excuses are nauseating at best.
This town sounds like a bunch of crying babies that didn’t get their way. No, we cannot afford any higher taxes. Maybe the rest of you can with your town secure paychecks, but not everybody is that lucky to even have a weekly paycheck, so back off and stop blaming all of the financial problems on us. So there it is folks Oak Bluffs has gone to the dogs.
Cathy Peters
Oak Bluffs
