Update: On Friday, May 21, Bear was involved in an incident with another dog at the Dartmouth Dog Park. Details have not yet been confirmed with the Animal Control Office.

Several residents and property managers at the Dartmouth Woods housing complex came to Town Hall on May 20 to testify at a hearing about the allegedly aggressive behavior of one resident’s dog.

Hearing Officer Sgt. Scott Lake and Animal Control Officer Sandra Gosselin presided at the hearing, which was held in response to a formal complaint filed against Taylor McHugh and her dog Bear.

McHugh said that she got the now one-year-old retriever mix to be a service dog, noting that he can perform medication reminders and deep pressure therapy — in which an animal uses its weight and warmth to alleviate psychiatric symptoms — among other skills.

“He goes almost everywhere I go,” she said. “Bear goes to the dog park almost daily. He has never once had an issue.”

But McHugh admitted that the dog is not licensed in the town of Dartmouth, as required — and during the hearing, several residents brought up concerns with Bear’s behavior.

McHugh’s downstairs neighbor Thomas Arsenault was the first to speak, describing an April 5 incident in which Bear allegedly attacked him and his dog.

“I let my dog out to relieve himself, all of a sudden her dog runs around the corner of the building, and attacks me and my dog,” he said. 

“A normal person would have said something to me, if her dog was off leash,” he added. “She didn’t say a word to me.”

However, McHugh disputed his version of events. “My dog never did anything aggressive towards [Arsenault] or his dog,” she said.

Although Arsenault has a video of the alleged attack taken by a neighbor, Lake declined to watch it, as the person who took the footage was not present to give sworn testimony.

The video shows an unleashed dog rushing at a leashed one, while a person wearing bright blue shoes shouts “Bear, no! Leave it!”

Dartmouth Woods owner Jay Bovarnick also detailed another incident that allegedly took place late last year, when he was inspecting the property.

“The dog was not controlled and started coming towards me, and I backed away,” he said. “The dog lunged at me with his teeth open, and went to get my arm, and didn’t grab my arm but got my coat.”

McHugh alleged that Bovarnick had taken a swing at Bear, which Bovarnick disputed. “In no way did I ever hit that dog or any other dog,” he said.

“Next door to this particular residence is a one-year-old baby, and young family, as well as some other people,” he noted. “This dog needs to be kept on a leash and muzzled at all times, because it’s just unsafe.”

According to the community rules, dogs are required to be licensed, kept on leashes and controlled at all times.

Property manager Debbie Truesdale testified that Bear is a breed of dog that is not allowed at the complex, describing him as a “ferocious pit bull,” although vet records classify him as a retriever mix.

“She has no control over this dog,” Truesdale alleged of McHugh, noting that “it is such a fear for the majority of the community that nobody even wants to walk by her house.”

“The dog has lunged at the baby next door, the dog has lunged at Jay,” she said. “The dog is almost never on a leash.”

“It isn’t the dog’s fault,” she added. “Frankly, it’s the owner’s fault.”

Gosselin reminded those present that Lake would make a formal decision on the validity of the complaint against Bear, and if found to be valid, what steps to take.

“[The process] doesn’t allow us at this point in time to remove an animal from the property,” she noted.

According to Gosselin, Lake may place restrictions or orders on an animal — regardless of its service animal status — if warranted.

For most animal complaint cases, she added, “If the human was taking the responsibility and doing what they needed to do, the dog wouldn’t be put in this position.”

“Your dog is not licensed. You were issued a ticket. I would suggest you license your dog,” she told McHugh.

Although he did not give a timeline, Lake said that all those present would be notified after a decision is made.