First Incident 9/27/2016 Paige was playing with Bry at the Schaarschmidt s house (Ashley White is Bry s mom and Ralph Schaarschmidt (goes by Goober) is Ashley s fiancé. Goober owns the property. She was playing with their dog Molly when Rigley jumped up and bit her several times in the face. Shane received the following text message from Ashley White (Bry s mom) regarding the incident:
Paige went to the soccer game with Ashley and Bry and when she came home it was clear to us that this was more than a nip. Not seen in these photos are the indentations and then a day or so later the black and blues from where Rigley s teeth did not break the skin.
Paige was bit multiple times as evidence from the multiple puncture wounds and black and blues. 9/28/2016 Paige went to school and Martha contacted the school nurse Elizabeth Wirth to let her know about the incident and to see if she could check on Paige. Elizabeth checked on Paige and directed Martha to immediately seek medical care. She indicated that the risk of infection from dog bites is very high. Martha picked Paige up from school and brought her to Urgent Care where they indicated that she should have been seen immediately after the incident. They asked several questions about how the wounds were cleaned and if the dog was up to
date on his rabies shot. They also alerted me that they would be contacting the town. Martha text Ashley to alert her that the town would be notified and asked if Rigley was up to date on his rabies shot. She said he was. 9/28/2016 Martha contacted the town and was told she needed to speak to Dave Grundy, the health officer, about the incident. That phone conversation occurred and Dave indicated that he received confirmation that Rigley was up to date on shots and that he would be quarantined for roughly 10 days. Note: Dave Grundy never asked to see Paige and did not explain to Martha that there was a process she could have gone through that includes writing to the selectboard and going in front of them with the situation. 9/30/2017 Martha receives the following Facebook Messenger messages from Ralph Schaarschmidt (Goober):
Traveler s Insurance paid Paige s urgent care visit.
Photos of Paige s scars today:
Second Incident 5/7/2017 Paige walked our dog Bodie in the woods behind the Chickering s house. As they reached the col da sac Paige saw that Rigley was running down the hill toward them barking. Rigley then viciously attacked Bodie. Paige was urging Bodie to come to her, which he did once the fight was over. At this point, Ashley was coming down the hill. Paige was crying and Bodie was limping back up the hill to go home. Ashley never reached out to Paige to see if she or Bodie were ok. Paige got home and it was clear that Bodie was in serious need of medical attention. Martha immediately called Ashley to tell her about how serious the situation was and to ask her how it could have happened. Martha received the following text message from Ashley after they got off the phone and while driving to Burlington Emergency & Veterinary Specialists (BEVS): Bodie was taken to BEVS in Williston where his multiple wounds were cleaned and a staple was put in his head to close a large gaping wound. Bodie was put on an antibiotic and pain medication.
5/7/2017 Vet visit document and diagnosis
5/8/2017 Shane contacted Dave Grundy the town health officer who was also responsible for handling the first reported situation on behalf of the town. He told him that because this attack was a dog on dog incident that the Animal Control Officer would need to be contacted. Sandi Conti, animal control officer, came to our home and informed us of the town s animal control process. He said that since this was the first offense he would talk to the other dog owner and encourage them to cover our medical expenses for the animal. We expressed our frustration that this wasn t the first incident and Sandi acknowledged that he should have been made aware of the initial incident where Paige was bit. Sandi then met with Goober to speak about the events. Sandi conveyed back to us over the phone that through his conversation Goober informed him that he didn t believe his insurance company would allow them to keep the dog since this was not the first incident. Sandy also conveyed that Goober said that their plan was to either return Rigley to the Human Society or have to put him down. 5/9/2017 48 hours after the incident and no word from Goober or Ashley as to the condition of Paige or Bodie Martha emailed the following to Goober and Ashley: Goober and Ashley, We are surprised and deeply saddened not to hear from either of you about the attack on Bodie that happened on Sunday. As neighbors for the past 11+ years, it seems unfathomable that you have not reached out with concern about how Bodie or Paige is doing. Bodie was badly hurt with several puncture wounds including a gaping wound on his head that required a staple to help close it up. Paige is, as I hope you can imagine, incredible shaken by the attack. This is the third occasion in which Wrigley has bitten a member of our family. A few years ago, Wrigley jumped up and bit Shane in the nose and chin in the presence of Ashley. The cut was small but left him bleeding nonetheless. Knowing how horrified Ashley was, we decided a report was not needed. This fall Wrigley attacked Paige. At the time, Shane was told by text message that Wrigley nipped her leaving a mark on her nose and forehead, but that she was fine and still wanted to go to the basketball game. When Paige returned home that night it was clear by the wounds that this was not at all a nip. Paige was clearly bitten in the face several times based on the puncture wounds, cuts and black and blues. As you know, Paige required medical attention and unfortunately, will most likely have scars on her face for the rest of her life. Deciding not to bring Paige home when you learned of the incident or believing it was just a nip shows a lack of judgement and minimization of a very serious situation. And yet, we trusted that you would do something to make sure the situation would never happen again.
This Sunday afternoon, Paige was walking Bodie on the Chickering s property and on her way back home Wrigley attacked Bodie in the cul-de-sac. The incident was unprovoked and happened because you did not adequately secure your dog on your property. Not only were there significant injuries to Bodie, but Paige has been traumatized by the attack and retraumatized about the attack from this fall. In hindsight, we should have alerted the neighbors about Paige s attack last fall, but we had confidence that you were going to do the right thing for Wrigley and all the neighbors. Given this recent incident, we have started to contact neighbors so they are aware of the situation. We ve really valued having you as neighbors, which is why your lack of communication and concern for Bodie and Paige is extremely saddening. Please let us know what your plan is to keep your dog under control and our neighborhood safe. Martha and Shane 5/9/2017 Goober s response: Martha, Our apologies for not contacting you earlier about the incident with Bodie. We definitely want to reimburse you for all Bodies vet bills. I just got home Sunday night to hear about this incident and assumed Ash had already reached out to you regarding the vet bills. I had no idea Paige was involved and very sorry she had to experience this again. Wrigley is a part of our family and we love him dearly, but we also know he can t be trusted considering Sunday and the fact he was able to pull himself away from a steel cable. We have discussed euthanizing him, which is hard to think about killing your own dog which you consider a part of the family. We have also discussed building a large enclosure in the back yard, so he does not see other dogs and lay ground rules for when people come to the door. On top of this we are considering bringing him to dog training school and see if he can learn to respect other animals and not try to be the dominant dog all the time. I would put him on an electric fence, but I know he would break through it, so I would never be confident the fence would hold and prevent further incident. I guess we need a little more time to come to a decision what we will do to prevent anything from ever happening again and then can communicate this to all the neighbors. Until then, we will not let him out side unless he is on his harness/leash being walked by one of us to go the bathroom. Again, please accept our apologies and please also forward all the vet bills and I will make sure you are reimbursed. Goober
5/9/2017 Ashley s response: Dear Martha and Shane, I am sorry for not getting ahold of you yet. Please do not think that it s for my lack of concern, although I can see where you may form that opinion. I did not hear back from you on Sunday and I am very sorry for not following up with you then. Both Bodie and Paige have been on my mind constantly, as I haven t been able to stop thinking about this situation. With all that has happened, I don t expect that you ll ever forgive me, but I am trying to make the right decision. Although some people may not believe me when I say this, Rigley is a very sweet boy and brings much joy to our lives. A few years back when Shane was over at our house, he was holding Rigley s 2 front paws up and had started walking him backwards on his hind legs. I don t remember exactly what this was used for (Shane said he had learned it in dog training and mentioned dogs not liking it). Rigley was put into an uncomfortable situation and released himself from it. This fall when Paige was over, when I was not home, Rigley bit her while she was playing tug of war with Molly. I learned of this when I got home and immediately gave her my attention. I had cleaned up two wounds and shouldn t have ignored the fact that she didn t want to go home and still wanted to go to the soccer game. I would never intentionally try and minimize the situation, and I m sorry to have made you feel that way. We obviously were and still are very sad and sorry this happened. I was never informed that someone thought she had been bit several times, and from the 2 wounds I saw I wouldn t have thought that. It doesn t take away the fact that she was bitten, but that sentence was a surprise to me. Since then Rigley has been on a leash at all times when outside. I have never had an issue with him getting lose, until Sunday. I can t even count the number of times I have asked the power above how this happened and why on earth when Paige and Bodie were walking by. I do not want anyone to feel unsafe in our neighborhood. We are seeking professional help, to help us make the right decision. I hope you can find some comfort in knowing that I have been outside with him at all times, on a leash. I hope that you can accept my apology and know it was never my intent to make you feel or the situation insignificant. Please forward Bodie s vet bills to us, so we can reimburse you. From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry. -Ashley
5/11/17 Conversation with neighbor Rob Chickering (who is also a former Selectboard member and a current Lister with the town) Spoke with Rob Chickering about our concerns with the situation and trying to gather insight into the town s process and policies around animal attacks. In this conversation Rob shared of his own experience this winter in which Rigley bit him as he was trying to break up a dogfight that happened when Rigley and the other dogs in the house were being walked in the woods off leash and not under control of the owner. According to Rob, the attack included several dogs in the neighborhood but was instigated by the Schaaschmid s dogs. Rob stated that he did report the incident and merely confirmed with Ashley that the dog was up to date on his shorts. 5/12/2017 Email from Goober to members of the six-house neighborhood: from: to: Goober Schaarschmidt<Goober@neee.com> "mtoakes@gmail.com" <mtoakes@gmail.com>, "oakesshane@yahoo.com" <oakesshane@yahoo.com>, "chickeringrhoda@gmail.com" <chickeringrhoda@gmail.com>, "rchickering2009@gmail.com" <rchickering2009@gmail.com>, "sharonastel@yahoo.com" <sharonastel@yahoo.com>, "lindalhutchins@yahoo.com" <lindalhutchins@yahoo.com>, "helen.margaret.sullivan@gmail.com" <helen.margaret.sullivan@gmail.com>, "zsullivan@gmail.com" <zsullivan@gmail.com> cc: Ashley White <ashleyw1102@yahoo.com> date: Fri, May 12, 2017 at 9:46 AM Dear Neighbors, I just wanted to share with all of you our plan to keep Rigley contained on our premises when not supervised. The Plan; 1. An electric fence is being installed Tuesday. 2. We are also having a chain linked fence professionally installed by Lowes, who also installed the dog park behind the Waterbury Ice Center.
3. We have extra gates blocking doors inside and will also be putting gates on the front porch entry ways. The back porch entry/exit will flow into the new chain linked fenced in area with will have locks installed on entry/exit gates. 4. Scheduling time for Rigley to work with a professional dog trainer. 5. Written house rules for our family to adhere to. The plan is to keep Rigley fenced in or in the house, but having the electric fence as a backup just in case he slips out of the house on accident. Which he would then also need to get through the new gates we are installing on our front porch. Hope this helps clarify our plan and makes you feel we are doing everything we can to insure everyone's safety, other than euthanizing Rigley. 5/12/17 Shane reached back out to Sandi Conti to express concerns about the neighbor s plan being inadequate and wanting to know what the next course of action that could be taken. 5/12/2017 Call from Traveler s Insurance Martha received a call from Alicia Gagnon with Traveler s re: the insurance claim that Goober made. Martha told Alicia the situation and read Ashley s text that states somehow his leash came up off the post. Alicia referred to Goober s plan to rectify the situation and Martha made it clear that the plan did not work for them. Martha also relayed costs related to the incident including therapy for Paige, future dermatology appointments for scaring and reimbursement for missed work. 5/12/2017 Follow up email from Alicia Gagnon with Traveler s Insurance Good Afternoon Martha, Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. Below is all of my contact information, please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns in regards to your claim. I will follow up with you once I have had a chance to look into any possible coverage for you and your husband s lost wages as well as the therapy appointments for Paige. In reference to the incident that occurred on 9/27/16 you can reach out to Emily Costa who I have copied on this email. Your claim number for that incident is HYS8814 and Emily s phone number is 508-946-6329. I did make her aware of our conversation and to keep an eye out for the bills in reference to the dermatologist appointment you mentioned. Have a great weekend. Thank you, Alicia M. Gagnon Claim Professional Constitution State Services Travelers New England Claim Center P.O. Box 1450 Middleboro, MA 02344 W: 508.946.6378 TF: 1.800.422.3340 x9466378
F: 877.786.5584 5/13/17 Shane and Martha spoke by phone with Sandi to convey our feelings that that the plan proposed by Goober was inadequate given history and we would like to take the matter before the town selectboard. Sandi urged us to contact Bruce Johnson first thing Monday morning. 5/13/2017 Shane s response to Goober copying everyone on the original email: Goober and Ashley, Thank you for communicating with the neighbors about your plan for insuring everyone s safety. I wish you had considered some of these steps in response to some of the previous incidents in which Rigley had exhibited dangerous and aggressive behavior. Essentially, no real steps were taken after our daughter was attacked. And if there had been, maybe we wouldn t be in the situation we are in today. I must share that this plan does not provide the confidence or assurances that our family needs to move on from this. Given the extent of this pattern of behavior and the inability to respond in a responsible way to previous incidents to change the behavior, the only acceptable course of action from our perspective is that he no longer be in the neighborhood. To some, your plan may look impressive, for us, actions speak louder than words. Unfortunately, what your plan does not take into consideration is human error and I fear that the next incident will be even more severe. Our request stops short of requesting euthanizing the dog because there may very well be a situation in which a different owner can establish the environment and situation where he can learn new behaviors. Rigley is not a dominant dog as you ve suggested in the past. Rigley is a dangerous and aggressive dog. I also realize that he is loved member of you family and how difficult a decision like that must be to consider. At the same time, we have two beloved family members (our daughter and our dog) who have been hurt by your dog. Both emotionally and physically. Our number one job is to keep our children safe. And right now, they are not safe with Rigley in the neighborhood. We feel strongly this is the only solution that will ensure safety for all in our neighborhood. We are starting to take steps to bring our concerns to the Town Selectboard. Shane and Martha
5/13/2017 - Email response to group email from Linda and Jon Hutchins (neighbors): Jon and I completely agree with Shane and Martha. When our youngest granddaughter is with us, we do not allow her outside without Jon or I present. If and when Rigley appears, we go inside. We do not trust Rigley and there is no guarantee that what you are doing will keep us safe. We are talking about the safety of children which comes before loving a pet. Jon and Linda Sent from my iphone 5/13/2017 Email response to group email from Zack and Helen Sullivan (neighbors): Hello All, Helen and I concur with Shane and Martha and Linda and Jon. If this plan is executed perfectly for the rest of Rigley s life, it would be adequate to protect us. Unfortunately this requires that we assume the following: - The protocols will be followed by all people in the house at all times, not only residents. This means that all guests, house-sitters, etc. will also have to be constantly vigilant. There are a lot of people who have to know how to handle Rigley in order to ensure that this works, and they will have to be able to do it in all conditions (ie well-rested or over-tired, sober or impaired). - Backup systems will work with little testing. You can t test whether Rigley understands and is contained by the electric fence when he does not encounter it regularly. Dogs can and do go through these kinds of fences (especially when they are new to them), and need time to learn to deal with them. You can t test whether an electric fence or any other backup system is working without creating a situation in which Rigley could go through it. - The same vigilance than is being exercised now continues to be exercised for years to come. Rigley is not an old dog: you are asking us to trust that there will be no mistakes over a period of several years. With time, adherence to protocol fades in all human systems. In the case of Rigley, we did notice that he was being tied up after (what we now know) was around the time that he attacked Paige, yet as time
went on we also saw him loose on occasion or being walked without the means to physically restrain him later on. Clearly the systems used to restrain him failed last Sunday. We believe that this is too much to assume. For Helen and I, the risk will be greater when Eric is mobile, which means that the greatest risk to our family will be years in the future. This is precisely the time that we have the greatest reason to fear that the threat that Rigley poses will be taken less seriously than it is now. We respectfully ask that Rigley no longer live in or visit this neighborhood, and we will be supporting Shane and Martha if and when they bring this matter to the Selectboard. -Zach and Helen 5/13/2017 Email response from Goober: Dear Neighbors, We understand the concern and will just let the legal system work things out as it sees fit. I will be contacting an Attorney to over see our interests and rights regarding this matter. Their information will be passed on to the select board when we hear from them. At that point we can all get to the bottom of this and let the legal system do its purpose. Until then I ask you to please refrain from e-mailing Ash or I any longer regarding this matter. I also ask that you please respect our privacy and not come onto our property. Goober Sent from my iphone