Trager Road residents in fear of aggressive German shepherd

Trager Road residents told town officials they feel they are being held hostage by Chewie, a German shepherd they would like to see removed from the area.

“I have fear for myself, fear for my dogs, fear for my neighbors and, my neighbor’s pets,” said Elena Siniaver. “Actual physical fear.”

Chewie’s owner Eddy Lopez was called before Town Administrator Jason Silva and Animal Control Officer Laura Consigli for a dangerous dog hearing regarding the behavior of his roughly 80-pound canine.

Silva said the hearing was unusual in that typically, the animal control officer requests a hearing and a few people show up, but in this case, a resident requested the hearing and nearly 30 people showed up.

The hearing is based on two incidents where Lopez’s dog allegedly attacked other dogs without provocation.

The incidents

Siniaver said on Jan. 6, she was out walking her two dogs, one 30 pounds, the other 7 pounds, when the larger dog was attacked by Lopez’s German shepherd.

“He grabbed by 30-pound dog by the neck and was choking him,” she said. “I was screaming my lungs out.”

Siniaver said Chewie’s attack slit open her dog’s throat, requiring emergency surgery. It also left her bruised and battered and on medication to deal with the anxiety. She said she now never leaves her home, even to cross the street, without pepper spray in her pocket.

“I feel like a rabbit chased around the street,” Siniaver said.

Siniaver said she believes the family, which only moved into the neighborhood last September, cannot handle the dog, which in her estimation “is not just an aggressive dog, he’s a killer.”

Alina Polyakov said she was walking her dog in September when she heard a dog barking and spotted Chewie in a crate in the Lopez’s garage. She said a teenager, acting with good intentions, tried to calm the dog down, but he got away from him and went straight for Polyakov and her small dog. Polyakov said her first instinct was to drop the lease, let the dogs check each other out and maybe play.

“But not this time,” she said. “What happened next, unfortunately, became a horror show.”

Polyakov said Chewie grabbed her 20-pound dog by the neck. She said she begged the teen to call off the dog. When she finally got her pup free, she carried him home and rushed the dog to the vet.

The aftermath

Polyakov said she later confronted Lopez, who paid for the vet bills, but the incident left her with a lot of guilt, anger and worry for not only other pets in the neighborhood, but children as well.

John Dipiano, of 6 Trager Road, said he stepped in to rescue Siniaver’s dog, putting himself in peril and like Siniaver and Polyakov, he said he had mixed feelings about the hearing because he is a dog lover. But like his neighbors, he is now afraid to walk his own dog.

“I do not leave my house without chemical mace in my pocket,” he said twice for emphasis.

Dipiano said the impact of the attacks has gone well beyond Trager. He said people from Rockaway and other nearby roads used to walk their dogs down Trager, which is home to 13 dogs, but no more.

Gaele McCully, of 3 Trager Road, rattled off a list of dates when she spotted the dog either on the loose, on a leash but unmuzzled or being walked by a girl she felt was too young to handle the large dog.

“We’re concerned the owners are not taking this seriously,” she said.

Lopez sat quietly with his girlfriend in the back of the room throughout the hearing until Silva called him forward. When he asked Lopez if wanted to say anything, he said simply that he was fully to blame and apologized the dog wasn’t neutered or trained.

“I’m very sorry with what has happened and I’ll cooperate in any way,” he said.

After the first attack, Consigli said she suggested that whoever walked Chewie should be able to handle the animal and the dog should always be on a leather leash and wearing a basket muzzle.

After the second attack, Consigli said she also advised Lopez to have the dog professionally trained. Since then, she said she had Chewie evaluated by a certified dog trainer who specializes in working with German shepherds. According to the trainer, Chewie is “dog reactive.”

She also recommended:

That Chewie be securely muzzled and on a leather leash when walked.That Lopez needs to provide a $100,000 insurance policy to cover any loss or claim due to the dog.The dog must be photographed and micro-chipped so he will always be readily identifiable.He must not be walked by anyone other than the owner or a certified dog walker.The dog must be kept in the house or in a fenced in area with a proper lock when he’s not being walked.

“So we’ll continue to live in agony, is that what you’re saying?” Siniaver asked.

More than one neighbor voiced concerned that Lopez wouldn’t follow the recommendations.

“The problem is not with the dog, it’s with the people,” Siniaver said. “They are irresponsible.”

Silva said once the recommendations, that also included training for the dog and having him neutered, were approved by the Board of Selectmen, they would become requirements.

“Nothing I have heard here today has made me feel any better about what the town is doing,” said Clifton Avenue resident William O’Meara. “Nothing.”

Consigli explained she is following state law, will check on the family regularly to make sure Lopez is following the new rules and if he violates the requirements, he will end up in Lynn District Court.

“So he needs to kill somebody,” called out one resident from the audience.

“We’ll have a conversation with (Lopez),” Consigli said. “It doesn’t just end here.”

The Board of Selectmen is scheduled to take up the issue during its regular meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 13.