RUMFORD — The dog that attacked two teenagers and their mother Wednesday was euthanized later that day, Police Chief Stacy Carter said Friday.
Carter said in a statement that after completing a preliminary investigation, the dog was identified as an 8-year-old Staffordshire terrier, which is one of several breeds considered pit bulls.
The dog had not been licensed in Rumford and there were no records of rabies vaccination, according to the statement.
Carter said the dog was surrendered to the town and was euthanized with consent of the owner, Eric Burns, 44, of Rumford.
The dog was taken to the Maine Health Lab, where it was tested for rabies. The test was negative and the teenagers, their mother and the hospital were notified.
Carter said there were previous reports of the dog running at large, and Burns has pending charges related to those reports in Rumford District Court.
The pending charges are related to a case in May in which the dog was running at large and unlicensed, Carter wrote in an email Friday.
The chief said the investigation was continuing and was being reviewed by the Oxford County District Attorney’s Office for possible charges.
Police got a call at 10:25 a.m. Wednesday from an Erchles Street resident who said a dog was attacking a neighbor and not letting go of her leg, Carter said.
Alicia Mitchell and her daughters, Vicki and Ashley, live in one side of an Erchles Street duplex, while the dog was staying in the other side of the duplex.
Alicia Mitchell said the dog left the home through a broken door, then got through a broken fence.
The dog bit Vicki, 17, then bit Ashley, 18. The mother tried to intervene and was also bitten.
The girls were taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston and treated for leg injuries, with Alicia undergoing a second operation Friday, according to her mother.
According to a Rumford ordinance on domestic animals, “no dog may be kept within the town limits of Rumford, unless the dog has been licensed by its owner or keeper in accordance with the laws of the state of Maine. Dogs must be current with all required shots under Maine state law before they will be licensed in the town.”
Dogs also are required to be leashed when not on their owners’ property or in vehicles.
Each violation of the town dog ordinance is subject to a fine of between $25 and $100 for each day it exists, up to a total of $2,500. Each violation is also subject to all court costs incurred by the town for prosecuting a violation.
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