Via Community News Service, in partnership with Vermont State University Castleton.
A dog complaints hearing was held in Poultney on Feb. 10 regarding accusations that two large dogs have been running loose and killing neighbors’ chickens.
When it was over, the Hearing Committee ordered that the dogs be confined to their owner’s property and kept on leashes when off the property.
The issue was brought to the Poultney Select Board’s attention on Jan. 27 by resident Sherri Roberts, who claimed two large, aggressive German shepherd dogs killed her chickens after breaking onto the property on Jan.14.
“How they got in, I have no clue,” she claimed. “They didn’t eat them, they just killed them.”
Roberts, a self-professed animal lover, said she called 911 but said her call was not taken seriously.
“They transferred me to the Sheriff’s department,” she said. “They never showed up.”
At the same select board meeting, other residents reported similar incidents involving the same two dogs. Devon and Rachel Fowler said they witnessed their chickens killed on another occasion and decided to follow the tracks, which led to their neighbor’s home.
“We followed the dog tracks,” Rachel claimed. “They led us straight to Raj’s front door.”
Raj Bhakta, the owner of the dogs and Fowler’s next-door neighbor, admitted to seeing a dead chicken on his porch before a business trip, according to Fowler.
“Not only is he aware of the Jan. 14 attack, he left town knowing that I, his next-door neighbor, have chickens, and he didn’t even care,” Fowler said.
Mollie Messer, another resident, claimed that the dogs broke through the roof of her coop and killed her chickens. She also said the dogs have charged at her and the children she cares for at her day care.
“I watch for these dogs when I’m out with the kids,” she said. “I’ve never seen them on a leash.”
At the meeting, Devon Fowler, who has lived in his house for over 20 years, claimed he was concerned for the safety of himself and others.
“Now I feel like I have to be armed to walk with my wife and my dog because I think these dogs are gonna get someone,” he said.
Select board chair Jeff King tried to defuse the tension in the room, offering help and attention.
“This is the very first time we’ve heard of this,” he said. “Now that the board has heard this, let us help.”
He told the residents that they did the right thing by reporting the situation.
However, in a later interview with Andrew Lohse, a media associate at the Bhakta-owned Bhakta Spirits, claimed that shock collars were put on the dogs before the latest attack.
Lohse claimed that tying the dogs to all the killings was a stretch, and said that it could have likely been coyotes to blame for some of the chickens.
“Obviously, there’s coyotes and foxes and what not,” he said. “I mean, I’ve seen coyotes on the green on the college campus.”
But Lohse gave his reassurance that Bhakta took appropriate measures to contain their dogs.
“The dogs also now have this pretty advanced shock collar system that’s been tested, and it keeps them within a certain parameter,” he reported.
Fowler reported in a later interview that Bhakta spoke with her husband after the incident and all seemed to be well. She and her husband thought they had reached an agreement until the hearing.
“He came over later that day and spoke with my husband, and it seemed like they were in agreement,” she said. “Then we went to the hearing, and it was just the complete opposite.”
She said that it felt more like she and her husband were being victim-shamed at the hearing while addressing Bhakta and even apologizing for the emotional initial reactions. She said she felt as though the initial reactions were emotional because of the shock of seeing dead chickens on their property.
According to the order issued by the town, an invisible fence has also been installed on Bhakta’s property for further security.
Although the dogs have not caused any further problems since the results of the hearing, the Fowlers are still seeking compensation for the destruction of their chickens and coop, Rachel Fowler said in a later interview.
“We need to get new chickens because they killed all of them, and then also some of the compensation I was looking for was just, as you know, the prices of eggs are astronomical right now as opposed to getting eggs every day,” she said.
She said that even if she gets new chicks within the next month or so, it will be at least four months before they can produce eggs.
She said that she and her husband want the whole mess behind them but would like to get the same compensation for the damage that Bhakta reportedly gave the other two victims, the amount in compensation remaining unknown.