SHARON — A German Shepherd named Ziggy, now deemed to be vicious, must be confined inside “appropriate fencing” on his owner’s property, which Ziggy is not allowed to leave except for veterinary appointments and “appropriate boarding arrangements” — and then only muzzled and on a leash.

That is the decision rendered by the Sharon Selectboard in a protective order issued Sept. 3 against the dog’s owner after a town resident filed a complaint that he had been violently bitten in an unprovoked attacked by the dog when he and his wife were jogging past the owner’s house on Fay Brook Road in July.

The order remains in effect “for life” of the dog. 

Under Vermont state law, if a domestic pet bites a person “without provocation” a town is permitted to enforce measures against the offending animal, including ordering it to be muzzled, contained or put down. Failure to comply can subject the dog’s owner to a fine of up to $500 and “seizure and disposition” of the animal.

Because issues with vicious dogs are handled at the local town level in Vermont, getting a handle on the number of incidents is difficult. In 2021, the Bennington Selectboard ordered the owner of two vicious dogs to confine them inside fencing on his property and muzzle them outside it. And last year the selectboard in Arlington, Vt., ordered a shepherd/pit bull mix put town after it attacked a girl in the face.

“We haven’t done one of these in a long, long time, at least not in the eight years I’ve been on the Selectboard,” Sharon Selectboard Chairman Kevin Gish said at the first Selectboard meeting held in August to hear testimony.

The Selectboard’s decision comes after the dog bite victim filed a complaint with the town stating that he and his pregnant wife were jogging past a Fay Brook Road home around noon on July 21 when an unneutered male German Shepherd ran out into the road.

The dog bit the man several times on the arm and leg and then turned barking and growling on his pregnant wife before the man was able to fend off the dog by swatting it with his water bottle, the man told the Sharon Selectboard at a public meeting last month.

The dog bite victim told the Selectboard that the attack resulted in him having to make a total of five visits for medical treatment, first at ClearChoiceMD in Lebanon and then four at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center where he has received more than a dozen shots for rabies prevention.

Both the dog’s rabies vaccination certificate and license with the town were expired at the time of the incident, the animal control officer’s investigation found.

Under the protection order, Ziggy, 5 years old, must be “physically confined with appropriate fencing or other physical means that prevent escape,” adding that “electric/electronic control does not satisfy" the fencing requirement.

Based on the animal control officer’s investigation of the incident in addition to testimony provided by both the dog bite victim and the dog’s owner, the Sharon Selectboard said it has determined that “Ziggy meets the criteria for a vicious animal.”

The owner of the dog told the Selectboard that her backyard is already surrounded by a fence and she is in the process of building a fence around the front yard as well. Until then, Ziggy will be confined to the backyard and inside the house.

In her testimony to the Selectboard, the owner of the dog said she was on the porch with Ziggy when she became “startled” as the couple jogging past her house emerged from a blind of bushes that obscured the view of the road. Her reaction of surprise set off the dog who darted out to the road to the joggers and jumped on the man.

The owner chased after Ziggy and managed to calm him as the parties exchanged information. The dog bite victim filed the complaint with the town the next day.

Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.