Dog that bit 2 women ordered put down
Published: October 28, 2009
HINGHAM, Mass.—An English mastiff dog that bit two customers at a Hingham art gallery, including the wife of a Boston Red Sox pitcher, has been ordered euthanized.
The Hingham Board of Selectman on Tuesday night unanimously voted to accept the recommendation of the town’s animal control officer and order the 8-year-old female dog named Gabriella put down.
Before the vote, the board heard testimony from the victims, including 37-year-old Stacey Wakefield, the wife of Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. Wakefield was bitten inside the Hingham Square Gallery in June 2008. The other woman was bitten last June.
The dog and another mastiff are owned by gallery owners Robert and Megan Ullman, who were called “irresponsible” by town officials.
The Ullmans say their dog is not vicious and they will appeal in court.
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Reader Reactions
Hi Alkeryia,
Large dogs like this that show aggression while still puppies can be put down because of the potential danger. I know my animals ...like you said you have to understand that there was a potential to bite here.
Truly Kenneth, that is no argument. I agree that they can have these ailments with age and the owner should be aware of the potential for problems because of them.
And…yes Kenneth you do see the same negative people (meaning the ones that don’t agree with you) throwing out their stinking spew. ( like your doing now) and blaming and judging people right away they sound like Republicans
( just like you blaming and judging as you write this post…)alawys negative and most of the time wrong.(well your always negative OK but I have to disagee with you being wrong most of the time) I have never known you to be right!
If you can’t see your own hypocrisy here than…
God bless you Kenneth, especially if your walking down the street where there’s an open manhole cover…With your vision you most certainly will fall into it!!
Nobody will ever know why the dog reacted the way she did and, unfortunately, it will cost the dog her life. I had a registered black lab that had aggression issues and we tried everything imaginable to correct it but to no avail. This dog viciously attacked our best friend, someone the dog knew very well, which resulted in the dog being quarantined for 10 days. The state does not allow you to euthanize a dog that is under quarantine nor can you allow the dog outside for any reason except to go to the bathroom. This mastiff’s owners were very irresponsible especially given the fact that the dog had bitten in the past.
Btw kennethknk, in case you didn’t get this from my previous post, the owners were wrong for underestimating their dog, and possibly not knowing her health problems. Now Gabriella will pay the price. Leave it to you to put a political spin one something like this. Then again, considering the source, I am not surprised.
I don’t think anyone here has said that it was in the way the dog was raised. The owners of the dog, in my opinion, we foolish having the dogs at a business where it was in close contact with the public, especially after the first bite! My experience with my first dog, a chow/shepherd mix, was that he was just mean. We got him at 11 weeks and no one ever touched him in a mean way. The first time he bit, we took extra precautions because he was territorial. The second time, I knew there was no solution to this. No need for court, I had him put down myself. I would not risk a human being, this was one powerful dog.
Not all of us dog owners are clueless 
My gentle giants do not get unrestricted access to anyone they do not know.
To bad for the dog I hope they don’t put her down some of you people are blaming the owners for the way they raised her and it might not be the case.
The dog was eight years old and no problems up until a year ago,these dogs are large and have hip and joint problems and some cancers effect them as they get older.
You always see the same Negative people throwing out there stinking spew and blameing and judging people right away they sound like Republicans always negative and most of the time wrong.
God Bless Gabriella and her Owners
Lori I had the same thought. I’m really rather surprised. Mastiff are usually big babies. It is the owners fault. You were lucky when the dog bite someone the 1st time. They knew the dog was capable but yet still took it to work. Just plain Dumb.
I agree. the dog is not the main problem THE OWNERS ARE AND SHOULD BE SHOT!!!!!!!!!
the owner needs to be “PUT DOWN"not the poor dog!
The owners say their dog is not vicious? Well, I’m sorry, but a dog that bites not one but TWO people on different occasions sounds at least somewhat vicious to me. This is the same old story—every time a dog bites someone (either a minor bite or a serious mauling), the owner says “What?? My dog? My dog has never done anything like this before; my dog is so good with kids and family members, and is so calm.“ Dog owners are cluelss—ANY dog can attack at any time, period. And if your dog bit someone once, there’s a very good chance it will bite again.
at least it wasn’t a pit
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