Man forced to kill pit bulls
2 dogs shot in Winslow after killing pony, attacking another
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WINSLOW — A Benton Avenue man shot and killed two pit bull terriers Wednesday after the dogs attacked and killed a pony at his home.
Leonil ³Lee² Giroux was forced to shoot and kill two pit bulls in the pasture behind his Winslow home on Wednesday morning after the dogs killed one pony and began to attack another. click to enlarge
Leonil "Lee" Giroux said he pulled a .22-caliber rifle from a closet in his basement after the dogs began to attack the other pony he houses on his property.
"It was so surreal," Giroux said Thursday, standing next to the field where the violence occurred. "They never made any noise. They were focused on killing that horse."
Winslow Police Chief Michael W. Heavener said Giroux acted within his rights given the circumstances.
"He certainly had a right to defend himself and his property," Heavener said, "so he didn't do anything wrong."
Animal control officer Patrick Faucher on Thursday issued summonses against Melissa Masse — the dogs' owner — for having at-large and dangerous dogs. She could pay up to $2,500 in fines for the violations, Heavener said.
Heavener said the owners of the pony also have the right to pursue civil charges against Masse.
Patrick L. Faucher said in his five years as an animal control officer this is the first time he has encountered dogs stalking and killing a domesticated animal.
Faucher said based on his observations and investigation, the Masse dogs appeared to have been treated well by their owner.
"The dogs were in excellent shape," he said. "And we had no prior history with either animal of any type."
Giroux knew nothing of the dogs' history Wednesday morning. All he knew was that two dogs — he was not sure what breed of dog they were — had intruded on his property and killed a pony that he considered a family pet.
Pineapple, a 2-year-old mare, had been raised at PDQ Farm in Clinton and was co-owned by that farm and Giroux's son and daughter-in-law, Dan Giroux and Megan McDonough.
The 500-pound Pineapple shared the field behind Giroux's farmhouse with Filo, a Shetland gelding that McDonough owned.
Giroux was happy to give the horses free rein in his fields and had gone so far as to convert a storage shed into a makeshift stable.
He found the lifeless body of Pineapple by one corner of that shed about 7 Tuesday morning.
Giroux said he had thought it strange when he saw Filo alone in the field directly across from his house — the stable is located to one side of that field.
He encountered the dogs when he went outside to investigate. Both dogs had muzzles covered with blood.
Unarmed and still in his nightshirt, Giroux said he slowly backed his way into his house and immediately called the police. They put him in touch with Faucher, who was in Sidney at the time.
"I had no intentions of killing the dogs," Giroux said. "I was going to wait for the animal control officer."
But that plan changed when he saw the dogs attack Filo, who at 250 pounds was about half the size of Pineapple.
Giroux said the dogs worked in tandem, with the smaller of the two running parallel to the horse to keep it trapped against the electric fence that runs the perimeter of the pasture.
The bigger dog — Giroux estimated it weighed about 50 pounds — attacked the pony's hindquarters.
He fired at that dog and killed him with his first shot. He wounded the smaller pit bull when it came to check on the other dog.
Giroux killed the wounded dog after it dragged itself into the stable.
A military veteran who had served in Vietnam, Giroux was nonetheless ill-prepared for the gruesome sight of Pineapple's remains.
"When a horse gets injured and has to be put down, you are saddened," he said. "But this was horrific. Horrific."
Colin Hickey — 861-9205
chickey@centralmaine.com