SUFFIELD — Attorneys for the family of Janet D’Aleo announced Thursday they filed a lawsuit following a deadly dog attack on November 6th.
Police say D’Aleo, of Enfield, was visiting a friend’s home when she was attacked by the dog named Dexter. The friend was the 93-year-old mother of Annie Hornish’s, a former state lawmaker, and state director of the Humane Society of the United States.
The town’s animal control officer issued an order to have the 3-year-old male pit bull-pointer mix euthanized, in part because it has been involved in two previous biting incidents. Police did not bring charges in the attack.
Hornish, the dog’s owner, has appealed the order.
The lawsuit alleges that Hornish and her husband Neil knew of the dog’s propensity to attack, and did not warn D’Aleo and did nothing to restrain the dog.
“This terrible loss is compounded by the fact that it was entirely preventable. And the family’s pain is made even worse by the extreme efforts being employed to fight the Animal Control officer’s decision to euthanize this obviously dangerous dog. Had that much energy been used to control the dog in the first place, this tragedy would not have happened,” said Attorney Houlihan.
You can read the lawsuit below;
