Who we are:  We are concerned community members of Central Westchester County and surrounding regions, who are deeply concerned about the fate of two livestock guardian dogs at Stone Barns Center in Pocantico, NY currently facing the possibility of euthanasia pursuant to a decision by the Justice of the Town of Mount Pleasant.  As engaged citizens and advocates for well-considered and humane treatment of animals in all cases, we believe that every effort should be made to find alternative solutions that prioritize the lives of these trained guardian dogs, while still ensuring the physical safety and financial well-being of the community, and protecting the rights of all concerned parties.  These are our aims that we share with the Town.  

By this petition, we therefore urge re-consideration of this matter by the Town of Mount Pleasant.  Our detailed proposals to have the dogs professionally evaluated and re-homed (at minimal or zero cost to the Town) in secure, rural environments with willing and responsible new owners named in the proposals, provide a viable, cost-effective alternative, enabling Mount Pleasant to safely and responsibly avoid applying the extreme penalty of euthanasia.

The facts as gleaned from public documents: The dogs in question, trained to protect livestock at the Stone Barns farm-to-table facility in Pocantico Hills from predatory animals such as foxes and coyotes, escaped their enclosure on a cold day this past February.  While subsequently “patrolling” the adjoining public trails, one or both of the dogs sadly mistook a small and potentially aggressive canine being walked by its senior-citizen owner as a threat to the nearby livestock, and erroneously but fatally attacked the pet in the course of what the guardian dogs almost certainly considered “protecting the flock.”  

The pet owner was physically injured and traumatized when she attempted to intercede, a tragic situation for which we express the utmost sympathy.  The guardian dogs remained obediently on the scene, as they had been trained to do, thinking they had acted properly in neutralizing a threat to the lives they were entrusted to protect.  They made no further attempts to harm the owner, though they could easily determine she could not defend herself.  It was a terrible situation, poignantly characterized by misunderstanding and confusion.  The owner is recovering.

At a short hearing in March before the Justice of Mount Pleasant, a decision was orally rendered to euthanize both guardian animals --Luna and Owyn-- as “dangerous dogs,” the carrying out of which has been temporarily delayed pending the appeals process.  The dogs are currently being held in secure enclosures at Stone Barns.

Our goals:  Our goals regarding this matter are simple:

To provide the time and opportunity for reputable animal behaviorists and trainers (paid for by private citizens) to assess the dogs to confirm their adoptability and recommend any necessary rehabilitation;

To provide a specific, viable and cost-effective alternative to euthanasia that protects both the community and the dogs, a draft plan that has already been delivered to the court as a non-party proposal;

To maintain the reputation of the Town of Mount Pleasant and Westchester County as compassionate and leading communities in regard to the ethical treatment of animals, especially those who work with and for humans, without endangering the public or prejudicing the legal rights of the Town or victim in any way.

This sad incident was an accident, and is best addressed by the parties directly involved, without the imposition of further violence and lethal harm on the surviving dogs.  Once evaluated, the dogs should be transferred to secure, rural premises closely supervised by willing, experienced owners, where they can cause no harm.  Putting them to death will serve no useful purpose or precedent whatsoever, and may well expose our community to serious, negative public sentiment.  In short, our best course is judicious, humane relocation, a choice that satisfies all community needs.