The owner said he was driving the 14 dogs to Maine, where he planned to move
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- Fourteen Belgian Malinois escaped from an SUV in a Narragansett, RI shopping plaza, some running into a store.
- The dogs escaped again at a nearby ballfield, attacking and injuring one of their own.
- The owner surrendered nine dogs to the RISPCA and South Kingstown Animal Control.
- The injured dog, Liberty, underwent surgery and is expected to recover.
A wild scene unfolded in Narragansett Wednesday, May 21, when 14 dogs burst out of a car in a shopping plaza parking lot, with some of the dogs running into the nearby Marshalls and Home Goods store.
After the dogs were rounded up, a similar situation happened at a nearby ballfield, when the dogs again poured out of the car, this time attacking and badly injuring one of their own, a young, smaller dog.
“I have never seen anything like it. I’m not sure anyone has,” said Wayne Kezirian, president and general agent for the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Why were the 14 dogs in a car in Narragansett?
The dogs are all Belgian Malinois, large animals that are bred for protection and often used as police dogs. The owner told Kezirian he was driving with all 14 in his SUV from New York to Maine, where he was planning on moving.
“I don’t know how he drove the car with all the dogs in it. There wasn’t an inch to spare,” Kezirian said.
A woman in another car was traveling with the man. Her car had three dogs inside, according to Kezirian. The man told Kezirian he stopped at the shopping plaza because the dogs had started to fight, and he wanted to take one of the dogs from the car. When he opened the door, they all rushed out.
“It’s a protective breed, so they’re difficult to handle anyway,” Kezirian said.
14 dogs escaped from a car in Narragansett. See them being rounded up.
Watch as law enforcement tries to round up 14 Belgian malinois dogs in Narragansett after they escaped and started attacking another dog in the pack.
Dogs began attacking each other at Narragansett ballfield
The Narragansett police and South Kingstown Animal Control responded. The RISPCA, based in Warwick, was called, and Kezirian headed to Narragansett. When Kezirian arrived by about 12:30 p.m., the dogs were back inside the car.
“Remarkably, he was able to round them up and get them in the car,” Kezirian said.
The dogs were still restless. As they moved in the tight quarters, they kept bumping into each other and hitting the horn.
“You’d have thought somebody was behind you at a red light,” Kezirian said.
The police and animal control filled Kezirian in on what had happened. “It was a much more complicated situation than I envisioned,” he said.
As the situation was being sorted out, it was decided to take the dogs to a nearby, enclosed ballfield, where they could be let out without escaping the confines of the field. As soon as the door opened, the dogs again charged out of the car, this time attacking the younger dog.
“They all turned on one dog and were attacking that dog,” Kezirian said. “As a pack, they were attacking that dog.”
Narragansett Police Officer Patrick Canavan lifted the younger dog and carried it away.
“If he had not done that, that dog would be dead,” Kezirian said. The attacking dogs were subdued with pepper spray.
Nine of the dogs surrendered by owner
The dogs’ owner, after talking with Kezirian, ultimately agreed to give up nine of the dogs. The RISPCA has three of them, while South Kingstown Animal Control, which works with the Narragansett Police Department, has six.
Among the dogs in RISPCA’s care is the young one that was attacked by the others. Her name is Liberty. She’s one year old. Kezirian brought the three dogs back to RISPCA’s by about 4 p.m. Wednesday. RISPCA veterinarian Michelle Pinto had Liberty in surgery until about 8 p.m.
“She’s covered with stitches. She’s expected to be OK,” Kezirian said.
Who owned the dogs?
The owner of the dogs was cooperative, Kezirian said. He told Kezirian he was planning to move from New York to Maine and also sell some of the dogs.
“I’m not sure his grasp of reality was solid,” Kezirian said.
The man is in his 40s and resides in Ontario, New York, according to Kezirian, who declined to give the man’s name. The man described the woman in the other car as his girlfriend. They were traveling through Narragansett on the way to Maine because the woman has some ties to the area, Kezirian was told.
The dogs are skinny. The owner told Kezirian he ran out of money and was rationing their food. Kezirian said Narragansett police officers bought food for the dogs.
Kezirian said it seemed reasonable for the owner to keep five of the dogs, because the five could fit reasonably well in his car. It would also be difficult to find adoptive homes for the five dogs he kept because of age, illness and temperament, according to Kezirian.
If the RISPCA seized the dogs and pressed criminal charges, it would take longer to find the dogs new homes, because they’d have to wait until the conclusion of the criminal case, Kezirian said. Additionally, he said, the charges could be difficult to prove.
“It was the lesser of two evils,” Kezirian said.
Where are the dogs now?
Now the RISPCA and South Kingstown Animal Shelter have nine more dogs in their care. Boarding and veterinary costs will add up. Kezirian noted that the agencies could use financial support.
Kezirian said the RISPCA will check with law enforcement agencies to see if they’re interested in adopting any of their dogs for police work. After that, the dogs would be put up for adoption from the general public.
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