UPDATED: Animal Lovers Ask Framingham Selectmen to Help Save Neglected Dog

Originally posted at 6:35 a.m.

UPDATED: Framingham Police Chief Ken Ferguson said the ”dog has been returned to the owner.”

The dog was returned to the owner the day after he was taken, said the police chief.

“The owner is keeping the dog inside for the the moment, for fear that someone will take the dog,” said Ferguson.

“We are still investigating the matter,” said Ferguson to Framingham Patch. “There is a meeting tomorrow.”

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A group of animal lovers and dog rescuers asked Framingham Selectmen to help save an elderly, Huskie dog named Misty, who they said has been neglected and mistreated for years.

Framingham resident Regina Bekebrede, who volunteers at an animal rescue organization, said the dog has been chained outside in deplorable conditions for years.

She thanked Framingham Police, who removed the dog from the yard on Howe Street on January 5.

”In her condition she would not have lived another day” in those freezing cold temperatures, Bekebrede told Selectmen Tuesday night.

The dog was removed under the new Massachusetts Supreme Court law that protects animals in dangerous situations.

However, Bekebrede, her husband and a few other Framingham residents are worried about Misty, as the dog has not been seen since.

They also told Selectmen that in their opinion, Framingham Animal Control is not taking the matter seriously. They said Animal Control many times does not answer their phone, does not return calls, and when the dog has been removed from the homein the past, it was returned the very next day.

Selectmen Chair Charlie Sisitsky asked Framingham Town Manager to meet with Framingham Police and animal control, and to report back to Selectmen.

The owner of the dog was not identified at Tuesday night’s meeting.

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One Framingham resident, who identified herself as Courtney told Selectmen she has seen Misty neglected year after year. She has seen the dog chained in icy, cold freezing temperatures and in the scorching heat. She said hour after hour and year after year the dog sits outside with a filthy, cracked plastic dog house. In the winter, the water in her bowl is frozen. In the summer, there is no water in her bowl. She said one time, she saw there was a gallon jug of water near the dog, but all the dog could do was look at the water.

The woman said she would bring the dog water, food, and blankets, She would groom the dog, who at times was covered in bugs. She said she too reached out to animal control numerous times and was left felling “frustrated and hopeless.”

Daniel Bekebrede, Regina’s husband, read a statement from a neighbor of the owner of the dog. The statement was from Theresa Goodrow, who lives at 115 Howe Street.

In the statement he read, Goodrow said the dog was left out all day and night in temperatures up to 90 degrees and “chained to a tree.” She too, would bring the dog water and food, and gave the dog baths. Goodrow also called animal control and was unhappy with their response to the situation.

“I look at this as neglect,” said Jason Smith, who asked if one of they would be available to take the dog until a safe home could be found. ”I’d rather see the dog with one of you rather than keep her at animal control.”

Bekebrede said she knows of a dog rescue organization willing to take the dog.

She also said both the MSPCA and Boston Animal Rescue League are involved and have filed a formal complaint.

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