Formally Condemned Dog Allowed to go into Retraining Program

The listened Wednesday to a new ruling concerning the German Shepard Nico, who .

Attleboro District Court Justice Angel Kelley Brown gave Nico a reprieve in the form of rehabilitation at the Compatible Canine Center in Brookline. Brown said,  however, that the current owner, Dave Arno, would have to give up ownership of the dog to the owner of the center, Lance Woodley.

Nico will be given retraining at the center. Stipulations of the retraining include implanting a microchip under the dog's skin for positive identification. This will ensure that the dog can be properly identified by potential adopters, and also give them the dog's full history.

"I think the point to be made is that...we don't want the dog to be shipped off to be someone else's problem," Selectmen Chair Jess Aptowitz said. "This is clearly not the case here.This is a well-established training facility for this types of issues."

The stipulations also state that under no circumstances will the dog be able to return to Mansfield in any capacity.

Selectmen said that if the CCC does not give a potential adopter the full history of Nico's exploits, including the police reports from the most recent incident, then the owner of the CCC is legally liable for anything that happens.

If the CCC is unable to retrain Nico, then he will have a place there where he can live out the rest of his days. The selectmen said that Mansfield Animal Control Officer Jeffrey Collins said that he agrees with this ruling.

"Mr. Collins is our expert," Aptowitz said. "He felt comfortable with [the ruling] so we go along with our expert."