The Board of Selectmen deemed a pitbull dangerous at a public hearing on Tuesday night.

The pitbull in question, Cal, belongs to Gregory Silva. A public hearing was held in response to a complaint by Silva’s neighbor Deborah Giokas in November.

According to Giokas, Silva’s pitbull attacked her daughter Andrea’s labradoodle while they were walking past Silva’s house.

Silva, a registered nurse, said that he had just returned home from working a 12-hour overnight shift when he let his dogs out.

“I let my dogs out to run around, brought them in, fed them and was actually going to go back to bed when Cal was back at the door,” he said. “I thought ok, it’s a nice day, I’ll let them run around a little more.”

He said he was watching from inside when he heard unfamiliar barking.

“The dog that got bit was on a leash, but there was a smaller one that wasn’t,” Silva said. “The little one was running around Cal’s feet and barking at him. I tried to pull Cal by his back legs but I fell.”

Silva witnessed his dog bite Andrea Giokas’ dog first on the ear and then on the back. His neighbor was across the street raking leaves, and using the rake Silva was able to separate the two dogs.

“It was a little bit of a frenzy,” he said. “My other two dogs did not react in a hostile manner.”

After the incident, Silva said he went over to the Giokas resident and offered to pay for the veterinary services as well as give Andrea a ride to the vet if she was too shaken to drive.

“I checked on the dog several times that afternoon, and the next morning I bought blank cards to write an apology,” he said.

Silva said all his dogs are rescue dogs, with Cal being the newest at the time of the attack.

“He’s a very fearful dog,” he said. “He’s very skittish.”

Up to that point, Silva said he had never seen Cal exhibit aggressive behavior, citing his ability to get along with Silva’s other dogs as well as his girlfriend’s small shih tzu.

Since the attack, Silva has had a professional grade electric fence installed and has paid for training to make sure the dogs don’t cross the fence. The cost for the fence and training was upwards of $2,200.

“The dogs have not crossed the fence in the two months it has been up,” he said.

Andrea Giokas said she had her 7-year-old son with her on the walk and is worried about his safety and the effect the attack had on him.

“My son was there…he witnessed everything,” she said. “He had to pass by all of the dogs again in order to get home…”

She also said that when he dog was a puppy, about a year ago, Silva had mentioned to her that he was looking into getting an electric fence but had not done so.

Neighbors of Silva and Giokas expressed doubt that the electric fence would be sufficient in keeping the dogs contained.

“Years ago we had an electric fence and we had two labs who ran right through them,” Richard Dias said. “They would take the hit to get to the other side. My daughter-in-law and my wife walk the dog and I find it worrisome…It’s a scary thing to walk up and down the street.”

Dog trainer Darren Boucher spoke up as a pitbull lover, but said pitbull owners are often unable to handle the breed.

“Pitbulls are actually not allowed in a lot of parts of the country because they are beyond powerful,” he said. “You can’t even comprehend how powerful they are…When you say you allow these animals off leash in a backyard with no boundary, you’re not a responsible owner. You’re playing with fire here…A fearful dog can be a dangerous dog.”

Selectman Steve Gonsalves agreed, saying he’s fearful it could happen again and that next time a child could be caught in the crosshairs.

“My concern is we don’t know what’s in the past of this dog, you don’t know this dog yet,” he said. “I’m concerned it this is going to happen again.”

Silva, visibly frustrated, said that nobody could predict the actions of a dog, but that there’s no reason to believe it would happen again.

“My dog has not crossed the fence…I only take two dogs out at a time to have extra control,” he said. “I’ve continued to work with him and he’s even more obedient now. I didn’t expect him to [attack] but now that he is, I am very vigilant with watching him as well.”

Chair Jody Dickerson and Gonsalves both voted that the dog would be considered a dangerous dog. Selectman Steve Cushing abstained from the hearing because he is a neighbor of both parties.

As a result of the ruling, Silva will have to abide by four new rules: he needs an insurance policy; he has to have a fence or a pen to physically restrain the dog and the pen needs to have a roof and a floor, and if it doesn’t have a floor the sides need to go at least two feet into the ground to prevent digging out; the dog has to be humanely restrained; and the dog has to be confined to the premises, and when the dog is removed from the property it needs to be humanely muzzled and restrained.