Hearing Panel Finds Two Dogs Dangerous after Fatal December Attack

A Springfield hearing panel on Thursday, Feb. 13, ruled that two dogs identified as Kuma and Nikita are dangerous following a Dec. 9, 2024 attack that left a smaller dog, Sadie, dead.

The decision followed testimony from a complainant who said the property at 85 Narragansett Street is a two-family home with a shared, fenced yard and that the same dogs were involved in an earlier October 2023 incident that injured Sadie. The panel heard from the requester, Kristen Watson, and from the dogs’ owner, Courtney Keenan, who disputed claims that the animals are broadly aggressive and said she had taken steps including arranging a behavioral evaluation for Kuma and keeping vaccinations current.

Panel members discussed whether a fatal attack that occurred on the owners’ property met the statutory standard for a “dangerous dog.” The city’s hearing record includes statements that two earlier incidents occurred in the fenced yard and that at least some of the animals were unlicensed at the time of earlier events; the record also shows the two dogs involved were later listed as up to date on rabies vaccinations and two involved dogs were spayed or neutered.

Councilor Dante Edwards moved to deem the dogs dangerous; Officer Fleming seconded. The motion passed on a recorded voice vote with Edwards, Abba Clement, Board Member Megan Laundry and Chair Camille Nelson voting yes and Board Member Johns voting no.

After declaring the dogs dangerous the panel considered a list of standard conditions read into the record. The panel voted to impose only condition number 3 from that list, limiting regulatory requirements to measures for when the animals are off the owner’s premises. The condition as explained in the hearing requires that when the dog is removed from the premises it be “securely muzzled and restrained” and held on a leash meeting the stated minimum tensile-strength and maximum-length measures read into the record; a copy of the decision and the condition will be mailed to the owner. The panel said other conditions on enclosures, transfer of ownership, or sterilization were not imposed at this hearing.

The panel’s notice and the hearing record note potential separate civil remedies or landlord–tenant actions that are outside the panel’s remit. The record also reflects participants’ repeated references to the limits of the panel’s authority when an incident occurs on private property.

The panel closed the hearing after directing staff to mail the written decision and to record the imposed condition in the animal-control file.