Resident accuses town of leaving dogs with associates of accused abuser; selectmen request legal update

At the Jan. 5 meeting of the Winchester Board of Selectmen, resident Carrie Taylor of Sadler Heights urged the board to move three dogs — identified in her remarks as Oakley, Eeyore and Fluke — out of the care of associates of a person she said faces 42 counts of animal cruelty, property damage and larceny. Taylor told the board the dogs remain "in the care of Smolak's friends against court orders" and said the town had rejected safer foster offers in favor of placements linked to the accused person.

Taylor described emotional and behavioral harm she believes the animals have suffered and criticized the town for what she characterized as a failure to protect the dogs. "These dogs have been through unspeakable pain, and rather than protect them as you have the power to do, you choose instead to send Oakley, Eeyore, and Fluke right back into the cycle of abuse," she said.

Board response and legal limits: Several selectmen said they share concern and urged an informational update for the public. One selectman suggested inviting the town attorney to the next meeting; Town Manager Paul Harrington said he would try to arrange that attendance but added the board would need to discuss the attorney’s update in executive session because "there are court cases — both civil and criminal — that we are not commenting [on] because of both civil and criminal cases." He asked residents to "trust the process" and said staff discusses the dogs weekly.

Why it matters: Taylor’s public comments framed the town’s animal-control decisions as an accountability issue and pressured elected officials to explain the town’s authority and actions. Board members acknowledged the limits of what they could say in public while signaling a plan to seek legal guidance in executive session.

Follow-up items: Selectmen requested a public update explaining "what's being done to protect the dogs and what our legal abilities are," and the manager said he would "see if our town attorney can come to the next meeting, give an update to the board on the stance of the town, why the town has the particular stance that it does." A later resident, Walter Platt, reminded the board to check the charter’s language regarding whether town employees are already excluded from commission service while the board finalizes selection rules for the Charter Revision Commission.

Transcript spelling note: The transcript contains inconsistent spellings of the private individual's name (variants include "Smolak," "Smolack," "Smallak" and "Smollett"). The article uses "Smolak" to reflect the most frequent rendering in the record and flags the inconsistency as a transcript-level issue pending clarification by official records.

Ending: The board did not take a public action on the animal-case allegations during the meeting but directed staff to pursue a legal briefing for the board in executive session at a future meeting.