The Oxford woman whose dogs attacked and killed another dog in a town park this summer has applied for a court program that could see her criminal charges dismissed.
Vickie Tkacz appeared at Superior Court in Derby Thursday (Dec. 1) for a hearing on her misdemeanor charges related to the incident.
Tkacz’s four Newfoundland dogs killed an 11-year-old Labrador mix at Jackson Cove Park on July 26.
Tkacz was charged on July 29 with obstructing the duty of an animal control officer, failure to obey a quarantine order, four counts of allowing dogs to roam and four counts of animal nuisance.
Thursday, Tkacz applied for accelerated rehabilitation, a form of probation for first-time offenders who want to see their record cleared.
She is due back on Jan. 5 to find out if the court will allow her into the program.
Meanwhile, Tkacz is fighting a lawsuit from the Labrador’s owner, while the town continues to hold two of her Newfoundlands in custody.
The Lawsuit
The Severson family, who owned the mauled Labrador Roxie, sued Tkacz in August, asking for at least $15,000 for medical bills, vet bills and emotional distress.
Since that suit was filed, Crozier has asked a judge to add the Town of Oxford and Tkacz’s home insurance agent as additional defendants to the lawsuit. Tkacz is currently the only defendant in the lawsuit.
Patrick Severson, 21, a part-time Oxford parks worker, suffered several bite wounds after Tkacz’s four Newfies attacked Roxie, according to the lawsuit. Severson tried to protect his dog during the attack, but Roxie ended up dying later at the vet.
Severson underwent rabies treatment as a precaution after the attack because it wasn’t clear if Tkacz’s dogs had rabies vaccinations.
Blame Shift?
Crozier argues that Severson wouldn’t have needed the rabies treatment if the town had notified Severson that Tkacz’s dogs were vaccinated. Tkacz’s dogs had been vaccinated three weeks before the attack, Crozier said.
Crozier also says the town is partly liable for the incident because Severson should not have been allowed to have his dog with him at the park. Crozier said he’s not sure if Severson was working the day of the mauling.
“I’m trying to make sure to protect my client the best as I can,” Crozier said about the motions to add the town.
No Insurance
When Tkacz was first sued, Crozier forwarded the information to her insurance agent at Allstate. But it turns out she didn’t have active homeowners insurance, Crozier said.
Crozier said that’s because the insurance agent didn’t process a payment check from Tkacz for the insurance renewal.
So Crozier asked the court to add the insurance agent to the lawsuit as another defendant.
The motions requesting the town and the insurance agent to be added haven’t been ruled on, according to documents on file at Superior Court in Milford.
Two Dogs Still in Custody
Town officials — including state police, the animal control officer and former First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers — have different accounts of the dog fight and the ensuing investigation than Tkacz and her attorney, Ralph Crozier.
Town officials say Tkacz was uncooperative after the incident, but Tkacz said the town is targeting her and treating her unfairly.
Four months later, two of the four dogs involved in the attack are still being held in quarantine by Oxford.
Two of the dogs involved in the attack — Isabelle and Sophie — were sold to a new owner in New York. The new owner picked them up and left the state on the day of the attack.
The other two dogs — Charlie and Dudley — were taken by town officials and placed in quarantine.
Release?
The town had issued a consent order on Aug. 10, that would allow Charlie and Dudley to be released if Tkacz agreed to several terms — such as keeping them on her property and muzzled, and installing GPS tracking chips in the dogs.
Tkacz said she signed the release, but Drayton-Rogers in August said Tkacz was uncooperative and so she ordered the dogs be euthanized.
However, on Sept. 19, a Superior Court judge blocked the town from euthanizing the dogs until after a hearing was held between Oxford officials and Crozier.
That hearing will likely take place in January or February before the state Department of Agriculture, which oversees town animal control, according to Attorney Fran Teodosio.
Teodosio was the town attorney under Drayton-Rogers. Newly elected First Selectman Geroge Temple hasn’t appointed a new town counsel yet.
Thursday, Crozier said Tkacz is still willing to abide by the terms of the consent order — she just wants her dogs back.
Crozier has asked the town to pay half of the quarantine bills — which he estimated at about $5,000. The town has previously balked at that suggestion, Crozier said.
Since the latest court filing, a new First Selectman, George Temple, has been elected. Crozier said he plans to meet with Temple in the next couple of weeks to try to work out an agreement to allow the dogs to be released to Tkacz.
A message seeking comment was left with Temple.
“Under the circumstances, we’re just trying to get off the merry-go-round, and we’re trying to do it in a cooperative, intelligent fashion, taking responsibility where we should,” Crozier said.
“I’m looking to solve this whole thing and get this behind us,” Crozier said.
