The City of Burlington has recommended that Moose, a notoriously aggressive dog accused of attacking several pets and humans over the last three years, be euthanized to protect the public.  The recommendation was shared on Monday night with the city’s Animal Control Committee, which took test imony from several people who said the dog had bitten or charged them. The committee, which is made up of members of the city’s police commission as well as local animal experts, said it will issue a written decision in the coming weeks.  The committee’s decision, though, may not be the end of the matter. That’s because Moose’s owner, Diane Wheeler, says she and the mutt have moved out of the city. A deputy prosecutor in Franklin County, Wheeler plans to retire next month and said on Monday that she’s currently “transient,” living with family outside of Burlington while she waits to move into a new apartment. “This committee has no jurisdiction over Moose or me,” Wheeler said. Whatever the case, residents of the New North End neighborhood where Wheeler had previously lived with her mother don’t want the dog coming back — ever. During testimony on Monday, several urged the animal committee to back the city’s euthanasia recommendation. They said Moose has been terrorizing them since Wheeler adopted the mutt in 2023 and that the state prosecutor refuses to do what’s necessary to prevent the dog from hurting people.  Betsy Hibbitts Credit: Colin Flanders © Seven Days Among those to testify was Betsy Hibbitts, a defense attorney who was bitten in the face by Moose near a St. Albans courthouse in April. Wheeler invited Hibbitts over to her car to say hello to Moose only for the dog to immediately lunge once the door opened, according to Hibbitts. Herself a dog owner, Hibbitts said she now crosses the street whenever she sees a canine heading in her direction. “This is a problem that should have been solved before I went to the hospital with my upper lip hanging from my face,” Hibbitts said, adding that she believes Moose needs to be put down. “I’m sorry for Moose, but Moose is not a safe dog, and I don’t know how he could be made safe,” Hibbitts said.  Authorities have also received numerous complaints this summer from people who say they’ve seen Wheeler violating previous orders from the animal control committee. One witness reported seeing Wheeler with the dog off-leash at Hunt Middle School. Others say they’ve seen Moose in Wheeler’s car at her mother’s home, from which he’s banned. Wheeler on Monday night confirmed that she’s been training Moose at the park and school during off-hours and has occasionally allowed him to be off-leash, either because of an “emergency pee or poop” or because she was testing out a shock collar.  She also admitted that she has driven Moose to her mother’s house in violation of the orders — but only a few times, and only because she was experiencing a diabetic episode and needed to get insulin medication that her mother had picked up for her from the nearby Hannaford.  As for the numerous other alleged sightings?   “Once I realized stalking-like behavior by these neighbors — who are actually more vicious than Moose — I began to bring my friends’ dogs, dogs that I was dog sitting, making trash bags into Moose-like statues,” Wheeler said. “Because I realized how much they were watching me.” Wheeler went on to say that she is in the process of getting Moose more training, including to be a service dog. She recalled times when he has whined and laid his paw on her in the middle of the night. “He was telling me my blood sugar was low,” Wheeler said. And she argued that Moose’s only biting incident since last year’s order was not his fault. Wheeler disputed Hibbitts’ account and suggested that the defense attorney was asking to get bit by sticking her face into the car in an apparent attempt to kiss Moose. “Moose did not move any part of the body other than his jaw,” Wheeler said. “Moose did exactly what he was supposed to do as a dog, and that is, he snapped at her.” The post Burlington Recommends Prosecutor’s Dog Be Put Down appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less