Strong leashes make good neighbors
BY PETER A. SUTTERS JR. INDEPENDENT WRITER

Diva the Pit Bull freely roams the Ciarmataro's front yard without a leash or a master.

Amanda Ciarmataro was out in her front yard enjoying a game of soccer with her four-year-old son Ayden and their two kittens last week when a neighbor's Pit Bull came running across the street and savagely killed one of the kittens right before their eyes.

"I saw the Pit Bull come running past me and head toward my son and the kitten," said Ciarmataro. "He was standing just inches away from the cat when the Pit Bull grabbed it and started shaking it violently."

The dog is owned by Ciarmataro's neighbor Joshua Millwood, 27, of 25 Equator Drive, who told Ciarmataro his roommates let his Pit Bull - Diva - out of the house.

Millwood was issued citations for an animal nuisance, an animal leash law violation, failing to have his dog wear a license tag and failing to have his dog wear a tag.

"The dog wouldn't let go. I ran over there and was kicking it and screaming at it, but the kitten was pretty much mutilated by then," said Ciarmataro. "We brought it to the MSPCA, but it was too late. He died on the way."

PHOTOS BY PETER SUTTERS JR. Ayden Ciarmataro with his kitten Sammy. Ciarmataro witnessed Diva the Pit Bull maul his other kitten Forest, while playing on the front lawn.

Ciarmataro said this is not the first time the Pit Bull was seen loose in the neighborhood.

"In the past we have seen the dog and have told the kids to go inside or go the other way," said Ciarmataro.

Now, she says, her son is fearful of going outside and asks where his kitten, Morris, went.

"It's heartbreaking," said Ciarmataro. "It was the first pet he ever had and he keeps asking when is Morris coming back. He kept talking about all the blood he saw. He won't go outside alone and is having nightmares. The guy across the street walks away with a $200 fine and gets to keep his dog. It's just not right."

The dog was again on the loose on Monday and when young Ayden was going between his grandparents' house next door and his own, he began to cry and said the dog was going to get him and his kitten and asked for the doors to be locked at his home.

Nantucket's Animal Control Officer Suzanne Gale said the dog in question is a well-behaved dog, but just likes to chase other animals.

"Diva is a great dog," said Gale. "Pit Bulls in general are good dogs, this Pit Bull will just chase anything that runs."

Gale also said Pit Bulls get a bad reputation and the negativity should be heaped on the owners, not the animal.

"It's the owners," said Gale. "Because of them not following the leash law, these things happen. Had he tied the dog up properly, this all could have been avoided."

Gale said there have been other incidents around the island in recent months where dogs of different breeds have attacked cats or other, smaller dogs.

"There was a boxer mix last month on Somerset Road that attacked another dog," said Gale. "Again, had the dog been on a leash, it would never have happened."

Gale said other than issuing citations to the owners for the dogs not being leashed, there is little they can do unless the animal attacks a human.

"If an animal bites a human, it's a totally different procedure," said Gale. "If it's animal versus animal, unless we can show the dog is a threat to the neighborhood, there is nothing we can do. The neighbors can go before the Board of Selectmen, but they have to prove the dog is a nuisance and show that there have been a couple of incidents." I