Plymouth Select Board Votes to Euthanize Dangerous Dog After Owner Defied Orders

Select Board · Meeting of July 28, 2026

Plymouth Select Board votes 3-0 to authorize humane euthanasia of dangerous dog. The board affirmed a June 3, 2026, hearing officer decision against Rosemary Quintel, whose dog bit at least five people and two Plymouth police officers over 14 months, was never licensed or vaccinated, and remained in town custody since July 22 after Quintel defied compliance orders and a court warrant was required to seize the animal. Town Attorney Stacy Verde told the board state law bars placement of a formally declared dangerous dog with another family or rescue organization, leaving euthanasia as the only lawful option; two members recused and the remaining three voted in favor after member Harry Cohan said, "I have a pit in my stomach." The board also unanimously approved a request from the Plymouth 250th Commemoration Committee to install three purple heart signs and paint two crosswalks red, white, and blue in front of Memorial Hall and the Training Green ahead of National Purple Heart Day on August 7, and heard a presentation of the town's new Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which qualifies Plymouth for federal Forest Service grants of up to $10 million per project, with the state already having reimbursed the town for the plan's production costs.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of July 28, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.